The committee early realized that in undertaking to secure these reforms they would have to contend with the powerful saloon interests, which were most firmly intrenched, and would have to work without the co-operation of the police department, whose efforts should always be on the side of law and order. And so they saw that it would be necessary to form a combination with the best white people of the city and if possible bring them into active co-operation in this work. The most important work, then, was to secure the active interest of leading white men. A sub-committee was appointed for this purpose, and they visited the late Dr. Daniel C. Gilman, ex-President of Johns Hopkins University, and one of Baltimore’s most distinguished citizens; Mr. Douglas H. Wylie, at that time President of the Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Eugene Levering, President of the Commercial National Bank and one of the most distinguished philanthropists of Baltimore; Bishop Paret, the head of the Episcopal Church in this diocese; Mr. Joseph Packard, at that time President of the Board of School Commissioners and one of Baltimore’s leading citizens; Mr. Robert H. Smith, a leading lawyer; Mr. John C. Rose, United States District Attorney, who as legal adviser and advocate performed most helpful service for this committee; Mr. Isaac Cate, a retired capitalist; Mr. John M. Glenn, who is now Secretary of the Sage Foundation, and who threw himself most heartily into the work; Judge Alfred S. Niles, a member of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, and Mr. W. Hall Harris, the city postmaster. The committee was encouraged by the heartiness with which, with one or two exceptions, our request for co-operation was met by all of these men. The committee was not only impressed with the sympathetic interest which their mission raised, but they were struck with the frequency with which certain questions entered into nearly all of these conferences. MALES OF MARYLAND ENGAGED IN GAINFUL OCCUPATION [Illustration: A common belief is that colored men will not work. The United States census shows more colored men at work in Maryland than whites. ] For instance, there was a query as to why the colored man will not work. They intimated that in some cases the conditions of vice and immorality grew out of the laziness and idleness of the men of this neighborhood as well as out of the environments of the saloons and dives. A study of the statistics prepared by the United States Census Bureau, however, shows that a larger percentage of the colored men of Maryland are at work than of the whites. [Illustration: A = Farm homes owned free of debt. B = Farm homes owned but mortgaged. C = Farm homes rented. ] [Illustration: A = Farm homes owned free of debt. B = Farm homes owned but mortgaged. C = Farm homes rented. The progress in home-getting since emancipation has been rapid in Maryland. ]