Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1858-10-05
Vice in Worccster-No. 2.

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Having considered, in Saturdays paper, that
portion of Mr. Wayland's sermon relating to the
sale of Intoxicating liquor, and to pauperism,
would willingly quit the subject The other vices
alluded to are hardly fit subjects for discussion,
either in newspaper or in the pulpit propose
to consider them, only for the purpose of show
ing how utterly unworthy of credit the statements
contained in that sermon are, and to satisfy that
large proportion of our citizens who have not the
means of informing themselves, that our goodly
city of Worcester is very far from being the Sod
ON which it is represented.
There are in the city, the sermon says thirty
houses of i'll fame, and three hundred prostitutes
or ten inmates to a house. Only week or two
ago, the police made a sudden descent upon one
of the worst of these places, and found just four
inmates, including the keeper. lake the year
through, they will not average that number, and
have seldom room for So that, allowing
Mr.. Wayland's statement of the number of houses
TO be correct. he has more than doubled the num-
Der of creatures they could contain. But in Truth
and IN fact, instead of there being thrty as so
boldly asserted, there are not, at the present
time, more than five houses in the whole city.
which any man, minister, or officer, dare say he
has probable cause to suspect of being used for
three miles of the City Hall At no time during
the year has the number exceeded seven, nor the
number OF supposed prostitutes thirty. These es-
Adjustments are, by no means, the large, -four.
ishing, and luxurious abodes of splendid vice
which one might be led 10 suppose fl ON the gen
tleman's picture, but generally miserable in the
extreme, scantly and shabbily furnished and pro-
vidsd, and give unmistakable evidence of the low
and degraded state TO which the hard times and
the virtue of the community have reduced them.
But, this is not all. AS if these statements
grossly exaggerated SIS they are were not enough
to excite the indignation OF the community
against the corrupt government which would toll
crate such a state OF things, Mr.. Wayland goes
yet further. With these imaginary thirty houses
already filed, with their three hundred inmates
to repleton, the late fremens muster brought
upon us army of four hundred more
eight long cars full-thirteen more to each
o. Mr.. Wayland's houses, and, making more
than an hundred inmates, to each of the haunts
which actually do exist. Upon what railroad did
they come What traveller or conductor saw
them At what time, day or night, did two hun
dred full carriage loads of abandoned women pass
through our streets, to and from the depots, and
no man see them? The statement is SIMPLY rid
lculous, and Mr.. Wayland pays poor compli-
ment to the intelligence of the audience, or the
community, which he asks to believe such stuff
Undoubtedly, few of these creatures, perhaps
to the number of twenty or thirty did, with their
assocates--the gamblers and pckpockets-visit
our city during that week, but not to greater
extent than they did year ago.
Mr.. Wayland undoubtedly means we'll but like
other well meaning men, has permitted his sim
plicitly and good intentions to be imposed upon,
by those who, caring little for the fair fame and
honor Of the city, seek only to accomplish their
own selfish ends There is vice, and crime, and
misery enough, in the city, without exaggerating
it tenfold. And, if those who, like Mr. WAY.
land, earnestly desire Its removal instead of en-.
deavoring to degrade the character of our p0pu-
lation abroad, and finding fault with those at
home. who do what they can to suppress it, and,
at least, as much any of their predecessors
have ever done, will use little wisdom, and pru.
dence, and common sense, in their own efforts for
the same purpose, there would soon be much less
than now is. L.