Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-07-06

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God her Father, who, Notwithstanding
her sin and shame, looks down upon her
with compassion from the heights Of
heaven. Hrs love surrounds her al
ways, while He seorns the apostste, the
money-changer of the Temple, the false
Priest, the faithless public servant, the
cold, the selfish and the unfeeling, the
Apostate and the Hypocrite, the Sedueer
and the knave who thriyes by others
losses.
There is a stu more malignant evil
that affiicts the body polite In cities,
than any that we have mentioned. It
is the demorslizing custom Of exempt
ing offenders against the laws from pun
ishment, and in effect licensing the Inn
morality which the law condemns and
commands its ministers to extirpGte,-a
result that is effected by the levying OF
black mail, or as is done by the Police
authority in Memphis, monthly tribute
upon the keepers of gaming houses and
the unfortunate inmates OF houses OF i'll
fame. We have made some inquiry into
this practice, which is itself q crime, and
know the prices paid to the Police, for
immunity from prosecution, by men and
women. Although q simple robbery, it
is a regular source of revenue, and de-
serves, above every thing else in this
| city, the vigilsnt attention of the Grand
Jury. II the laws for the suppression of
I cr1oh borcac cannot he an foroaI Tof fl,aro
be repealed, for they are simply con-
temptible and bring the whole penal law
into contempt. II such houses are ne
cessity Of society, as would seem to be the
case in every country, it would be better
TO license them at once, than to permit
the secret system of matchmaking,
which offers the opportunity and holds
out the temptation to those who should
enforce the laws, to steal.
Who knows the amount thus levied
monthly in Memphis? Who knows the /
number of men and women thus virtu-
ally licensed to ply their vocations?
Who knows how much of the money
thus received is accounted for?
So much as this We learn from one who
has had opportunity to be well informed,
that the sum Of one hundred dollars per
month is regularly levied upon every .
gaming house, twenty-five dollars q
month on the keeper OF every house ofil-
fame and from ten to fifteen dollars a
month on each OF the uRfortunates, who
more deserve cOmmiseration than to be
plundered. How these leVies are account
ed for, we do not know. They are all iIle-
gal exactions and extortions, not one jot
more justifisble than those of the ban
ditti of the Apprentices, who capture a
traveller; demand q ransom for him Of
his friends; if they refuse, cut off an ear
and send it to them, and upon another
refusal stab the victim and throw him
into ravine.
Certainly these moneys, shares Of the
wages of vice and debauchery and of the
plumber of the gaming table, do not APP
pear accounted for in the monthly re-
ports of moneys collected by the Police.
The statistics of the establishments so
taxed are not given to the public. We
propose to take steps to procure them.
We do not charge and Of course do not
mean to insinuate, that any of these
moneys are appropriated to private uses.
We. only say that it is quite possible for
that to be done without detection, if
greed or inclination prompts to it. We
shall not, even by insinuation, impeach
the honesty Of any public officer, If be be
only policeman, without proof Of the
fact.
We are quite aware, also, that the ,
same system Of black mailing prevails in
other cities, perhaps in ali. Whether
the same absence OF responsibility, the
same Hon-accountability prevails else
where, we do not know. 1t is the sys-
tenn that we denounee, and not iudivid- s
uals,-the whole system OF selling i'm
munity for vice OF profiigscy or crime,
for the payment Of a monthly stipend.
That it prevails elsewhere makes it none !
The less sbomjasble. 1t makes the pub
lie to be the secret partner Of the gam (
bier and prostitute, sharing the profits of |
heir trade, while its laws declare them :
Infamous. 1t is infinitely worse than q
he tax levied by Vespaslsn; for I
{ sells for money the privilege of doing E
what it in the same breath pro- :
scribes as infamous. 1t is an equal r
outrage on the parties, because c
{ Furnishes them by penalties, without .
rial and conviction, and, as to the oour- =
Exams, absolutely without any law what.
,ver. These are dealt with hardly Il
nough, without oppression by officers of
he law and there is no warrant OF law :,
or entering q house, when there il no
disturbance or disorderly conduct to be q
uelled, srresting a number OF women .
ot in the commission of any offence
nOwn to the law, incarcerating them, o.
Raging them before q Commissioner, q
D sink them lower than before in their :,
wn estimation, that they may, through q
and despair resort to even s.
lore ruinous courses, il. order by flee q
ing them without authority of law and - =,
II no offence known to the law, to 81
we'll the monthly report of fines, and 20
lcrease the revenue Of a city, or help pay g
ne expenses of the police, with moneys ~
Tung from the miserable or the vicious. Is
The truth is that the whole business of M
olice justice in this city, so far as we pI
re able to judge, the imposition Of exor- ~ ~
tant fines by arbitrary Magistrates on al
Dor devils whose worst offence is til
lat they are unfortunate, or weak US
it'll the mere frailties of human 10 10,
AZURE, the Things without law, ms
I'D the general vagaries of the magis- 81
acy are singular mixture Of the ab- ~ ~
nd and iniquitous but there is moth NJ,
g in it all so utterly indefensible, so I'll
so much the patron Of tic
ce and debauchery, as the system of a.
vying black mail 1t is misdemeanor sol
so for the Code, (Art. 47S8), Furnishes
: fine not exceeding $500, and impris. an
lment in the county Jail not exceeding 81
rec months, any person who, having no
lowledge of the commission of any Pc
fence punishable by fine, takes any M M
oney or valuable consideration or gra- i IL,
ity, upon any agreement or under Z