New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-10-14
A YOUNG LADY ON THE SOCIAL EVIL.
Tri


SIR: Allow me to take exception to one OF
two points contained your editorial in o-days issue
Of The TRIBUNE, under the heading, Help to Fallen
Women"
You say But it may be questioned whether the pun
isnent which lights terribly upon this fault is not in
tended and adapted " act as warning aud pre-
ventiye"
How caa IT act as a preventive to the ineytablei and
how far from the inevitable Is womans ruin, when she
s compelled TO choose between death and dishOnorf
The most Of these women, you say, had been forced
through poverty into sin. No doubt Of that Statistics
prove that enormous proportion OF the women III QUIZ
land who 20 to destruction driven there By want OF
sufficient food while want Of food Is the result OF UNJUST
wages and unjust wages the ougrowth OF that sell
compacent faacy OF political economists who Tx limits
to Gods power against SIM by proving that to steal from
women is an inevitable law When women are not ground
down by their employers and forced to accept
prices for hard unceasing daily to-to that saps their
strength and robs life Of all hope-then and not until
then shall we be justified in talking Of warning and pro-
vention. 1t Ia useless to preach OF the beauty OF
purity deplorable as the fact is, while the only
reward papable to their hungry eyes, is starvation at
the hands Of those who hire them suicide at their
Set delicate unframed undsciplined girl cursed per
haps with beauty earn her living by making shirts at
20 cents each-o unable to obtain work even at that,
send her homeless helpless hopeless wandering through
the streets OF great city, without friends with no guild
ing hand lead her. weary OF poverty DroKen perhaps,
in health conscience hushed by hunger and temptation
fore yer Turing her perdton, and let socety-ee
ing itself from the restraints that call for shans ana
can't answer II will not inevitably leave hope behind
How long, let me ask would any man fight death and
the devil, upon such termsf
There are az you say why shall not suffer
as severely for sins against chastity surely
81 long as apOWerful injustice decides; but there
ia not one reason why THE HEw-YoRK TRrBUSE-that
paper which have been taught to reverence TO my
Bble-shOud raise its voice IN defense OF sentiment so
merciless.
A wOman,s sins against mOdesty are indeed sins
acainst her own soul and let her by all means suffer the
nenaltv but not one lot title than the who
mas been partner OF her crime We may aRate the
question and foot reforms until we are weary put
we will In effectua measure contro tnls sOcla
EVIL until society to crush down Win IRON hee
the guilty woman while II seeks TO nnd excuses tOT ana
eclnes to punish the equally guilty man.
Respectfully ALICE DUTToS
Casteton, Vermont Sept. n, 1871.
Miss DuttOn evidently feels too deeply upon this
subject to be either logical candid 1t is in the
highest degree disiDgenuous for her to say that The
TRIBUNE makes any discrimination in favor Of the
man who offends against chastity. We distinctly
said his guilt was equal and often greater than
that of the woman. That she suffers more serious
consequences from lapse of virtue than be- ID fact
in physiology which We need not dwell upon. The
lighter Judgment which the world visits upon him
ia fact which we mentioned only to depore. 1t is,
however fact as certain that physiological one,
upon which 1t ia doubtless founded and must be
sidered in every practical movement OF reform Miss
Dutton prefers meet it-as her charming sex does
with most dsagreeabe and painful things-by shut
ting her eyes aud screaming.-Ed.l