The Ely record. [volume] (Pioche City, Lincoln County, Nev.) 1870-1872, 1872-09-06
THE SOCIAL EVIL AT sALrL.xe

THE SOCIAL EVIL AT SALT LAKE,.
One of the most revolving case. If
fanatical zeal We ever heard of occurred
In Salt Lake City few DAYS aeo-tbe
deed being the pious raid of the Mormon
police upon the demi monde. The law
under which the police acted is IAN or.
dinance relating to spirituous, vinous
and fermented liquors, aud to nui.
sances," section 8 of which provides
that
any house or place resorted to for
Illicit sexual intercourse shall be deemed
house or place of ill-fame, and is
hereby declared a nuisance, and may be
abated
The Utah Mining Journal is unsparing
In denunciation of the outrage, and from
Its account Of the affair We copy as
follows:
There is no law, civil or moral, in the
civilized world which justities wanton
destruction of property, the forcing a
SICK woman out of Oed, the DESTROYING of
albums and other tokens aud mementoes.
the tearing up Of dresses and clothes,
the breaking open OF drawers, the pilfer-
ing OF valuables, the bursting open of
money boxes filled with money, diamonds
and other jewelry, and the threatening
to take the women and duck them ut
! night. The hellish intents and Dur.
poses OF Mormonism alone are capable
OF perpetratinS such tiendish deeds. 1t
Is not the desire on the part OF the city
| 10 aOate these houses that the liberal.
minded citizens feel incensed about 1t
is the brutal treatment of the women and
the wanton destruction of property, es-
pecially the tokens, pictures, etc., which,
thongh OF little intrinsic value, We're vet
held dear and sacred by the defenseless
victims. Even the picture of the Virgin
Mary was destroyed.
The Herald, which is in the Mormon
interest, alludes TO the matter in very
mild terms. We quote:
Armed with the proper legal papers,
posse OF officers went to each house and
entered. The women inside were told
to collect together their personal effects,
trunks, ETC., which wonld not be
touched. and the work of demolition
commenced. Everything in the build
inSs, except the personal effects of the
inmates, was destroyed, after which the
officers returned to the Court and re-
ported the places abated. There was
large crowd in the street outside, and
though everything passed off with won
derful quietness, there was some threat
ening and rather senseless talk by few
individuals relative to the proceedings.
10 say that such a course would not be
taken by the civic authorities of any
other city in the country is simply to
talk nonsense, and can be passed for
what it is worth. But when individuals
threaten, as was done yesterday, to fire
the street and burn it down because of
this proceeding on the part of the police,
or when they prompted the frail women
to burn the street, they committed Sc
rious offense against the law.
The Tribune administers whitening
rebuke to the fanatcsm which prompted
the outrage, concluding as follows:
We do not justify or uphold houses
Of ill-fame, but we appeal simply to the
common sense of every man who is not
u fanatic, in asking whether or not the
greatest good would not result to the
| ~ oy VI IieChoiuS
which shall have control over the evil
and reduce the evil effects to minimum
Prostitution has existed in all nations,
wherever there are male and female,
and who does not know that it cannot be
legislated out of existence or suppressed
by compulsory means? Both have been
tried in vain, and will continue to be
until men and women are born without
passions or with sufficient will power
and moral characteristics to restrain
them.
The attempt of yesterday by violation
of the laws of the United States to sup.
press lasciviousness by wonton de.
struction OF property, aud what may be
truly called rlotous proceedings, should
not only merit the contempt of every
sound thinker, but be followed by the
immediate enforcement of the laws
against Mormon bestiality which waf
brought into exercise by il man WHOSE
animal passions We're greater than any
Of the frequenters Of Commercial street
Our exchanges, SO far as We have OBJ
served, condemn the city authorities OF
Salt Lake. The "social evil may bt
and should be controlled, but any ant
. all prosecutions Of its unhappy victim'
are worse than useless.