, 1876-08-06
A wOMANsS VOICE.
tn fhe Editor Of The Tribune.

10 ire Eu11oF o. 1AE 1F1oHHt.
CHICAGO, Aug. 5.-Bcsile being the wife Of a
tax paying citizen Of this city and having in r1y
own right material interest in it's welfare, I
am close reader OF THE TRIBUNE, and have
read with no small degree Of interest, of late,
the many reports and comments on the city
present financial depression, end the delnoral-
lied state Of the whole city machinery. a
great deal Of *sretrenchmcnt " and small eff
fort at reform seem to be the order Of the day,
dispensing with superluous officials, reducing
salaries, Topping off the heads of snecures,
turning out street lights, and so forth. And
now all this splutter among the city fathers
and their underlings seems to have been
brought about simply because their golden
goose has become barren and there's but little
money left in the municipal Golfers. While the
solution OF the financial problem, and
general political and moral reform in the GOV
ernmcnt OF the city, trust you will lend me
space enough in your columns in which to ven
tilate some Of my ideas Oh the subject of moral
reform in the ranks Of both city officials and
citizens, for, although woman is not general
1y supposed to have gumptfon enough to sug-
gcst anything practical ID the way Of political
matters, do claim to know something about
how some things in Chicago are run RI the
city is really hard up for money, which it seems
to be, it would be just as much justified in en-
riching Itself by leaving OF dissipation as a
topper would be in denying himself Of his usual
morning dram aud occasional spree in order to
saye enough money to buy new suit OF clothes.
To begin with, many dollar might be gathered
into the city Treasury by raiding all the So
called 'frstclass'' houses of prostitution in the
city, and taxing al the inmates to the fullest
extent of the law. It is shame that these so
called fir6t-class denS almost invariably arc
passed by when there is a raid made They
are the very ones which arc the most able to
pay heavy fines, instead of going to the
Bridcwcll at the expense Of the city. The fines
collected from these places would not be the on
ly gain the city would make, for I speak sadly,
knowingly, when say that a complete sup
preston Of these houses Of ill-fame would stop
many leakage from the cty's funds, and cause
some Of the city employees and officers to dissi-
pate less and have more time to devote to their
paid duties, to say nothing Of the few spare
hours that they might be at home with their
families. A few evenings ago an underground
ru1llor was started that general raid was to be
made, not sparing Madam, So-anl-so, and /
found out afterwards that on that very evening
no less than three city employees of my hus-
bands acquaintance were at home that even
ing,-an event almost unknown to the oldest in
habjtant Of the family.
Urge the police to do their sworn duty in this
matter; let them close out every house of ILL.,
fame in the city, both high and low, and then
the people will just begin to realize the effects
OF real official reform. Hoping that this reform
NAV be set On foot and heartily carried out,
shall trust to the Superintendent If Police to
take Of that corclatiye element to the prus-
ttutes-thc gamblers. AlHs. J..