Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-07-17
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
The Necessary Evil.

twelfth contains two articles pregnant with
reflection. The first is the statement that
two young men in Cleveland, Ohio, John
O'Lsary and Daniel Cash, stupefed with beer
two female children, aged ten and eleven
years, for the purpose OF violating their per-
sons. They were caught IN the act, tried be-
fore the police court and sentenced to pay the
enormous fine Of twenty dollars ami costs. In
the next column Is the other article. viz
The grand jury report on the social evil,
from which we learn that men believe it
necessary evil Necessary to whom?
Surely not to the female part OF the evil. for
the female part suffer untold pains and pen
alties, as well as unmeasured degradation
Ii not necessary to women, We must con-
clude the grand jury thought it necessary to
its own sex Now, in view of this ''necessi-
IT," and also In view of the fast that stupefy
ing young girls on beer and abusing their
persons, is one of the many ways men take
to recruit the prostitute class, instead of be-
ing surprised at the small fine of twenty dol
lars imposed on young men for starting two
children CD that necessary" business, we
may rather wonder why that men managed
police court thought it necessary to impose
any fine at all on those nice young men. If
the social evil business Is a necessary" bust
nCss, then it il useful business, and If a use
ful business, then it is q right business.
Whatever is useful is right. Can this logic he
gaInsald, if it Is necessary, useful and right,
why will men howl at these unfortunate crea
lures for doing what men urge them to do
and believe is necessary should be done? The
grand jury is opposed to the present way of
dealing with these women, and say 1t Is ''op-
pressive and does no good" Oppressive, be-
cause only one sex is punished for what both
sexes do oppressive, for women are arrested,
imprisoned and fined, and their male part
ners are the very ones who drag them to jail,
and lock them in, and impose their lines.
Can anything be more monstrously mean
than this? Can anything more hldeously un-
just be conceived? The grand jury discoun-
tenanees this method, and proposes another
no whit less oppressive, and which will equal
ly fail to result in good. This other plan is
to drive the women back from the public
streets, set apart a certain locality tor them.
shut them up in that locality; and impose on
them-taxes. This plan takes no heed as to
what shall be done with the male portion of
our community which engages in this social
evil business Indeed, from this report one
might imagine men have nothing to do with
this evil, that only women are engaged In 1t.
Are our grand jurymen so innocent of knowl-
edge of human nature as not to know what
every boy and girl of twelve must know,
namely, that it takes the two sexes to make
this dreadfuly evil thing; that it is utterly
impossible for women, all by themselves,
to make a prostitute class, or to
keep it up by themselves, as it was
for "Dundreary S" bird to flock" in a fence
corner all by itself. We ask perm Ission to
PROFOUND few queries to the grand jurymen,
and hope they will answer through the AP
PEAL. Flrst-Whlch are the most numerous
in this city, the unchaste men or the unchaste
women? From male evidence 1t appears that
in this matter the number of ff1en largely pre-
dominates From the evidence of men we
may be justified in the supposition that there
are nine bad men to one bad woman. Is it
fair that these men should be left perfectly
free to pursue their evil ways, and the fewer
women should be ground to the earth under
the heels of the very men who associate with
them in vice? Is 1t fair, is it not absurd to
talk of this evil in which SO many more men
are engaged than women, as IT only females
were at fault? Is 1t not time men should
realize the fact that it takes two human be-
ings, male and female, to make prostitutes,
and that the one is as much
prostitute as the other, and
that it is crying injustice, grievous
wrong, to impose pains and penalties on the
one and not on the other? Up to the adj
vent of Christ, under the old Jewish law, I'M
chaste women were stoned to death, and their
male partners in vice were often their judges
and cxecutioners. Christ hated that uni ust
law, and in many ways showed his pity and
sympathy for the downtrodden Magdalen
and gave lesson to the world, teaching it
| that the two sexes should stand before the
! law on the same plane. When the Pharlsees
carried to him the woman taken in sin and
asked if he approved of stoning her to death,
| Christ commanded that only the innocent
man should cast stones at the shining wo-
man. Are the twelve jurymen in that sinless
| state? Can they lay their hands on their
| hearts and affirm before God that according
to this Christly test they fitted to cast stones
| at the SHINING women OF this city? Ii they
! cannot, by what right. human or divine, can
| they recommend that these women be-driven
Ito Ctroat ,oH
and taxed? If unchaste women are to be
taxed for unchastity, in Christ's name let the
| men also be taxed. 1t unchaste women
| are to be restricted to one spot
and an army of police set to guard and beat
back with clubs and slaves these unfortunate
! creatures, should they for a moment forget
that they have no more rights than DUMB
brute, and stray beyond these Enclosures; in
! Chrlst's name, let the men engaged IN the
same vices be subjected to the same treat
| ment. Does 1t ever occur to men to consider
| who are these women SO scorned and down.
| trodden? Whence come they? Who are
| their fathers, their mothers? Are they of
christian or heather lands, of different
| race, different color? No; these miserable
women are of our own race and kin and color.
They are born of christian parents, baptized
in our churches, taught in the Sunday schools,
they are christians IN faith, accepting the
doctrine of the atonement, believe In the exist
ence of hell chow can they help believing in
hell since they enter on its torments here on
earth y yet men have less feeling for them
than they have for dogs and horses, and
grand juries glibly advice that the State con-
stitution be changed so as to make 1t legal to
tread them deeper in the mlre of degradation.
Since men have so signaly failed in every
effort to abate or do away with the social
evil, beg to offer plan which | have great
hope will, if put In practice, knock the bot
tom out of the evil at one blow. l respect
fully submit this plan to the thought
full attention OF the mayor and city council,
as well as the grand Jurymen. This Is the
plan: In the hall of every house devoted to
the social evil business a woman shall be sta
tIoned-a woman of the cast iron sort, whose
age, piety and courage fit her for the position.
This woman shall have desk and a large
blank book, and shall record in the book the
full name of every male visitor, his age, busl-
ness, residence and condition IN life, whether
married or single, sick diseased, whether
a member of any church or not, and of what
church. These books must be the property
of the city, open to the inspection OF every
citizen. The cast-lron book-keeper must make
a monthly report OF the number OF said Wis
itors, giving the names thereof, which report
shall be published in the daily papers. Should
the mayor, city council and grand jury ap.
prove OF this plan and put 1T to trial, If it
does not knock the very bottom out OF the IL
centiousness that is corrupting the body
pOllUlc, the present writer mas dHOIucC plan
that is worthy of trial, for the present writer
has no faith in that necessary" doctrine pro-
pounded by the grand jury; on the contrary,
he believes With the advanced scientists,
philosophers and Psychologists, who deny the
necessity" plea, and hold that if men are
taught to govern their coarse animal pro-
pensities it is better for them; that indul
gence increases the power of the passions; that
self-government decreases, and self-govern
ment is the lesson men need to learn in this
matter, as in all others. Never will they
learn 1T as long as they arrogate the right
to punish, scorn and despise women, who are
no worse than themselves. FAIR PLAY.
state Rights.
EDITORS APPEAI-It is amusing to note
the interest the Ardlanche and most other
Republican journals begin to manifest about
the security of State rights. They seem to
fear that the Democratic party, always the
champion of the rights of the States, always
the stern opponent of Federal usurpation,
will abandon the former by insisting the
famous electoral commission of 1877 had the