The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-07-17
POLITICS AND MORALS.
What the Garden City is Doing il
Each.
A Bad Showing Made for Chicago.
Political Topics
Correspondence SALT LAKE HERALD.l

CHICAGO, July u, 1880.
The political campaign has not yel
reached state OF activity that
promises to exhaust the partisans
before the summer solsiiee bts
waned. Neither party here seems to
be distressing itself about matters Of
organization. Noted as is Chicago,
according to our daily papers, az a
summer resort, every body who can
afford the time snd money will leave
town for a week or two in July or
August. and as t. csc getaways"
con prise a large proportion OF the
leading people in most public activi-
ties and enterprises, it is sale to say
that not much will be done daring
these TWO months, and thai little will
be merely spssmodic and unn-
fluentisl. Still the world has to move
or make point of it all the time
The Board of Trade men continue to
exercise their lungs 90 fercely as
ever; the daily papers have to appear
whether or no, and it is their business
to keep up an excitement, in startling
head lines and horrid topics, no
matter il the people are too ho. or
too lazy to move. It is sometimes
quite agonizing to witness the efforts
OF the city editors to create a sensa-
ton among their readers. The Times
of late has been vigilant in quest OF
rich and rare physical and moral
scents with which to regale its crowd
OF painting citizens. 1t possesses the
art too, of dealing with odorous
properties without using q disin-
fectant, snd manages that the
stencil shall lose pene OF its
richness by the stirring up operation.
Its descriptions of the filth of the
Chicago river were faithfully drawn,
and its characterization of General
Hancock's alleged physical peculiari-
ties we're artistically lucid. Its latest
presentation of one of Chicsgo's great
industries, however, has attracted
more attention perhaps than any
other Of It's recent sensations, since it
is regarded as an authority on the
subject.
On the 9th instant, the Times pub
lished remarkable editorial on the
questionable social relations of Chi
cage, starting out on the basis of
l, 200 "open prostitute" il the city,
or one to Every 400 inhabitants, OF
about one to every 60 or 20 of the
adult male population. Adding t.
this number OF vile women another
200 Of the same character, eali.
mated as living, not IN houses in
common, but 10 apartments by Ihem.
selves, a total OF 2,400 women of this
class is found, bringing the supply
20! Al least one OF these women to
so or 30 OF our adult population of
the stronger SEX"
Blu. even this is not the worst.
There is another class, "barlCts in
everything but the name, made up OF
women OF every grade OF society, and
who resort 10 prostitution from the
pressure OF an almost irconceivable
number of motives. These are ser.
wants, sewing girls. clerks, and others
of this grade who have an occupation,
and with whom harlotry is epizootic,
and who resort to it in the
main to increase their slender
earninge." Above this class 10
social standing, but Infinitely
below it in morals. is another which
is made up o! women who occupy
good positious in society, and who
have lovers apart from their own
husbands" ETC., etc. Both OF these
latter classes, the Times allows, "are
just as much prostitutes as the women
who have NJ co1ceslnent of their
position, and they are thrice as de-
graded and vastly more dangerous
and demoralizing to society,""
But it seems unnecessary to follow
the editorial in detail. 1t is sufficient
TO say that its final estimste makes
the number of lewd women in the
city lone to every ten or fifteen of
our adult male population. II this
population may be estimated at 100,-
600, and it is probably more than
this, the prostitute class would reach
from 1000 to 10000 souls. The Times
uoralizes on these results, OF course.
advocating q public registry of all
prostitutes, male and female, on the
principle that the extent of an evil
known and understood its ayailance
or suppression becomes less difficult
than when it is carried on in secret.
But the oracle fails to suggest any
plan for comprising its registry. which
evidently would involve greater labor
than taking the United States census.
Perhaps the eLterprisipg Times de-
tectives might undertake the job and
make q great success of it, as they
are repnted TO know the Sums end
pitfalls OF Chicago better even than
the regular police force.
/ observe that the Times rehashes
NV last letter 10 the HERALD in its
editorial columns, taking some ex-
ceptions to its language. But the
Times, aeide from sneering at all
parties and all politicians, invariably
wastes it's ammunition in fault find
ing. That it is thoroughly iudepend-
ent in politics cannot be doubted,
but ;ts editorial writers seem TO have
no comprehension of such a thing as
a constitutional principle. One of
its recent sage ideas was the discov-
ery that the governors OF eighteen
republican states could legally con-
yene their republican Legislatures,
who would have the legal right to
supoint the 1913 electors for president
to which those states are entitled.
| In making this announcement, the
editorial writer did not stop, l imag-
| inc. to consider the several constitu-
tions of these eighteen states,
many of which probably pre-
clude such an assumption OF power
on the part OF their legislatures, mol
| did he care to allude to the fact thai
such appointments made at this time
would be OF an &c poste .fdcto nature
|, or that they would violate the fun
damental principle of our govern
ment, and especially OF our presi'
} Dental eleclions-the neglect OF thu
majority to vote for their publi'
servants. Such considerations srl
matters OF small importance. doubt
lese, 10 the philosophers OF tue Times
but they are of some signi6 ,ance in
popular point of view.
The fraud issue" is destined t