The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1883-02-27
s1N-STR1CKEN WOMEN.
Is it Unborn "Cussedness" That
Leads Young Women Astray,
or L. It q Lack Of Proper
Mental Education.
Chicago Herald.

X0cre are lew cltiZen6 OF N0lcdSC
who have not ponderedvsry seriously OF
late over the strangely frequent disap-
pearance Of young girls from their
homes. Men ask themselves what it
all means. Is there ANYTHING, can
there be anything, il the theory some.
times put forward that horrors take ali
epidemic form? A Herald man had
been trying tor DAYS to find some solu-
ton of the mystery. He could arrive
at none. Think Of it as intensely as
he would. he was baffied everywhere.
aud finally. abandoning all idea of be-
ing able to come to any definite con-
clusion, he resolved to call in help.
Two heads are better than one" was
the original reflection. and he would
take an older and q wiser one than bis
own into his counse,s. But who could
throw light on the subject? He re-
membered something said to him
about cognate matter not long ago
by a philanthroric and rejecting lady.
1t was, when q woman makes up her
mind to be bad, che will be, and moth.
ing will stop her." doubtless this was
true, but it did net explain much, and
if the lady were asked for an opinion
again it was ten to one that she would
not saw anything more explicit.
Women rarely help one to analyze /;
their perceptions are keen, their SYM
pathies are tender. and they 60 plump
to conclusion that in nine out Of ten
cases will be found correct; but they
seldom can explain how they reach it.
Partly for this reason, and partly be-
cause of the extremely delicate nature
of the subject, the reporter decided to
apply to one Of his OVID sex. Here he
found himself confronted with another
difficulty, for WIS he not himself an
example of the ignorance of bis sex!
However, he made up his mind to do
something, and as it occurred to him
chat the police might help him, he de-
cided that he would talk to some ex-
perienoed detective.
1t was easy to carry cut this deter
miuation, and 90 but short time had
elapsed before he found himself in the
company of one of the best posted
men in the city, of whom he asked:
"What is the meaning Of all this
scandal in every walk of life? Why
have so many girls gone wrong
lately
The detective looked at him closely,
and then he answered, much as the
lady alluded 70 had done, but de.
cidedly more forcibly, 'Cussedness!"
mo, that won't do. 'Cussedness'
is all very we'll, but why is there so
much of il Just nowf'
Don't know unless it's the comet.
''But isn't it singular that there
should be So much voluntary wrong
doing by girls whose training would
lead one to expect nothing but good
from them?"
1T is, but how can explain it 1t
is not like the smallpox or the ty-
phoid fever. You can find out their
causes and remove them, but this is
2 case of human nature, and / don't
profess to be able to explain Why a
man or woman does this or that
thing"
Fl thought that your experience
might have enabled you to. come to
some general conclusions"
mo. Ideal with what | find,
and have no time to trace motives.
/ will tell you something, though.
There was . case reported in your
paper few days ago. One of your
men found girl up in Wisconsin who
said she WAS seduced and taken there,
and she talked very nicely to him
about her grief and her desire to come
back home. Well, some one worked
IN the case here-hunted up the
girls parents. and wrote up the story
and then there was an end of it.
Now, do you know what the end Of
that case was?"
"Yes her father brought her home,
and che was sent to the home of the
Good Shepherd"
That's right; now viii 60 on.
That girl. young as she was, couldn't
be controlled. She has given her
folks no end OF trOuble-no end of it.
There was something about her, /
don't remember just what, but some
thing of The same sort, quite while
ago. DO YOU suppose her father would
have had her sent to the House of the
Good Shepherd if there had been any
chance to reclaim her at home? No
sir. Now. that's what / mean by
cussedness."
Evidently there was no help to be
had in that quarter, and so the repor-
ter felt constrained to abandon the
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