Omaha daily bee., 1889-06-10
HOW TO ABATE NUISANCES.
A Lincoln Lawyer Quotes Some
Law on the Subject.
K. p. MEMORIAL DAY AT cusHMAN
The willard w. G. T. U. and Flower
Mission Day - Travelling Mems
Outing-Old Settlers Picnic
commencement Exercises.
LINCOLN BUREAU OF tbs OuAdA Bss,
1929 L STREEr.

LINcoLN, June Q. ! -
"The social evil is hard subject to man
age" said well posted Lincoln lawyer to
THE BEE bureau to-day. Mayor Sawyer
studied it, in fact he gave it more thought
than all the other affairs of the city beside.
He theorized, however, and shot very far Oft
the mark. During tho whole OF his admin
istration this evil continued to grow and
most luxuriantly thrive right under his very
nose do not care to discuss this subject
myself, as have no theories to advance.
But even preachers might be brought TO ad-
nit that there are degrees of degradation
ana all will say that the line of absolute OBJ
liberation and prohibition should be drawn
somewhere. For years dive near the cor
ner of Eighth aud u has continued to exist,
with no molestation from the authorities
save when some dastardly outrage was COM
mitted. If the keeper or any of his con-
ferees went out on the street aud dragged in
q helpless victim by the hair, possibly
enough noise would develop to attract the at
tention of tho police, and the den would be
pulled. But the police know, the mayor
knows, everybody knows that this vile den
is in one of the most prominent places in the
city; that it has become q stencil in the nos
trils of everyone who passes up p street into
the city from the Burlington depot that it
is absolutely the lowest, most degraded and
loathsome den in the city, and that it shoul
be absolutely wiped from the face of the
GARTH Why isn't it done: The city papers
lament its existence and hold up their hands
in holy horror because there is no way to
suppress the festive Adam. Let us see
Section 2lO of the criminal code reads as
follows:
"'Section 2lO. Every house or building
situated in this state, used and occupied as a
house of ill.fame, or for the purpose of pros
tituton shall be held and deemed public
nuisance: and any person owning, or having
the control of. as guardian, lessee, or other
wise, such house or building, and knowingly
leasing or sub-letting the same in whole or
part for the purpose of keeping therein a
house of ill-fume, knowingly or permitting
the same to be used or occupied for such
purpose, or using or occupying the same for
| such purpose, shall, for every such ofense,
| be fined in any sum not exceeding 800 or i'm
| prisonment not less than thirty days nor
| more than six months, or both at the discre-
| tion of the court,
at can hardly be said in view of this
| statute, that there is no way to suppress
| them 1t is a well known fact that these
| promises are used for this and other i'm
| moral purposes; that gambling of the lowest
| and most disreputable character is nightly
practiced; that the poor dupes who enter are
| are drugged and robbed, IN fact that every
thing that is vile and low, and mean and
grovelling is openly practiced therein. The
| police, the mayor, the general public, as we'll
as the owner and agent of the premises
| know it fully well. If the city
attorney does not know it
some one should take the trouble to inform
him, and an action should be commenced i'm
mediately against the owner of these prem.
| iseS under the above statute.
''If this Is done and this disreputable dive
| closed, such scenes as occurred the other
night, when poor drunken Sadie Harper was
| dragged in and outraged by three negro
brutes, would never occur again, at least, not
on one of our most public streets. True, she
| was prostitute, but even prostitutes have
some rights which the public and the au-
thorities are bound to respect. Then her
| little tcn-year old girl, who yet is pure and
innocent, would not be subject to such con-
| tamination.
"lt is true" continued this lawyer, ''that
| the city attorney, the mayor, the marshal
and the entire police force should wake up to
the fact that this den has had its day and
should CO."