St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-04

the straight-laced people, who look upon
the social evil as something which
should not be tolerated for an instant,
feel satisfied that the present Godlike
administration is dead cold failure
At the regular meeting of the Presby-
terrain ministers held yesterday, the
Rev. ID. b. Wells took a whirl at the
now popular subject of municipal re-
form. The paper read by Mr.. Wells was
perhaps not exactly what Mayor Babb
and Superintendent Of Police Bracket
ilked. but it apparently met the views
OF the gentlemen present. In speaking
on 1.-THE social evil.' he said:
ut is we'll understood that houses of
designation exist in various parts of the
city in spite of the alleged ''cOrralling
the social evil" and that only spas
modic efforts for their suppression are
made. 1t should be added here, that
the statutes of the state prohibit houses
of i'll fame us positively as our city Or
dinances; the penalty, indeed, of keep
ing a house of asSignation, being
sentence to state prison. Hence our ap-
peals for enforcement of law relative TO
this gigantic sin may well be made to
the grand juries and to our state officers
as well as to local authorities. The Off
GERS appointed to execute theordinances
of the city assume that the social
evil, by their policy, is, for the most
part, cOrralled and confined in that part
OF the city. This same policy of vir-
tually licensing the social evil has been
in operation tor about eight years, eX-
cept, perhaps. for short time after the
police commission came into existence.
1t Is said to have been more fully SyS-
tematized in the last six months. 1t
practically allies the city with this ac-
cursed, most destructive and infamous
violation OF the law of God. The city
treasury receives from this satanic traffic
in human vice about $4,000 a year as
Its share Of the profits. This fact was
learned by an examination of the rec
OrdS of the clerks of the municipal court
for the past four months. This record
shows that there are from Is to 20 scarlet
women whose houses are registered as
DaWdy houses. their street and number
being given, and the number of inmates
In each house, the total number of those
who habitually sell themselves, soul
and body" as victims to human lust in
these houses is from fifty to eighty per
month. AS will appear, in return for
the payment of monthly fine, or
license, as above stated, the keepers and
inmates of these houses OF i'll fame are
virtually assured that they will be or
dnarily shielded from all official in
trusion. Hence the social evil Is indi-
rectly fostered and encouraged instead
OF being restricted, as is claimed, for
now men of whatever social standing,
who frequent such houses. are relieved
from the peril of public exposure.
He also says: "The publication, mail
ing and selling OF daily newspapers on
Sunday is one of the most widespread
and demOraliZing evils in our city, as
affecting municipal morals, whether the
Sabbath be regarded as day of relig-
lous or of moral culture. The whole
practice is in open contempt for the
state law. The effect upon the pub
fishers, news agents, carriers and press
men is dem0ralizing. There is no good
reason why this form of violation of
Sunday law should be practiced with
impunity, or why this form of business
should be tolerated or sanctioned, when
most other branches of business are suS-
pended. in obedience to human and
Divine law"
In speaking uf,the closing of saloons
on Sunday. he has this to say about the
police: due credit should be given
Tor what has been accomplished in this
direction. Yet it is asserted by those
who have investigated the matter, that
the central, sO-caIled heightened saloons
are accessible in back rooms more or
less every Sunday. If this be true, and
If 1t be owing to the corruption of some
OF the police officers, then it behooves
the police commission to place in such
districts officers who cannot be bribed
in this manner"
He bemoans the fact that "under the
state law. in the absence of any city
ordinance, Sunday theaters, which are
a vast source of injury to municipal
morals, can and should be suppressed.
The infamous pictures of theatrical per-
formances on week days, if truthful
representations, indicate that such
sources of public decentralization on
week days, much more on Sundays,
should be suppressed by the strong arm
OF municipal authority"