The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-04-20

death OF Lawrence Barrett, "thc Well-kn0Wu
American actress, who ct s. years still appeared
young and pretty" It volunteers the informar
tion that an Barrett, her husband. served In the
war of secession a. an infantry captain"
THE RAID ON wHITEcHAPKL.
SEATTLE, April 10, 1891.
TO THI EDITOR: The public press announces
another raid upon the abandoned women Of
"whitechapeI' and "Blackchapel" After hav-
ing been allowed by the city authorities, includ-
ing the present administration. for many years
to collect In that region. under the promise that
their presence would Re tolerated so long a.
they contributed weekly or monthly share Of
their wages of sin and shame to help carry on
thriving and virtuous municipality shameful
agreement that was enforced with Shylock
severity by the city ofhcers-these creatures are
now given thirty minutes notice to leave their
steal or starve. No more cruel or cowardly act
has disgraced any page Of the city's history.
This was done by the orders of Mayor White,
who, with his habitual insincerity, places the
responsibility OF the act upon the police COM
mission. This mayor, among whose daily COM
vicious element whose lechery has made .
"Whitechapel'' possible, ordered this war upon
defenseless women; women bad as the worst OF
their sex, but no worse than the hundreds
OF confidence men, "sure-thing'' gam
blers, pimps. maqueros and vagrants
who swarm and tester in the
precincts surrounding this infamous
ordered any raid upon these men, who
are tenfold more dangerous to the welfare and
safety Of the city and its people? Not bit of it
Though not at to live, these men have their nat
ural rights and can defend them. In addition,
and what il more important to the mayor. they
also have votes, while the women have none.
This mayor was nominated by the influence and
elected by the votes cast in . body, without re-
gard to politics. Of the vicious element of the
city. OF course, hundreds Of the best citizens
also voted for him, but they did not then know
him a. they do now. The other element did
know him thoroughly. They knew that his
election meant for them unlimited and unre-
stricted gambling, prizefghting, immoral shows
and all the license and degradation of the worst
governed city in America. Nor were they disap-
pointed. The better element of the place, bur
dened with the cares of rebuilding the city,
scarcely realized the existence of the immoral
volcano south of Yesler avenue, but as one after
another of the brightest young business men of
the city followed each other into disgrace and
ruin, wrought in the gambling bells
OF that region, where their own and
their employers money in untold thousands
went into the rapacious nav of the gamblers
trust the good people began to awake, and
finally, when one unfortunate ssslugger' met
his death at the hands of another, an cutlery
arose and the demands for reform were so nu-
merous and imperative that the mayor and
police authorities felt impelled to action. The
result was that after forty-eight hours vigorous
and noisy preparation one or two small squads
of police were sent out to raid the gambling
dens, and the rest of the force engaged In q
roundup OF prostitutes. Strangely enough,
out OF over twenty gambling houses, In which
at least four times that number of sgames" had
been running, only five or six men were taken.
just enough to hoodwink the public into the
belief that the raid was bona fide. and that at
least the gambling trust" had not received
timely notice of the intended action of the po-
lice. There were enough women found to make
up the deficiency. They had either not been
warned of the impending danger or else had no
place OF refuge. for they were taken by the score
and herded like animals.
As was to be expected, and was intended,
many OF these women left the region where
they had congregated and scattered throughout
the city. The boarding houses. fats and resid-
ence parts OF the city became infested with
them and there was not sufficient law to protect
respectable people from having them for next
door neighbors. As one OF the police commits
sioners said: sThe law -and-order people want
whitechapel raided, and Wen give them enough
of it,"
1t is no apology for prostitution to say that no
city OF the size OF Seattle has ever closed it's
gates against it. What, then, may be expected
of a city where the unmarried male eleme MT
forms so large part of the population and where
morality is at such low ebb among the majority
OF these? How can even the most unsophisti-
Gated imagine that, where every active sin and
crime In the decalogue is unchecked, the seventh
precept alone can be rigidiy enforced? In
nearly or quite every city in Europe and in
many in the United States the "social evil" is
regulated strictly. and kept under police and
medical supervision, and 10 also licensed and
the wisdom of this course is unquestioned.
Here this cannot be done as the law and public
opinion are against it, but the women who lead
lives OF shame are usually obedient to the police
in all other matters. and, ii strictly and fairly
dealt with, will observe all outward forms of
respcctahiiity. soliciting" public indeeency
and profanity, robbery and pocket-picking can
be much easier repressed among them than
among the vicious male element of the same
part OF the city 1t is much better for the re-
spectacle part of the city that these women
should be assigned to some out-of-the way cor
ner and kept there under strict police regula.
tons than that they should be scattered
throughout the city, as was designed by the in
stigators OF these raids. In other words the
hands OF the gamblers are seen In this war mon
the prostitutes. Their object is a double one
revenge upon the respectable portion of the civ
Tor interfering with the gamblers in their rob
berry OF their victims, and, by attracting public
attention to the female denizens of white
and "Biack"-chapel to keep the eyes of the
public off their own misdoings.
The writer will always Join in all manly and
honest efforts for reform in the municipa,ity.
but he understands too well the aims and meth.
ods OF the gang who surround che mayoralty
to be tricked into approving the present shame
full acts of oppression n p.c,rv