Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-01

each of these houses is located and who is
its keeper. There are 25S of them scattered
all over the old city proper, the, East End
and the Southside. The First ward is
largely inhabited by these women.
Large Sums of Money Involved.
The finer establishments of the city are
up on the hill, while scattered over the
other two districts are places of great
variety. These establishments, roughly
estimated by the police, are valued
as whole at 100000. Many
of the keepers of these resorts own their
own houses, and from them the greatest
wall is heard They think their properties
will be DEPRECATED in value. The Public
Safety officials, by reference to their "Blue
Book" estimate the number of women
thrown on ministerial charity at about
l,200
The agitation which eliminated in Mayor
Gourley's request originated early in the
past summer. Police Superintendent
O'Mara, in his annual report for 1891, in
serted an exhaustive essay on the condition
of the social eviiin this city. He told how
il was governed bv the police department,
and the necessity for allowing disorderly
houses to exist, registered and recorded as
such, rather than to compel the class of
women who occupy. them to live every
where in the city under the cloak of re-
spectabllity. Mr.. O'Mara had published
the Information in a previous report
but it was not circulated extensively. Last
june when the report for 1891 was issued,
he sent marked copies o: it to RevS Done
hoo, McCrory, Sheedy and other local min-
listers, who had within a year discussed GER
tain phases of the evil from their pulpits.
Copies were also sent to. Rev. DR.. Park
hurst, OF New York, as well as the Mayors
and Police Superintendents of all the large
cities.
The Birthplace of Yesterdays Order.
A few of the local ministers took the
question up and vigorously combatted Mr..
O'Mara's carefully prepared arguments.
Gradually from that time forward it was
sgitated in various ways and phases. Com
paratively few people had an iGea of the
extent OF the evil in this city until the agi-
tatlon caused it TO be investigated, so care
fully had it been restricted and held
in check by the system inaugurated
by Chief Brown. But when Mayor
Gourley investigated it and stated
the conditions as they existed it opened
the eyes of MANY. At about this time the
raid on Mrs. Sherry's speak-easy on Second
avenue occurred. The alleged injustice of
sending her to the workhouse for selling
liquor, when next door another woman sold
liquor and kept dIsorderly house as we'll,
increased the agitation to the boiling point
and enlisted many in the cause who would
not otherwise have given it consideration.
The warfare of Father Sheedy, assisted by
a daily newspaper at this time kept it boil
ing until the q. P. Ministerial Association
took it up and forced the issue.
The Only Alternative Left Him.
Mayor Gourley SAYS he had no alterna-
tive left but to do as he did yesterday. 81
did not make the law" said he, land had
properly nothing to do with enforcing it.
1t had not been enforced before came into
the Office, but the management of the evil
seemed to me better than an attempt to sup
press it entirely. did not wish to inter-
fere with the operations of the police de-
partment even after the issue was forced
until those on whom the responsibility
rested shifted it on to me. 1t was
heralded abroad that 1t must
issue the order that would stop illegal
liquor selling in these houses, yet the law
is such that it was and is the duty not only
of the head but of every member of the
police force to arrest every such seller.
When finally compelled to order that crime
stopped, 1 did it, though knowing it was
properly the duty of others who had taken
the same oath as had. In my communi- |
cation to~Mr. Brown to-day 1 made |
no imperative order. L simply re-
ouested him to have this law enforced
the same as all others. did expect it to
be done in q day or week, but Mr.. O'Mara |
has said it must be done in 48 hours. He
knows more about it than L 1 am glad to |
see Mr.. Brown has fallen in with my views |
on the subject and 1 hope that hereafter |
there will be no cause for complaint What |
the ministers intend to do for the unfortu-
naIe women l am not prepared to say, but
after all that has passed they should GER
tainly do something"