The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1892-11-03

the pouer to send young men to the peniten-
tiafy fce the crime Of rape in cases where the
act upon which the crime ID based Is the re-
suit Of the plying the business of prostitute
in q house Of ill-fame. Inquiry Is to the
character Of the woman should be permitted
In case of rape under this statute wherein
the element of foreibie ravishment Is want
ing. l therefore suggest an amendment TO
the Law, 30 that in such cases il may be
shown, As . defense TO the action, that the
woman is prostitute"
These recommendations of the Governor
and Attorney General induced the State Sen
ate to adopt the following resolution:
"That in compliance with the recon-
mendation of the Governor, and in answer TO
the criticism of the Supreme Court, and for
the promotion of the morals of the people of
the State, the Committee on Judiciary is
hereby instructed to prepare and introduce
bill amending section 7IS7 of the General
Statutes of 1850, so as to secure punishment
to the guilty, and to protect the innocent"
The Senate Judiciary Committee reported
Senate Bill 3oo, that passed the Senate, as it
had passed the previous Senate, by a large
vote.
The object of the amendment tina, twice
passed the Senate was to prevent girl who
was VIGOROUSLY common prostitute from
sending boy sixteen years old to the peni-
Tertiary for from five to ,weniy-one years. by
allowing the boy to prove the fact that she
was common prostitute, or tina, she was no,
a girl Of good repute, for, as the law then
and now stands, girl of this character can
as prosecuting witness send 4 boy to the pen
itentiary from Doniphan county, then ply her
vocation in Atchison, Marshall, Leavenworth,
wyandotte, johnson, Miami, Liun, Bourbon.
Crawford and Cherokee lin fact every county
in the State j and convict boys from all these
and yet the fact that she had SO
acted in the other counties would not be
defense in the last one. Such an outrage
ought not to be permitted under the sanction
IF law in any civilized community in the
world.
II the amendment had become a part Of
he Law, the innocent young girl would he
protected, and the young boy who had yielded
8 the "incouieibly wicked and depraved"
roung girl would be protected. The amend
nent recognized the fundamental fact that
here were few bad girls, and many bad
,oys. The protection afforded the young
Roy by the amendment was found in the
privilege given him to show that the girl was
lot Of good repute, and thus destroy the nc
ion of the law that she had not consented.
The girl who sends boy to the peni,eniilry
or twenty one years for single act Of inter
,ourse, should at leas, have some reputation
or chastity and virtue, or else the sons Of
very good mother in the State are at the
mercy Of a girl who sells her body for n
mall amount of lucre.
As to the unjust operation of the present
aw, we are not left to inference or conjecture.
rhe Rev. William b. Poinsett, Chaplain Of
he Kansas State penitentiary, a Methodist
preacher Of age and experience, called the
attention of the Legislature to its injurious
operation both by newspaper articles and in
! communication addressed to a member Of
hat body. lie says in substance that
al would like to know what the outlook is
or something to be done with the law known
Is the age of consent law. In my humble
Judgment It is a great outrage as il now
'iands on our statute book. Protection is all