St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-02-16
Earnest Men and Women EX-
plain the Need Of Such
a Law.
ALL WILL TAKE PART TODAY
In the Associated Charities
Meeting at the CONNER
cial Club.

| the "age of consent In this state 10
eighteen years. Nearly fifty matronS
| and several Well-knoWn gentlemen
were present when Mrs. w. r. Man
| digo took the chair. The secretary
was Mrs. F. P. Kimball.
Rev. David Morgan was intro
| duced, and assured the ladies that
he was on "the committee of forty
to see that the moral interests of st.
Paul were not neglected. Before re-
| ferring to the age of consent, he de-
| sired to call attention to an amend
ment to the new charter law soon to
be adopted by the legislature for the
government of this and other cities.
| The amendment had been accepted
| by the judiciary committee having
the matter in charge, and provides
for the licensing of houses of prosti-
| tuition. The moral sentiment of both
st. Paul and Minneapolis should put
a stop to this crime against God and
| the home France is now on the
verge of ruin from the operation of
a similar law. Missionaries from
Paris had informed him that recent
| enactmentS of the French govern
ment to encourage marriage and
large families were rendered neces
sary simply by the existence of the
| licensing system, which effectually
blasted the homes of France. Cen
| tlemen had told him lately that
prostitution was a necessary evil
which this city practically licenses
now. This was not the case. He ad-
vised the ladies to appeal to the COM
mittee of forty that this
UBIQUITOUS LICENSING
system might not be adopted; to lay
| the matter personally before the jul
dietary committee, and to prepare
written protest.
/ Mesdames F. P. Kimball, Don
nelly, Farnsworth, Soule and Miss
E. S. Bartholomew were accordingly
appointed to prepare protest in the
name Of the ladies of the city.
A letter from Archbishop Ireland
was read, stating that he was by no
means well, and was quite unable to
attend public meeting. His most
! fervent prayers, however, went forth
for the success of the movement
named Rev. DR.. S. G. Smith wrote
that the associated charities had
! called a meeting for the same pur-
pose to take place this afternoon at
the Commercial club, and he sug-
| gested that the ladies combine with
| +
cessful.
Judge James o. Pierce, of Mime
| apolis, described the vigorous meas
ures already adopted in his own city
| to secure the raising of the age of
| consent. An influential legislative
committee had been appointed, and
petitions prepared for presentation
to both the legislature and the fam
lilies of the legislators. Four years
ago the age Of consent in Wyoming
had been raised to eighteen, and the
| Judge read several letters from men,
bers of the judiciary in that state,
which showed that the effect of the
law had been most beneficial; and
that, especially, it had in no wise
operated, as many honest men here
contended it would, to encourage
the Matchmaking of men by vicious
young women who were not over
eighteen In one of the letters Judge
Jesse Scott advocated some protec-
ton of boys under sixteen.
Mrs. H. G. Clark, of Minneapolis,
chairman of the committee on social
purity of the W. G.. T. u, pointed
out that the proposed law was even
milder than the present law, in that
it reduced the punishment, in GER
tain cases, when the offender was
under sixteen. 1t was impossible to
punish the girl also for this offense,
for she then would be unable to tes-
tify without discriminating herself.
Girls should be taught what "age of
consent means. The matter was
fully explained in the January num-
Der of the Arena. Mrs. Clark de-
MED the frequent assertion that the
BOYS OF OUR HOMES
are seduced by the servant girls.
On the contrary, if boys were only
taught to respect the servant girls
as much as they did their neighbours
daughters, fewer servant girls would
lose their virtue.
A vehement address followed from
Rev. S. w. Sample, also of Mime
apolis. He urged the passage of the
new law, not as matter of religion,
Of Iii fn yiT,1 h11t
matter of simple justice to both the
boy and girl. The best way to con-
vince the legislature of the necessity
for the change would be to introduce
a bill lowering the age at which a
girl can dispose Of her property, Or
of her hand in marriage, from eigh-
teen to sixteen years. This would
show the rottenness of the OPPOSE
ton to the new law. In such cases,
it would be claimed, no doubt, that
a girl of sixteen is too ignorant of the
world to dispose of an acre of land,
but she is quite enough experienced
to dispose of her virtue and her char
acter. Responsibility for this sort of
crime should be fastened on the man
and not on the woman, who is suffi-
GENTLY punished by public senti-
ment. Besides, assaulters of female
virtue are generally diseased, ac-
cording to the authority Of medical
men, and serious additional danger
is to be guarded against. Mr.. Sam
pie closed with several pitiful narra-
tives of girls reduced to immortality
by pinching poverty.
Mrs. D. c. Reed and Mrs. SickJes
added a few words, and, on motion
of Judge Pierce, it was decided that
the ladies would all meet this after
noon at Ford's hall at 80, to attend
in body the Commercial club meet
ing, which begins at o'clock.
Previous to adjournment the fol-
lowing ladies were appointed as a
legislative committee to cooperate
with the Minneapolis committee: