The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-05-26

particularly fragrant offense forced
them TO momentarilly probe the depths.
London officialdom had gone on the
theory that a certain percentage of hui
manity must necessarily sink to this
degraded level. and was rather pround
that the refuse was concentrated in
one locality. But the Ripper murders
--frightful climax OF this neglect
were so CHASTITY in their nature and
persistent in their recurrence, that the
attention not only OF all London. but
of all the world was focused on the
neighborhood. and the authorities were
forced TO such action as ] have de-
scribed in previous letters. The num-
Der OF police were quadrupled down
there, and with such speed as was pos
sible the destruction of the old slum
environment was begun. Nearly every
one OF the old narrow streets on which
the murders were committed has been
torn out and widened. with both sides
built up in substantial and sanitary
artisans dwellings" TO take the place
of the old-time rookeries. and the lodg-
ing houses, hitherto permitted TO con-
duct their business as they pleased,
have been placed under strict regula-
tons. rigidly enforced. This has re-
suited in a one-sided reform. The &C
tual criminal classes-the thugs, high
way robbers, room thieves and like
persons-have been 10 a great extent
ways. Thus Whitechapel now is prob
ably freer from that manner Of offense
than the Fourth ward OF New York.
But. as is the case throughout London,
vice-as distinguished from crime-has
not been interfered with. No effort
has been made here or elsewhere in the
city TO drive depraved women from the
streets. The public houses are con-
Quoted in a way which would not be
tolerated for one moment in any
American city with which l am famil-
lar and, so far as | have been able 10
discover, modesty and virtue are un-
known qualities in Whitechapel.
WOMEN WITHOUT SAFEGUARDS.
Womanhood is without the safe
guards of either law or custom. a
woman anywhere in England gets lit
tie enough consideration; in White
chapel she gets none. She drinks quite
as freely as does the man, and attends
the public house as often and as regu-
larry. 1t is by no means uncommon to
find women predominating in the bar
room crowds down there, and the hard
working matron is quite as numerously
in evidence as is the woman of the
streets. Indeed. they rub shoulders
constantly, and this rubbing has so far
worn away the moral class distinction
that the mother of daughters who
drops into the pub" for social glass
Of bitter beer. taking her whole brood
with her, in no way resents the pres
ence of the frail sisterhood, nor OBJ
jects to her daughters observation OF
the miserable spectacle.
The result of all this was strangely
Illustrated the other day. On High
street. Oldgate, In the Whitechapel
district, is a cigar factory fianked by
public house / happened 10 be near
when the days work was ended, and
the fourteen girls employed in making
cigars passed out. Every one. without
exception, turned into the public house.
II was as much part or these hard
working girls lives to spend a portion
OF the day in this low saloon as it was
for them TO spend a part OF II at the,a
benches. A statement which my COM
panion made when I remarked the af-
fair with surprise, seemed TO me TO be
too dreadful TO be true.
"Of course they go 10 the public
house" he said, land of course they
drink as much there as they can pay
for The vile influence OF such place
is only one OF the vile influences which
surround them from the day OF their
birth 10 that of their death. 1t is prob
ably the worst OF them ALL and very
likely does more than anything else TO
make virtue almost unknown among
the young women OF the London
slums."
You do not mean to say that even
the working girls down here are IA
bitualiy depraved?" / exclaimed.
"Ouite so. I may be wrong, but /
will venture 20 state that there is not
one in that group of 14-and you just
saw them come from their work-who
would not sell herself without hesita-
ton for half sovereign. These people
have no home life as you know IL IN
America This is the region of the hor-
rible one-room crowding. They cannot
| possibly know what modesty means
| and the only thing that keeps them
| from the streets as "A trade is the fact
| that there are so many there already
| that they could not make living at IL
| / do not mean TO say that there are no
/ nure women down here-sometimes the
| yvhitest blossoms will spring from the
| most horrid Of corruption-but l do
| mean that virtue is actually the eNcep-
| ton, not the rule.
| This man knows Whitechapel and its
| residents thoroughly. lie has worked
| among them very earnestly for many
| years. and he is not likely TO be wrong
| IL is pleasant TO think that in no city
| in America could a similar statement
| be truthfully made Of the working girls
| in any neigborhood. So no matter how
| Tar London may be i'm advance OF New
| York and other centers Of American
population in the matter OF the sup
| preston Of crimes Of violence and Ike
/ offenses. she is dreadfully behind IN
her sexual morality. The two charac'
teristics which / have mentioned-tht