The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-01-07
AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THIS cont
MISSION.

MlSSAONs
The change made yesterday in the per>
sonnet Of the police commission Whereby
in accordance with election results, Mr..
John Hahn retired and Mr., c " stone
took his place. will not. we are certain.
anoct to any appreciable extent The work
and aims II that hody. It's labors in the
present year viii be arduous and i viii
have to take up and dispose Of many
matters that have net before rome under
It's immediate notice. Looking TO the
mast record Of the commission and its
persistent stand in defense OF the public
welfare and public morality the people
Of Astoria need have no fear that It viii
shrink frou. its duties in the future or
fail TO act UP 10 its customary course.
Some months ago Mr.. e T. Ferguson,
Of This city. erected on Bond street, 4
well built residence. During the course
OF It's construction 1t VAS rumored that
the place was bcing built for and would
he occupied by notorious women coming
from & lower part OF the city. In the
middle Of the agitation brought about
by these rumors. Mr. Ferguson stated
emphatically TO the police, to members
Of the city council, to the Astorian. and
to dozens OF private citizens that the ru-
NOR was a base lie. With no foundation
in fact. The house was completed, and.
before the plaster was dry, was occupied
and furnished by prostitutes for whom.
in spite Of his oath-bound protestations
to the contrary. Mr.. Ferguson had built
It.
From that time to this the police COM
m~issioners have kept a special officer in
front of the house demanding and re-
ceiving the name OF every visitor TO the
place, a system OF espionage which they
will no doubt continue to keep up, and in
which course they will have the hacking
OF every respectable citizen in the COM
munity.
The house. situated as i Is on a street
that has up TO the present not been con-
taminated with such vile tenants, is at
once a menace to public welfare ana a
detraction from the value OF private
property in the vicinity. The eastern
part of Astor street has by common con-
sent been closed for years against use
by honest women, and has long been rec
ognized as hopelessly given over to the
1nNuar strata ~ GrnfnrV- r~hFa pauF Anrusa
on Bono street. the only avenue hun
dreds Of people have for reaching the
business part OF the city, and a thor
oughfare largely used by school girls
and young boys Is a communicating and
shameful innovation that should be
swiftly broken up.
The fact that the woman who poses
as the ostensible manager Of this house
was known prior 10 its occupancy to be
totally without means, n that since
costly and rich furniture to The value
Of several thousand dollars has been pu,
into the place, together with the surpris-
ing disclosures as 10 the quality and So
cial position OF its frequenters las shown
by the record Of the police s~urvelllance)
all give color to the charge freely and
openly made on every side that the place
is being supported and maintained by Z
class who assume to possess sufficient
influence or pull 10 keep It in operation
in spite Of any protest OF respectable peo-
pie residing in the neighborhood and pub
lie sentiment which is being aroused
all over the city against II.
1t remains to be seen whether half a
dozen or a dozen members Of the commu-
nifty, however high their position in the
social" scale, can thus bid defiance "a
common decency and the opinions Of re-
spectacle people. But the Astorian con.
fidently predicts that the police commits
sion, backed as it is by an Overwhelming
weight OF public sentiment, will prove big
enough II strong enough to deal with
the insult to its official rectitu lie implied
in the brazen pretensions of the arrogant
clique for whose especial ard exclusive
benefit this foul blot appears 10 havt
been created and established, and that
the public shame and disgrace thus put
upon the name and fame Of the who'll
community will be speedily and effective.
ly wiped out.