The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-04-04
An ACT TO MITIGATE.
Public Meeting Held Yesterday
Afternoon.
SHOULD
REPEALED.
Citizens Present-Able
Addresses by the PeOpIe-Rev. II.
w. Peck States the Case-AttOrney
General for Defense-VOte Taken.

The open meeting in the hall of the
House of Representatives was we'll at
tended yesterday by class of men rep
resenting the law and order element in
Honolulu. The oject of the meeting was
the discussion of an act recently intro
duced by Representative Bond at the re-
quest of Rev. II. w. Peck, and entitled
AN Act to repeal an act entitled an
act to mitigate the evils of prostitution
in Honolulu
There were present Captain Trippe.
w. A. Bowen, Theo. Richards, T. G..
Thrum, Rev. Serene Bishop, Rev. J..
Leadingham, DR.. Hiram Bingham, A.
B. Loebenstein, James McInerny, Will
lie Love, David Dayton, w. C. Parke.
Adj. Pratt, J. B. Atherton, DR.. Rodgers.
Rev. c. NJ. Hyde, Rev. H. w. Peck,
Prof. w. D. Alexander, Rev. o. H. Gu
lick, W. W. Hall, DR.. Russell, DR.. My
ers, DR.. Smith U. S. S. Adams), Will
Prestige, w. J. Gallagher, Rev. T. d.
Garvin, F. w. Damon, Chaplain Cam
era and DR.. Andrews.
Among the representatives and Of
ficials were Attorney General Smith,
DR.. Monsarrat, Representative Rich
ards, E. G.. Winston, Robertson, Bond,
Hanuna, Kaeo and Rycroft.
The proceedings opened by Mr.. Peck
reading the act and expressing his
views upon the subject, denOuncing The
Act to Mitigate as something which
tended to aggraVate rather than lessen
the evils of prostitution. He quoted au
thorities on the subject and extracts
from a paper read by prominent at
tOrney, proving cOncluSively that the
Act to Mitigate does not mitigate pros
titution, but on the contrary, tends to
increase the evil.
The speaker asserted that there were
from five hundred to six hundred pros
titutes in Honolulu among the Hawaii
ans, while but forty were registered
under the act. There were sixty Jap
anese women registered, while there
were four hundred plying an illicit vO-
cation.
Minister Smith interrupted the speak
er to ask where he obtained his figures
Mr.. Peck-From J. D. McVeigh, of the
Board of Health.
Minister Smith-He knows nothing
about it; prostitutes are not in his de-
partment.
Rev. Peck-Just wait a moment and
l will tell you that he does.
Mr. Peck then detailed the infOrma-
tion he obtained from Mr.. McVeigh as
to the manner of bringing in japanese
prostitutes from Japan. To prove fur
ther that the Act to Mitigate was not
what it was represented, he showed.
according to the official reports, that
out of 107 registered prostitutes in the
city last week, but forty y-seven present
ed themselves for examination. Con-
tinuing, he said:
THE law is practically turning the
Queens Hospital into a lazaretto, or
free pest house for prostitutes. He
quoted several physicians as saying the
law was not effective unless men would
submit themselves to the same sanitary
treatment.
Rep. Robertson asked if the reverend
gentleman had considered what the re-
suit of the repeal of the Act would be.
Mr.. Peck said law was now ready
and had been presented to the Legisla-
ture. InlS law would prevent hackmen
from soliciting for women or procuring
women for men.
Rev. G. NJ. Hyde said he was not ia
miliar with the law until he saw ma
tive girl taken away from her home to
be registered. DR.. Hyde read extracts
from a book relating to a similar law
in force in France and England
Hiram Bingham wanted to be put on
record as being opposed to the law to
mitigate. He was interested in the
measure for the sake of the Gilbert
Islanders. He had lived among them
and looked after 1,500 of them who
were here as plantation hands and who
had heard of the Act to Mitigate and
looked upon it as something good. One
of these people was a registered pros
titute. Those Gilbert Islanders VINO
had gone back to their homes at the eX4
piratiOn of their contract told of the
law, and it had a bad effect upon fel
males there.
Prof. Theo. Richards opposed the
present law in a long speech, and asked
some one to speak in favor of it, so that
side of the case might be presented
He supposed the law was passed 10