The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-04-04

drive women away from prostitution
through shame at having to register
themselves as prostitutes, but a woman
who will paint herself and sit At a
window and solicit trade, not by word
of mouth, but by her presence, was too
hardened to be affected by such a law
DR.. Rodgers said he was glad TO hear
the previous speaker say he knew
nothing about the shady side of Homo
lulu, for it was evident he did not. AS
an honest man and, he hoped, Christ
ian, he must say he was opposed TO the
repeal of the law. AS a resident in Ho-
nolulu for seventeen years, and as a
practicing physician for part of that
time, he knew of the benefits of the
Act. The previous speaker had made
the statement that these prostitutes
insinuate themselves upon the men;
they don't. The men run after the
women. DR.. Hyde's statements from
the English publication were irrelevant,
1t is folly to say that our law was mod
eled after the one he had read, because
ours was enacted five years before.
Prostitution is not legalized in Ho-
nolulu, nor does the Government say
that the Act to Mitigate reduces the
number of prostitutes, but it certainly
amelIorateS the evils which go hand in
hand with it. Women who make it a
business are to be known, and for that
reason are registered. They tell us that
to make the Act to Mitigate effective
its provisions should be inflicted upon
men. This would be impossible, because
men are not prostitutes.
A. 3. LoebenStein spoke against the
repeal of the Act, and pointed out
wherein the act was benefit to man
kind. He refuted the statement made
by Mr.. Peck to the effect that it was
not carried out in outer districts. He
said when the whalers were at Lahaina
years ago the law was enforced, but now
there was no necessity for it there.
Referring to the movement on the
part Of Mr.. Peck, he questioned if law
could be enacted that would kill the
lust which exists in the average man.
To get at the evil it was not enough
to trim the leaves; they must go deeper.
Let the spiritual members of the COM
munity look to their duties as preachers
and bring the morals of the Hawaiians
and the whites up to a standard
where lasciviousness would not be a
component part of the composition of
humanity. When that was done there
would be no occasion for an Act to
Mitigate; but until the clergy and the
workers in the Lords vineyard had &C
complished that which human kind had
been working for since the creation,
the Board of Health conld not do better
than enforce the provisions of the Act
to Mitigate.
At the request of Attorney General
Smith, David Dayton, who was here
when the Act was passed in 1860, and
who has served as President of the
Board of Health and District Judge
many years since then, answered a
number of questions put to him.
He deplored the attempt of portion
of the community to repeal law which
he had positive evidence had wrought
Nondrous beneficial changes in the san
itary condition of the prostitutes in Ho
nolulu. He would not say that it les
sened the number of women, but it did
improve their sanitary condition. In
Olden times he had found entire fam
lilies suffering, from venerial disease.
but the Act to Mitigate had stopped all
that. He did not think it possible that
there were as many prostitutes in Ho-
nOlulu as Mr.. Peck had stated.
Frank w. Damon spoke feelingly Of
the evils of prostitution and the effect
the women of this class in the crowded
part of the city had on the morals of
the young boys who are growing up in
Honolulu. He made an earnest appeal
to the Legislature to act upon the bill
promptly. The chart that had been
published in the Advertiser was like a
bomb shell to those of the community
who had lived in ignorance Of the con-
dition of affairs.
Mr.. Bowen, of Castle & Cooke, spoke
in favor of repeating the act, and ably
supported Mr.. Peck in his movement to-
ward reforming the city.
Dr. Andrews opposed the repeal of the
act quite as strongly as did w. 0.
Smith
The men who through their profess |
sion or as officials of the Government |
came oftenest in contact with this class
of women were loud in opposing any |
attempt to repeal an act which they |
knew had done much good.
At the close of the meeting, few |
minutes before 5 o'clock, a vote was
taken, which showed a large majority |
in favor of repeating the Act. The other |
bill, in which the hackmen are the spe-
cial target, will be considered in open |
today.