The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-27
FATHER OTIS WANTS
PUBLIC COOPERATION
WOULD FORCE VICE TO HIDE
ITS HEAD.
Movements and Whereabouts of
Fallen Women Matter of Mo-
ment to Those Who Would
Suppress Them by Law.
San ERANcIsco. oct. g. ISIS.

|
Editor of The Call-Dear Sir: A line would
| be sufficient to dispose of the communication
| published in to-day's Call from the writer VINO
| advocates the localization of the perpetrators
| of misdemeanor IL we considered it in itself.
| but for the sake of the question with which
| it deals we shall give it a little more atten-
| ton. In the first place we 1--we never Favored
| the diffusion of the evil under discussion we
4 have demanded, we had right to demand,
| Its extinction. Why, therefore, does the writer
| unjustly represent US as having declared our
| selves in favor of diffusing 1t? His own
| declaration that, IF, then, the example OF COO
! is to be followed" and we hope he does not
| think II a bad example, 1.-THE evil complained
! OF in this city should be stamped out On the
| spot where 1t has existed from time immemo-
rial" meets with our hearty approval. though
| we cannot say that we indorse his disapproVai
| OF the means employed by God in blotting out
the evil from Sodom and Gomorrah. II we had
consulted with him before writing that III -ad-
vised letter we might not have classed thieves
with fornicators and adulterers and the disso-
lutte Unfortunately st. Paul made the same
mistake and as we have familiarized ourselves
with his epstes we may be pardoned for ex-
pressing ourselves in similar way. we are
grateful for the information that there was but
temple in Jerusalem. but we did not think
Jerusalem embraced Samaria. and besides our
divine Lord would seem more uncharitable II
he had dashed the thieves out OF the temple
and there was no other temple for them to go
to. st. Matthew spoke of buying and selling
in the temple" II he had only used the word
precincts we doubtless would have copied
him, and our critic would not have had to men
He says IT refuse to believe that some of
the statements connected Herewith have come
OF assuring him that it is true some of these
statements did come from a clergyman and
he may no longer refuse to believe.
But Mr.. Editor. there are one or two state
ments in his letter that worthy OF serious
consideration. shall confine my remarks to
them. He says that he had incontrovertible
proofs that movement was on foot to remove
many OF the fallen women from that area and
dump them at our doors. 1 ask him in the
name OF the respectable citizens of the city of
San Francisco to furnish with ''incontro-
vertibIe proofs against the promoters of such
a scheme and I promise him that they Will
not be left free to attempt 1t again for some
time No one can lawfully engage in such a
traffic It is Illegal The Penal Code-sections
AIS and 416-makes it a misdemeanor, and 1t is
unlawful to locate impound misdemeanor.
Because it is unlawful and misdemeanor 1t
is the duty of every police officer of the State
and 1 may add of every good citizen-to en-
deavor to suppress 1t.
To 'impound'' that which is immoral and
unlawful-even if it could be done-would be to
naidens and say that our city fathers, our
local lawmakers, our local police officers. yea,
even our fathers and mothers. approved of the
vice, at least, In this limited way. But the
Legislature in its wisdom has made such a
thing impossible, and we are thankful that it
has. If We admit that ii is a necessity there
is no argument for the virtue or the morality
of man. Our monasteries our converts, our
colleges, very homes. would be but store
houses of shame. society would be a mockery
and man would be no better than the ordinary
brute: animal passion would dominate reason.
marriage would be q farce and Christ a
failure.
These women are free, and because they are
free they under no restraint except the
common law to which we are all subject. They
can go and come they please, they can live
as they please. they can do as they please, pro-
vided they do not violate the law. They are
not policemen, they are not soldiers, they are
way subject to the orders of our local legisla-
ture TO their abode. II you attempt to set
apart place for fallen women to carry on
their nefarious practices. II is but TO extend
an invitation to such women to come from all
parts of the State and elsewhere. not to abide,
but to make this place center from which
TO disseminate their immortality and to estab-
fish in our midst a veritable hell Of all that
is vile and destructive of the morals of the
city. We do. indeed, agree with the writer
when he says "the evil complained of in this
city should be stamped out on the spot where
1t has existed from time immemorial-"
others do and II the vice continues to exist, it
will not be because a public example is main
tanned in the city.
The second statement Mr. Editor that
strikes ne as noteworthy in our critics com
munication is that he states he knows that
fallen women are in the neighborhood of Pine
witness and declares that such is the fact.
They are there. Does the Chief of Police
to defy the law. Does the law not prohibit
the crime misdemeanor, IL you prefer? II
he does not know II where is ne! In either
case is he doing his duty? Again we declare
that the Chief of Police is responsible for their
presence. And we ask the press of the city
TO join with US in forcing him to act or In get
ting him replaced by Chief who will. He did
much when he was upheld by the sentiment of
the community and were grateful to him.
He seems to fear to act again Why, we do
not know. He has left to commence pro-
ceedings and we have been forced to gather
evidence that will secure conviction in court.
On last Monday an ordinance was introduced
to close these resorts Heretofore most OF the
virtue and have reason to think that
any one VIII be able to "cajole' or ''coerce'
them into receding from the position that they
nav ''Ne''' NJ OTIS c. S. P.