The San Francisco call., 1899-04-01
MOral Corruption Allowed to
Flourish Unchecked.
No Effort Made to Suppress the Vicious
Exhibitions of the Infamous "Phono-
graph Parlors.'

= AN FRANCISCO's dens for the
moral corruption of men, women
and children at the rate of cents
per lesson per head remained open
yesterday and undisturbed. Chief Lees
read the story Of the indecent and out
rageous exhibitions given at the pho
nograph parlOrs" strung along Market
and kearny streets, as published in The
Call: referred the matter to Captain
Spillane for investigation, and then COM
posed himself comfortably in his Office
chair to await developments. Captain
Spillane, evidently more dutiful to his
superior than to the people of San Fran
cisco, retired to his office below, ana VIII
In his own good time put an officer on
this special detail
Meanwhile the nickels may continue to
drop into the obscene mutuScopCs' t!le II
bald photographs and the leNu VIA
scope; these instruments oI mora ue5 ue7
barcherv NAV continue to click ana
whiTr. and the gr0ssest depraVlly may
continue to be disseminated among Bulle-
less and innocent scnool cnlluIeh' as "elL
as among men and women. ,..
There are numerous ana compIenenslNe
ordinances which make sucn eNnoltlons
as were described in The can OF yesler-
dav public offenses and punishable by
fine and Imprisonment or by both. Some
of these are herewith given:
It shall be unlawful for any person
in the city and county of San Fran
cisco to engage in or be a party to any
lewd or obscene or indecent act or be-
havior. Any person violating any of
the provisions of this order shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and,
on conviction thereof, shall be pun
ished by a fine not to exceed $500, or
by imprisonment in the County Jail
for not more than six months.
1t shall be unlawful for any person
to exhibit or display in any public
place any emblem, transparency, rep
resentation, motto, language, device,
instrument or thing, which is injuri-
Gus to public morals, or which is con-
trary to public decency. It shall be
unlawful for any person to commit
any act which act openly outrages de-
cency or is injurious to public morals.
No person shall offer for sale, ex-
hibit, pass, give or deliver to another
any obscene, lewd or indecent book,
pamphlet, picture, card, print, paper,
writing, mold, cast or figure, or have
the same in his or her possession un-
less it is shown that the possession is
innocent or for a lawful purpose.
No person shall exhibit any indie
cent, immoral or lewd play or other
representation.
Any person violating any of the
provisions of this order shall be
deemed guilty of misdemeanor and
be punished by a fine not exceeding
$1,000, or imprisonment not exceed
ing six months, or by both such fine
and Imprisonment.
No more marked exhibition of SUI
pineness, if it prove to be nothing worse
has ever been given by the police au-
thorities of this city than in this instance
and Of recent years the history of the de-
partment is far from barren of such rec
ords When the attention Of Chief OF
Police Lees was drawn to the publication
of The Call he inquired into the details
of the character of the things. exhibited
and his moral sensibiliues were appar-
emily so shocked that he declared that a
man who would be party to such an
outrage should be sent to prison for the
term of his natural life. On being asked
If he had taken any action to bring the
offenders to justice or to put a stop tC
the nefarious practice, he stated that the