The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-01-26
KILL TRUTH OUT
OF VICE REPORT
W. C. 7. US Committee Hood
Winked to Suppress Facts.
BOYS IN VICTORIA ALLEY
MAYOR THOMPSON SAYS HE Is
HoBBLED AND CROSS HoBBLED.
~ UPPREssIoN in the vi. c. 7. U.'s

c IMPRESSION in the W. c. T. Us
vice committees report of the fact
that youths and mere boys were.
I'D until the recent expose was made.
allowed TO visit Victoria alley has
raised a discussion as TO why the truth
was not told by the Investigating COM
mittee. 1t developed yesterday that
only one member of the committee ac-
tually made a personal investigation
of the conditions in the alley. and that
he had reported TO the committee that
boys had been spending much OF their
time in the alley.
The member who made the personal
investigation is the Rev. p. A SimD-
kim but in spite Of what he told the
committee, the facts he had learned
were not set forth in the report. Not
only was such the case, but the report
CLOSED over the truth and gave an i'm
preston exactly contrary TO the facts.
Publication by The Herald of the
fact that boys were allowed in the
alley and sometimes were said to visit
the dens, together with detailed proof
of the startling Assertions, was what
originally led to the appointment of
the investigating committee by the w
c. T. L The committee started out TO
investigate for itself the conditions
which were set forth in The Herald.
Instead of investigating, however, the
committee, as a whole. left that dis
hagreeabIe part of the work. in so far as
it pertained to the Victoria alley re-
sorts, to the Rev. Mr.. SimDkin-
Protested in Vain
When the committee met to act on
the data gathered for its consideration
il found that a report had been pre-
pared for its members to sign This
document was written by John E Han
sen, city editor of the Deseret News. a
paper which has persistently tried 10
minimize the viciousness of conditions
existing in Victoria alley. notWith-
standing the proof which has been ac-
cumulated. Mr.. Simpkin. who had
made the only personal investiga ton
and who had learned for himself the
truth of the facts presented BY The
Herald with reference TO the presence
of boys in the alley and resorts, was
| listened to. but found it impossible to
have the result of his investigation in
! cluded in the report. The report was
modified somewhat in another Dartle-
ular, and Mr.. Simpkin was induced TO
sign it as a compromise
The truth as to the suppression Of
the real facts of the case was learned
by The Herald yesterday when inquiry
was made as to why a false impression
had been given out The following
statements by members of the vice
committee win sufficiently explain:
Learned Appalling Truth.
Rev P. A Simpkin-I investigated
the conditions in Victoria, alley and
found that what had been printed in
| The Herald with regard to the presence
of boys in the alley was the truth The
lads were habituaIly frequenting the
! alley. An. officer with whom I spoke
told me that one of the women pro-
prietors of a resort had admitted to
him that boys visited her house. There
were youths Of tender years becoming
/ habituated to the shocking scenes of
vice. I told this to the committee, one
/ OF the members of which had prepared
a written report 1 protested against
| accepting this report, but after IL was
| discussed for some time it was mOdi-
| fed in one or two Objectionable fea-
lures, and one assertion TO which !
particularly objected was stricken out
so it was finally signed. I also OBJ
| jected to criticising the city admins
tration
How Facts Were Side-tracked.
Rev c. T Brown-With the excep-