Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-03-13
NAY ND|CI MAYOR
The Reform Movement Started
In Dubuque Reaches an In
teresting Stage
CITY is DECLARED IMMORAL
Archbishop keene and the Ministers
of all the Churches Conducting a
Crusade Against the Dives and Other
Resorts-Threaten to Indiet Mayor
Berg.

for me that I do not care a continent
tai for the threats of these so-called
reformers to secure any Indictment by
the next grand jury for c~ountenanc-
ing housese of i'll repute in the city. !
have no fear of them, and Furthermore,
If they can produce evidence that I am
and gamblers of Dubuque, let them
furnish such Information to the grand
jury and I will graciously face the
charges"
So said Mayor c. H. Berg. when In
formed that the Catholic authorities OF
Dubuque are determined t have all of
the houses of i'll fame in the city closed
within a month, and If the mayor fails
to take cognizance of their efforts and
aid them In this wave of reform, Will
attempt to secure his indictment by
the grand jury.
The campaign Of the reformers for
morality is already we'll launched. and
it is expected that by the time the mex
grand jury %convenes,. which will be in
May, they will have secured sufficien.
evidence of the existence of brothels
in Dubuque to warrant the Indictment
of not only the keepers and inmates
Of these resorts. but also Mayor Berg
and Chief of Police Morgan, for allow
Ing them to run unmolested.
Dubuque is the most moral town of
its size in the state said Mayor Berg,
and l firmly belive that existing con-
ditions in regard to morally will never
be hettered by the continual howls of
the newspapers and the refornnrs.
Not one-fifth of the population of Du-
buque would know hat there is such
a place as a brothel In the city were
1t not that every time a woman is ar
rested the newspapers make a splurge
of it, and claim hat she is an inmate
of a house of ill repute, whether she is
or not. Dubuque is no longer a vii
lage and 1t Is natural that such re-
sorts should exist, but / have never
heard of any complaint against them.
save from the newspapers during a
campaign, and the rectors of certain
churches of the city. The complaint
from these sources is no doubt due to
personal enmity towards me. The varcri
monious invectives from press and pull
pit does more to acquaint the people of
Dubuque of the existence of these re-
sorts than personal experience"
Vice is Licensed.
Several months e the city council
decided to license vice, and since then
the keepers and inmates OF immoral
houses pay monthly fines. Publicity
was given to this system of counten-
ancing vice thru the local papers and
each Sunday since then in n or more
of the churches the rector has bitterly
denounced the city administration for
binding itself to insure protection to
the immoral women of the city.
The subject of Archbishop Kean's
erno at the cathedral each Sunday
is either intemperance or immortality,
and during the past few Sundays the
rectors of other Catholic churches of
the city have flayed the policy of the
city administration in dealing with
keepers and inmates of houses Of i'll
fame.
Reformers have been securing evil
dence of the existence of resorts in
Dubuque for the past w e n
appealed to the mayor to close them,
but getting no satisfaction from him.
and meeting with the same i'll success
when they consulted the county attor-
ney In regard to securing the mayors
Indictment for licensing vice, they de-
cided to- wage a vigorous campaign
against immoral houses, and have in
formed the mayor that unless the scar
let women are driven from the city be-
fore the next grand jury convenes they
will supply this body with sufficient
evidence to indict the city's chief ex-
ecutive and chief Of police for encour-
.m;,~ io,n,nrnlit1r in Dnhllnlla