The news & observer., 1905-06-28
THE LAWS AND EVIDENCE AT
HAND. ONLY WAIT EN-
FORCENENT.


eigh to break up the disorderly houses
shall be successful will depend al
lmost entirely upon the bravery they
exhibit and the determination they
show to get in the shape of concrete
evidence facts with which the whole
city is. acquainted.
The natural place to look for evil
1ence of this description is in the police
force. The police force is charged
with the order of the city. It's duty
effect the capture of criminals. These
nuisances, in the shape of houses
which have a demoraliZing effect
on the whole community, exist
of common knowledge. There is no
actual concealment of the business.
t.curling slums are characters known
of the whole city. There is complaint
that the evidence is hard to obtain on
which to convict them. Surely there
is something wrong if there is trou-
BILE in that quarter. The charter of
the city provides the means. The
means is the police force. The duties
of that body should be made some
thing more than to decorate the side
walks of the market house, or to tramp
dgnified beats with batons twirled on
nimble fingers. They should not be
confined even to the arrest of the oc-
casional drunk and down, or the SEN
sational raid on crap game, or the
occasional hauling up of negroes en-
gagged in Saturday evening fights.
There is a duty resting on the police
force to know something as well as
to occasionally do something after
they have been told by a sensation
what to do. They should know that
there are disorderly houses and they
should act to suppress them. 1t makes
no difference whether they think that
the maintenance of these places is q
wise policy or not. They were not
hired to make the laws, but to enforce
them. If their consciences revolt
against the task, there are candidates
for the force in plenty.
The charter of the city puts the
duty of it's peace and order on the
police. The department has chief.
He is charged specifically with the duty
of seeing the men under his control
do their duty. The duty is his in the
first instance. He can suspend the
men under him for failure to carry
out his orders. If he fails there is
the remedy above his head. This
business of disorderly houses is a mat
ter within his province, a thing within
his control.
The power to make the chief do his
duty rests on the higher officials. 1t is
they who, in the last analysis. are
truly responsible. The police may be
depended upon to act when they know
that they must
1t is objected that the law is not
sufficient. That is a mistake or an
excuse. as the claim is made. The law
is plain. 1t is written in North Caro-
lima i'm an old case that has never yet
been overruled and never will be, q
case that struck at the roots Of an
evi. and announced a principle both
legal and just. That was the case of
State vs. Evans in 5th Iredell, at page
sos. 1t says: "The offense of keeping
q disorderly house consists in keeping
a house or room and Herewith ac-
commodating or entertaining lewd
people to perpctrate acts of unchastity,
meaning acts between the persons thus
entertained"
Could anything be clearer? How
many such houses do the police of
Raleigh know of to their personal
knowledge? How many witnesses could
they cite. were they so enclined?
Police Justice Badger has been
quoted as saying that there was no
way to reach these houses, citing as
| his authority the case of State VS..
Web5er 107, y. c., 962. That case
| merely says that city has not the
power to depart from the common
law definition and define by ordinance
what q disorderly house is. 1t does not
remotely touch the principle laid down
| in State VS.. Evans, which is quoted and
approved in the opinion.
Said a city official, ''the police say
they do not know about these houses.
Where are you going to get your evil
| dence?"
That is the question. The way has
been pointed out The easy acquaint-
ance of some of the police with the de-
graded women of Raleigh is notorious
They speak of them by their first
names. The houses themselves are pub
| licly notorious. the inmates are COM
mon sights of the streets. Their feathers
and silks, the stencil in the wake of
| their perfumes, are constant and daily
| declarations of vice. They invade the
stores. They naunt themselves in car
riages.> They smirk brazenly in places
of public amusement. They patronize
| the cars. They saunter about the
park. They are as evident as the
police about the market house.
The police know of all this-of
| course. There are as many and more
houses as there are policemen. These