The Oskaloosa herald., 1907-01-17
.ABATE THE NUISANCE.
Loafers Who Insult Ladies Should
Be Summarily Punished.

/ Editor Herald - Believing that the
first step toward remedyi1g any so
cial wrong. is publicity, We desire to
call attention through your columns
to an evil which has become so great
in our city as to demand prompt and
vigorous action.
i We refer to the manner in which
loafers are accustomed to hang
around our streets after dark and
accost ladies' who happen to pass by
unattended. A number Of facts have
recently come to our attention show.
ing that this evil has been carried TO
such an extent as to become an in
sufferable nuisance.
Only few days ago, two most re-
spectacle and well behaved young la
dies had to work for a short time
after tea, and twice on that one even
ing, on their way to and from the of.
fee, insulting remarks were addressed
to them. Another young lady, who
/ has clerked in one of our leading
stores for year, recently told friend
that she frequently passed acquaint.
ances on the street without recog-
MIXING them, because she has been so
frequently accosted that she dares
not look at a man after dark, for fear
of being insulted. We know of nu,
merous cases where fellows have
stepped up to young ladies they had
never seen before, and insisted on
walking with them, --some even going
so far as to seize the young lady by
the arm and attempt to accompany
her forcibly.
i These are not rare and exceptional
occurrences, but every day events on
the streets of Oskaloosa. Every
young lady whose business compels
her to be out after dark can testify
to some such experience.
Against these cowardly insults
young ladies are practically helpless
Then can not gerlerally,if they would
secure the arrest Of the fellows who
molest them, because they do not
know who they are, and it is not like
ly if the police were summoned, that
they would be accommodating enough
to meekly wait and let themselves be
arrested. Besides, modest woman
would generally prefer to endure al
most any amount of insult in silence
rather than the unpleasant publicity
and perhaps humiliation she would
incur by acting as the prosecuting
witness in such trial.
We know of a young lady whose
business compels her to pass up
High avenue every evening on her
way home, about six O'Clock, who in
forms us that it is an almost every
day occurrence for her to be accosted
by loafers. But, she said that, as she
knew of no remedy, she thought the
best way was for her simply to ignore
the matter. And so daily this young
lady walks home with a feeling Of
dread; scarcely daring to look at any
body, and trying not to hear the in
sulting remarks addressed to her
How long will the fathers and hus
bands and men with sisters, in Oska
loosa, submit to have their own iaugh
tiers and wives and sisters treated as
women of the town, If they happen tC
have business on the street after
! dark?
Vigorous action in this matter is
called for n only for the protection
and comfort of the ladies', but fu.. as
much for the sake of our boys and
girls The laws we make and the
manner in which we enforce them
are great educative force. BY
quietly tolerating such practices as
we have described we are educating
our boys and girls in the direction OF
evil. A boys real manhood may 20 a
great extent be measured. by his atti
tude toward women. Every true
young man feels an instructive rever
thinks he can trifie with any young
lady and that she will encourage his
liberties is a fellow who is corrupt
at heart and on his way to all that is
vile and mean. And 1t may be said
that girls who encourage the atten
| LlOu OIL loose fellows dLu VIII allow
strangers on the streets, no matter
how well dressed, to scrape up &C,
quaintance with them, are walking
along the edge of precipice and are
pretty sure to fall to the bottom, ul.
less they speedily change their course
By quietly allowing women to DE
| insulted on our streets, without an
effort to suppress IL, we are creating
the impression on the minds of the
young that it is nothing but a piece
of innocent fun, and thereby we are
preparing the ruin of our girls and
the brutalizing Of our young men.
i The molesting of women on the
i streets should be summarily stopped.
Our police should rub their eyer and
realize their responsibility in this
matter. We read in the papers only
a few days ago, that this evil had be-
come SO intolerable in Alton, Ill..that
the chief of police had given orders
to his men to look out for all so-called
Washers" and If they resisted ar