Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-12-12
PITT TELLS WHY
He ALTERED: |: VIEW.
stockade Plan Investigated and
Found Impracticable in
Other Cities.
-
FIRST He FAVORED SCHEME
FIRST He FAVORED SCHEME
lie Reserves the Right, However, to
Change His Mind When lie Learns
He Was Wrong.

EX-Chief or Police Tom Pitt. in de,
Tending his change Of attitude regard.
4 ing the location Of the red light dis
trict, says that it required but little
4 Investigation on his part to bring about
the conclusion that he was wrong In
ever suggesting or recommending the
stockade plan. The admission is free
ly made by him that he was in error
at first, but he maintains that he was
entirely right when he took the stand
| that caused the breach between him
self and Mayor Bransford
Shortly after he was installed in office
as chief of police, Mr.. Pitt in q report
to the mayor, had this to say:
This question Is certainly a guess
ton hard to dispose of and being a
| necessary evil there Is only one way in
which 1t could be successfully handled
which is as follows:
Let the city set aside a piece of
ground of sufficient size to accornmo-
date several hundred of the prostitutes.
Enclose same carefully with high
fences; build cottages or houses to
accommodate these inmates; charge
them rent license them and place
them under control of the police de-$
partment as to their safety aud con-
tinement and to the board of health as
to their condition. In this way every
person caught soliciting or working on
the streets could be handled by the po-
lice and run out of town or sent to the
place where they belonged. In this way
this department would be In complete
control of this element and also in con-
troll of the drug element and men who
make a practise OF living with this class
of women"
MADE IN GOOD FAITH.
4 These recommendations were made in
good faith. says Mr. Pitt, as he believed
at the time that tho plan was not only
feasible, but the best that. could be
adopted. In explaining his reasons in |
fecedtng from such position, he says:
II have been reading a whole lot on
the control of the necessary evil and !
have investigated in other ways. The |
more l have studied the matter the |
more am convinced that the stockaL1e |
plan cannot be carried out with good |
effect in Salt Lake under present con-
dlt1ons. Such plan might be made to |
work If 1t had the proper laws to back
1t, but Utah does not have such laws
and they are not likely to be passed
LIS women III EtnOSe& places could not
be protected without the right kind of
4 law and consequently would not stay
there and be imposed upon. 1t would |
be only a short time until conditions
would be as bad or worse than before.
TRIED AND FAILED.
I'm many other places. the stockade
has been tried. Every effort has been
made to have it conducted under police
and as near right as the
.ity officials knew how. In every case,
and there are hundreds of them, the
plan has failed. Salt Lake could not
Expect to make good on a proposition
hat other cities have thoroughly test
ID and found to be a failure. The rea-
ION have changed my mind is because
know more about the subject than I
lid when took Office. That is all there
$ to it,
That it is better to emerge from
darkness into light, rather than vice
'ersa, is the opinion of Mr.. Pitt in this
Incident.