Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-11


such accusation we will state to the court the
facts as we found them, as follows:
Law is Clear
Section 315 of the penal code, which has been
law in this state since 1872 forbids houses
of prostitution, making their existence and the
renting OF property for that purpose misde-
meanor. Under the law we cannot take action
for the commission of a misdemeanor, but the
law also requires police officers to enforce this
as other penal laws, and failure to do
properly be charged in an accusation against
the officer and he be removed from office
This is the state law.
The police officers are chargeable with its
enforcement under the law. We find the
mayor and some members of the police com
mission have made frequent visits to houses
of prostitution throughout the city inspecting
their condition (and one occasion which
appears to the grand jury to have been more
in the nature of orgy than of an inspec-
uon). We find that such action on the part
of the mayor and police commission is repre-
hsnsible and outside of their official jurisdic-
tion, and the police force cannot escape re-
sponsibilty for failure to enforce a state law
by reason of any order or lack of order from
the mayor police commission.
We found in regard to the so-called red
light district" as follows: When this grand
jury was called there were about 100 houses Of
prostitution in Los Angeles city, and about
/ $50 known inmates These women were all
under the control of the police department 10
large extent who forbade their occupying
certain parts of the city, and at various times
in the past two years ordered them to move
from certain parts of the city
The police required the proprietress of each
house TO report in writing the arrival and de-
parture OF every woman, that the location
of each one was known to the police at all
times The police department also kept a
register containing these facts. They required
them to submit to medical examination and
once a week the patrolman on the beat called
and inspected a certificate furnished by a
physician.
A number of physicians issued these GER
tlhcates, which examination cost the women
u each- There appears to have been no
eHort to require any particular phyhician's
ceFtlhcate on the part of the police There
the police.
The ability Of the police to contol this un-
certain and unwholesome element lay in the
1act that they were openly violating the law
(section 315), and the law against vagrancy
and could have been prosecuted at will by
tn the police, who forbade doing so so long as
these regulations were complied with
This fact also rendered the police liable
to accusations and removal under section
15S of the penal code. for failure to enforce
the law openly violated.
Should Be Enforced
After spending three months inuuiring in
to this subject, we of the opinion that
this law can and should be enforced, which
effort we believe, will be ABLY assisted nv
the district attorney, who has taken over
the prosecution under this law from the
city attorney during this investigation
Win lue IacLS as TO open neglect to l.
force this law by the authorities, and in it's
stead to attempt to enforce a set of regu-
Iations (Which may or may not be an i'm
provement on the law), all before this grand
jury, we refrain from finding an accusation
against the officers by reason of the fact
that during our session, the authorities or
dered all houses closed, upon the advice of
the city attorney, at that time showing
their position defenseless
This order for the first month was not
strictly enforced but since the beginning of
Octoner we believe it has been rigidly en-
forced, thereby demonstrating that the law
can be enforced without any great detri-
ment to the balance of the city.
We further find that many people engaged
IN this unlawful occupation waiting for
the adjournment of this grand jury, when
they Will attempt to reopen the houses. This
situation we commend to the careful consid-
Grafton of the chief of police, calling attention
to the fact that neither of the two reasons for
failing to file accusation for removal under
the present investigation would apply in the
future.
The houses are now closed, have been closed
for three months and should remain so The
law should be enforced, and not their policy
of isolation and segregation.
"Mayor Knew of Violations"
We further find that the liquor ordinances of
the city were openly violated in these houses
with the knowledge of the mayor and part Of
department
The argument as to the existence of these
houses certainly does not apply to the viola
tion of the liquor ordinance.
This practice having ceased with the closing
of the houses which believe to be in good
faith by the police department, we are not dis
posed to bring an accusation against its men,
bers on account of the failure to enforce
strictly this ordinance.
We found the owners of these houses so di-
vlded among all classes Of people, living IN
all parts of the city and engaged in all sorts
of occupations, as to preclude any possibility
of union of interest among them, with one
exception.
We found that about June 1907 certain neo
pie began to acquire title and leases to prop
erty in a territory bounded by ALAMEDA street
Ducommun Also and Garcia streets and
shortly after this district was crowded with
houses of prostitution, and rents were raised
exorbitantly. However. there were in this
district so many separate owners of property
used for this purpose, which had not changed
hands in many years, that believe their ac-
tivity to be accounted for by advance infor-
nation that this territory was to be made a
redlight district
While the authorities state they were SLOWLY
endeavoring to drive the prostitution ont Of
the city, and in that supported by the fact
that these women were driven out of many
districts and off many streets west of Ala
meda, the fact remains that in the territory
bounded above they were not only never mo-
Tested but four brick buildings were erected in
l9Od, their architecture denominating them at
once as intended for houses of prostitution
and practically all other houses in this terri
tory were faced Commercial street with
entrances only through private walls to the
back, thus removing many of the obiectionab ble
features of this business from sight of anv
casual passer-by.
If such houses were legal, perhaps this ar
rangement was the best that could be evolved
However, this crowding of these unfortunate
women into a small district gave opportunity
10 unscrupulous landlords to charge exorbitant
rates and in some instances so desirable were
certain locations that the women offered bo-
muses. to landlords for certain rooms which
needless to say, were greedily accepted by
property owners, who gladly lined their pocl-
cts with these sin-stained dollars
Constant Menace
The acquisition of this large amount Of
money from eXorbitant rentals in the hands of
men of such perverted moral sense, acquired
as it was by violation of the law was
constant menace to official integrity
While we are satisfied from the evidence
that none of it was used to secure freedom
from prosecution and that the conditions were
permitted because of the belief of the officials
matter, we believe that temptation should be
removed by the rigid enforcement of section
315 of the penal code.
In concluding this subject, we will state that
whether the attempt TO enforce this law is
detrimental to the public by scattering these
women, we still feel that no officer can az
ford to openly fail to follow the plain law as
a matter of policy, even though he may not
consider it for the good of the public
This grand jury, after listening to the whole
matter, examining 232 witnesses on this and
other subjects embracing these charges spend
ing over three months of their time in almost
continual session, assisted by the district at
torney, is of the opinion that this law can and
should be enforced.
Many Charges Investigated
Among the hundred or more charges referred
to above there were many in regard to other
matters. which upr Po fIr1I