Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-01-30
Conference of Federal and State
Attorneys to Be Held as First
Step in Crusade
IOWA BECOMES INTERESTED
Mayors of Several Cities Join in War
to Exterminate Evil-Shunk, of Du-
buque, Suggests Hanging as Proper
Penalty for Those Who Traffic in
Virtue.

Chicago, Jan. 30.-Means to EXTERN
mate the white slave trade" turnout
the United States will be the subject
of q conference in Chicago soon of
representatives of the United States
district attorneys and states attorneys
offices, Judge Julian Mack and other
jurists, and representatives of rescue
organizations One of the results of the
conference will be bill, considered a
model Of its kind, to be submitted to
the Illinois legislature soon and to the
legislatures of other states later, to
provide adequate protection of law for
girlhood, which on an appalling scale
has been ruthlessly preyed upon by the
white slave dealers"-procurers for
evil resorts.
This conference has been arranged
by the editors of Woman's World in
Its crusade, begun with an article by
United States District Attorney Sims,
against the white slave trade. AS pre-
liminary, letters were sent to city Of
ficials thruout the United States asking
for counsel and facts upon the sltua-
ton and the replies will he considered
at the conference. The letters asked for
q counsel as to the most effective plan
to be adopted by a national organiza-
ton designed to stamp out this atroc-
ious traffic" They added:
Facts discovered by the federal au-
thorities in Chicago warranted Mr..
Sims in saying that these traffickers
thad reduced the art of running young
girls to national and international
system. Will you kindly write us what
your experience points to be the proper
course to take, also how much you be-
lieve can be accomplished by organ
izing for this purpose?"
Mayor II. A. Skunk, OF Dubuque,
Iowa, advocated capital punishment for
the procurers, his letter being as fol-
lows:
sYour letter asking for counsel as to
the most effective plan to stamp out
the atrocious traffic, is received. In re-
ply will say that have but one sug-
gestion to make in Kidding the country
of It's terrible menace to young wo-
manhood, and that is make the crime
a capital offense, and the punishment
for same the inf1iction of the death
penalty. Dastards who engage in this
nefarious traffic are worse than muir
derers and should be dealt with as
SUCH Make the punishment fit the
crime and you will have gone long
way toward stamping it out"
&. Another Iowa mayor, r. A. Doty, OF
Waterloo, wrote:
Il believe the public should be fully
advised of the actual conditions thru
the press, and then a national organi-
cation be perfected, with auxiliary So
cieties in each county iii the United
States to apply Its knowledge as a pre-
yentative rather than a cure. wish the
Woman's World great success in its
effort to rid society of this great evil"
The federal laws cover cases in
which alien women only are the vic
of young girls of American birth who
have come to the city and have fallen
victims of the white slave" trade have
SO appealed to the district attorney and
his aids that they have gone beyond
the federal power and twelve American
girls are declared to have been found
in resorts, rescued by the authorities
and turned over to the tender care of
their grief stricken mothers. This fact
brought into prominence the need that
exists for state laws which will have
such relation to federal statutes that
the protection of girls and punishment
of white slave traders" will not be
hampered by conflicting authority.