The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-08-10
THE PENSACOLA JOURNAL TUEsDEY


An absorbing question in Pensacola
is The Mission" When one reads
The White Slave Trade Of Today"
by Edwin w, Sims, .. s. district at
torney of Chicago, the time seems at
hand to sound an alarm and prepare
for rescue work. From this work the
following extracts are taken:
Astounding Testimony.
"a young girl Of about 16 years was
on the witness stand in a Juvenile
court, where there were mothers and
fathers Of various ages who were
made to blush when they heard her
testimony, which is almost beyond
the comprehension or belief of men
and women who are mercifully spared
from contact with the dark and hid
eous secrets of life behind the scenes.
"The fine lady who had worn
beautiful clothes, visited her home,
made friends with her family, secur-
ed her confidence and won her entire
~ from her home.
'sHer father and mother were in the
court room and heard her heart
searching testimony. Eyes were
dropped while the judge with his Of
1ceFs piled her with questions, while
she was telling appalling stories.
The question arose among the Of
fcers, where was the fine lady? The
supposftion was, she, at that very
time, had or was preparing to leave
the city with a bevy of girls, and this
particular girl would not give one
iota of information concerning her,
and was only sorry she was not one
Of them
"The girl was sent to the reform
school to remain until she was 81.
Her father committed suicide IN
about three months after this occur
red.
Imported Girls.
The evidences obtained from
questioning some ESQ girls taken
within four weeks in Chicago houses
of i'll repute leads me to believe that
not fewer than $4,000 girls have been
imported into this country in the last
year as white slaves. OF course, this
is only an approximate; it could be
nothing else But my own personal
belief is that it is a conservative
guess and well within the facts as
to numbers. Then remember that the
girls imported are certainly but
mere fraction of the number recruit
ed for the army of prostitution from
home fields, from the cities, the towns
and the villages of our own country.
There is no possible escape from this
conclusion"
Locked in Room.
Mr.. Simpson of the mission relates
two cases falling under lis natice as
follows: In the one, a viTtUous
mother with a babe was advised to
go to a respectable boarding house,
which turned out to be a house OF III
repute. She was locked in 4 room,
ana her clothes taken away; this gave
her an inkling of what the house was,
and she barricaded the door on the
inside A regular inmate, "the par
ticuIar friend" thought II shame,
mentioned it to a storekeeper In the
vicinity, who brought the news to
MT Simpson. He communicated with
Rev. T. W. Galloway, of the Taber-
nacIe, and Mr.. Mallory, and she was
rescued, taken to the Hepzibah or
phanage, where she was cared for for
a day or two whilst friends provided
for her future.
The other case was a young girl
less than sixteen years old, who was
brought into the city under a prom
ise Of marriage by a young man, who
took her to a house of i'll repute. 1t
was over two weeks before informa-
ton reached Mr.. Simpson, and he i'm
mediately went to the house. asking
the policeman on the beat to go with
him. But it was too late. She would
not come out There was no help
for IL. The mission does not prose-
cute; that is left to the officers OF
the law.
Mr.. Sims's book says: while the
federal government was obtaining
evidence involving the importation OF
girls from other countries, 1t was in
evitable that the examination OF
scores of these inmates, captured in
raids upon the dives, should bring to
the officers and agents of the depart
ment of Justice an immense fund OF
information regarding the methods or
the white slave traders in recruiting
for their traffic from home fields.
THE examination of witnesses has
brought out the fact that not many
of the women expect TO live more
than ten years after they enter upon
their voluntary or involuntary life OF
white slavery. Perhaps the average
is less than that. Many die painful
deaths by disease, many by consump-
ton, but it is hardly beyond the truth
to say that suicide is their general ex-
pectation. Wen all come to 1t soon
er or later one of the witnesses re-
marked to her companion in the jail
the other day, when reading in the
newspapers of the suicide of a girl in