The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-02-26
TEARS IN THE PLEAS
TALES TOLD BY MOTHERS WHOSE
HEARTS ARE BROKEN.
Tragedies BY the Score Are Related
In Letters From Homes Delighted
By White Slave Traffic; Girls
Held in Bondage of Debt; Their
Misery; Legislation Against Evil.
Especial to The Free Press.l


Chicago. Feb. 24-Tragedies by
blighted by the traffic in girls who are
Systematically ensnmed, betrayed and
sold into white slavery in red light
districts of cities Of this and other
countries. Among the letters which
have poured in since open warfare was
begun on white slavery and have been
turned over either to the Illinois Vigil
lance association, the United States
district attorneys or the states attor-
neys, those from mothers or fathers
tell a similar narrative that more than
confirms all assertions that there is a
diabolical search for beautiful victims,
on trains, in the country and in amuse
ment places of the cities.
Held in Bondage.
One letter Just turned over to the
vigilance association from mother
in New England is typical of most, and
contains an arraignment of conditions
in New England, particularly the fac
tory towns, which is startling. The
letter was received by editors of The
WOman's World, as result of articles
by United States District Attorney
Sims and others in an effort to ex-
pose the proportions of the traffic and
needed laws for suppressing it, and will
be sent with other letters, petitions and
resolutions to the Illinois legislature to
aid the enactment OF proposed bills
making the procuring of girls, the
holding of girls in bondage of debt
and the living upon earnings of white
slaves felony punishable by suitable
penitentiary terms.
Daughter Enticed Away.
"Mv daughter was enticed away
while we lived in Gloucester, Mass, by
two women wrote this mother. "She
was gone two months before we found
her. | made a fuss and the city mar
shall said he never thouht that the
woman | accused of taking my daught-
er was a woman of that kind. But
I found out for myself. They let my
daughter loose in Boston in a house
that heatrical people of the evil sort
frequent She tried to Do the best slp
could to earn enough to keep her, but
| could not and live decent, and did like
all the rest of them but at last haC
few more days and she never would
| have come Weeks and weeks we doe
| tored her. She is much better now
| but never will be the same
Men Are the Lepers.
SIN the New England states the mer
| don't respect women the same as they
| do in the southern states. A fine
| looking woman here has lots to con
tend with; all sorts of tricks are done
| to get the best of them; girls disap.
| pear here and there is not much sait
about it, some are found dead and nc
clew to who did the deed. You ear
hardly read Il paper without an ar
! ticle of some girl missing or murdered
or drowned. The young men and boys
need looking after, they are led astray
just as much as the young girls. Par
ents want to watch their boys and
| find amusement for them. | can't see
where people are any better off here
| than the negro slaves We're. That is
| mean the poor people that work il
the cotton mills and wolIen mills, too
and shoe factories; the wages are not
enough to keep the family decent and
the consequence is the mother goes
to the mill and the children as soon as
they can dodge the school age"