Los Angeles herald., 1910-10-19
Purity Congress Speaker Says
Barbaric Lands Have U. S,
Beaten for Clean Cities
PAY LOS ANGELES A TRIBUTE
Convention Lecturer Advocates
Segregation of Vice Dis
triCts in MetropoIiseS

LET us then send to Central China
or to some of the cities OF Hindustan
for a missionary, one of the men Of
those far off, barbaric countries, to
come and teach us how to purify and
keep clean our own American cities"
These words were uttered by the Rev.
Ernest H. Bell of Chicago in his ad-
dress before the social purity conVen-
ton in Berean hall yesterday after
noon. He had just explained that Chi
cago and countless other cities of the
United States protected dens of infamy
worse in every way than anything
which even the most unchristian of ort-
entail countries would tolerate.
China, which is vile, does not OBJ
trude vice as does that American city
(Chicago). It has impurity and sin,
but no public slaughter house at which
its young men and women go to what is
worse than murder.
"One quarter of all the insanity In
the country, one-quarter, perhaps even
one-half, of all the paresis and at least
one-half of all the blindness of the
country is the direct result of wild oats
that have been sown by the fathers of
the land.
"There are 1000, 900 blind in this coun-
try, Think of it-one million stone
blind eyes turned up to God tonight to
impeach their fathers, those men who
are responsible for the blindness of the
newborn babes. This, too, is the re-
suit of the wild oats that must be
sown in the youth, and which is reaped,
as In the case OF the blind babies, by
innocent victims of the resultant curse.
TRIBUTE TO MAYOR
Mr.. Bell was an enthusiastic speak
er and Ms words aroused the audi
ence of the afternoon session to q
high intensity. He paid decided
tribute, as did all the other speakers
of the afternoon, to Los Angeles and
to Mayor Alexander.
Everywhere we CO." he said I'VE
find the brothel argument demanding
the regulation and segregation of these
slaughter houses for our boys and
girls The mayor of San Francisco
declared that it was his intention to
establish such q district despite the
protests of many good citizens. I am
glad to find a city Of this size ear
nestly trying to be decent.
1.-THE best cure for this evil Is to
teach fathers and mothers to watch
over and protect their daughters, and
TO teach brothers to protect their sis
ters, and then, when they learn to do
this they will learn also to watch over
and protect the daughters and sisters
of other men,"
Mayor Alexander made the address
of welcome to these visitors, who
came all the way from Chicago to Gre
ate interest in their fight against the
white slave traffic.
'I wish 1 could say we are all right
here" said the mayor, but we are
irving to make things right. We are
trying to make things clean, but I
don't know how much cleaning up the
people of the city will stand for. There
is no red light district here, and the
police have orders to drive out all per-
sons who may be found in any house
of infamy. There are many saloons
and they make us much trouble. l
wish, as mayor, that we had none."
A CLEAN CITY
B. s. SteadweIl, president of Amer
lean Purity federation, responded to
this address and paid great tribute
to Mayor Alexander for his presence.
"You are fortunate to have such a
man. He will give you good clean
city" he said. Few mayors are
courageous and outspoken enough to
give an address of welcome to a pur-
ity convention"
owen o. Wizard of Springboro, Penn,
followed with brief talk 1--WE have
solved some problems we have met,
he said, land the greatest remedy for
all this trouble is the guardianship
of your own home"
Throughout the meeting there was
constant note of warning about the
cheap picture theaters, nickelodeons
and so forth. which may tempt the
young folk.
Della Thompson Lutes of Coopers-
town, Pa, urged the educative method
of reform "Teach children the value
of sexual hygiene and that all parts
of the body are equally pure" she
said. "Children are first of all the
property II our country. 1t Is our
duty to develop them to be the best
possible citizens, and to that end they
must be brought up from their child
hood with an understanding of their
responsibilities as potential parents"
Mrs. Minnie l.. Skinner of Cedar
RAPIDS, Ia was then introduced by
Mr.. Steadwell. Mrs Skinner is the
recording secretary of the federation
and also district president of the W
G. It. u. in her home state She made
a brief talk in which she mentioned
particularly the fact that women of
TODAY are the mothers of the coming
nation and must guard that and pre-
pare for it with all earnestness and
care.
TERRIBLE CONDITIONS
Members of this body of reformers
arrived in Los Angeles yesterday
= morning and enjoyed luncheon at the
Federation club. There are about
twenty members of the party, which
includes prominent workers in the So
cial purity movement from all over the
country. The party has visited in Chi
20, Minneapolis, Winnipeg, Regina,
Victoria and Vancouver, B. c.; Seattle,
Tacoma, San Francisco and here.
Mrs Skinner, in discussing the trip
yesterday, said: 'It has been wonder
fully successful one, but we have found
conditions most terrible in all cities.
"Mr Steadwell, president of the
American Purity association, felt that
this missionary tour of workers must
be taken. He felt that it was neces-
sary to stir up the cities to their needs
and to more thorough realization of
their own conditions and invite the
national workers in their various lines
to Join him. We, the officers, were
urged to come along also"
Asked who was financing this trip,
Mrs. Skinner replied:
1--WE each give our time for the
month we are on the trip, and If the
cities feel that we have done any good
by our visit and work and have ac-
complished what we intended and
hoped to do. they, give US collections