Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-12-07

VI Sidlb. III pidCt VI dliO dit
the inspectors and captains to be in
contact with 1t, we reduced 1t down
to n point of contact, namely, to
the commissioner himself, with this
special squad Of $50 men under him,
and subject to the orders of no one
else.
"You ask me to give my best idea
of how to alleviate or cure the evil
of female prostitution. That subject
is as old as the world. 1t existed as
far back as we know, eve at that
border line where fable scarcely
ceases and history hardly begins. 1t
has continued ever since. 1t will
continue until the passions of men
have become softened and lessened.
These unfortunate women are what
men have made them. Very few Of
them entered into such a life as a
matter of choice. So long as the
passions of men are so strong will
women be the victims of men. And
when men come to deal with these
their victims, they should do it char
itably, and gently, Some people
seem to think that the mayor ought
to lock them all up, or club them
out of town, or get rid of them in
some indefinite way. There is no
law for any such thing. We have to
do the best We can. The most fort
innate thing is to have them congre-
gate in n locality, or in few local
tiles. That reduces the evil to a
minimum.
Some years ago here in the city
of New York a sensational clergy
man was instrumental in having
them driven out of the localities in
which they had congregated, and
scattered all over the city. In place
of being in a few hundred houses
they were scattered into thousands
of flats and houses all over the city.
The result was scandal to our wives
and children, and many women and
girls led astray by contact with
these ome Every n now knows
the terrible injury which this clergy
man did. He is now hired out to a
newspaper, and has a column more
or less every day. He prints his
picture at the head of the column.
He evidently thinks he is a very
handsome fellow, and wants people
to look at his picture. If Jesus were
here do you think he would print his
picture at the head of a column, and
then write untruthful and unkind
and uncharitable and fippant things
about others,
THE subject of prostitution has
been studied by many in ancient and
also in Christian times. You can
readily recall much ancient litera-
ture on the subject. But let US not
go into that. 1t is enough for any
modern, just man to look over the
Christian literature on the subject.
Let him first read what st. Angus
tine says about it in his De Ordine.'
| said this to some one not long ago
and he went out and said that l
quoted the Confessions of st. Angus
tine,' so little did he know on the
subject. And then run along down
the line until you come to the SPLEEN
did chapter on the subject by Lecky
in his European Morals l am
tempted to quote n great passage
from him on the subject, but I might
add too much to what / have already
said. l do not know how many fall
en- women there are in the city of
New York. There are fewer here
than in any other large city in the
| world, | think. Indeed | am certain
of it. They walk the streets of the
English cities unrestrained. The
police do not NEEDLE with them at
all. They are not permitted to. The
English government knows that If
you turn the police force loose on
these women they will extort money
from them and blackmail them. That
would be a great evil. 1t is an evil
also to allow them to go through the
streets unrestrained. But of the
two the greater evil would be to al
low the police to collect money of
them. Therefore the English gov
eminent chooses the lesser evil. The
same Is done in other countries.
1--WE try to keep the streets clear
of them. In that respect the city of
New York is remarkable to European
visitors here. Only the other day a
member of the Board of Aldermen of
old London, whose turn it will be to
be Lord Mayor in a year or two, call
ed to see me and told me that that
was one of the most remarkable
things that he saw here, the freedom
of our streets from these women,
compared with English and other
European cities. And yet we have
quite a number Of people here and
some sensational newspapers who
are constantly holding this city up as
immoral and vile beyond any other
place in the world. But visitors here
to the city know that it is not true.
"Of purse our present social sys-
tenn also forces many young women
to go astray In order to get a living.
When working girls are paid pit
tances too little to support them it is
not surprising if they yield to the
temptation of e If they yer
paid adequately they would not yield.
But | cannot go into that subject. 1t
is a large one, too large to be dis
posed of in a few words. All I can
say to you is that we don't allow
outward indecency on the streets by
these women. We do not allow the
places where they live to become
noisy or offensive. The police as
signed to that duty get evidence
against houses of ill-repute and ar
rests are being made all the time. l
do not make any %pretense that we
can do away with the evil altogether.
Do not misunderstood me at all.
Ever since | have been mayor, in adj
dressing clergymen, or making pub
lie statements, ! have been entirely
frank on this subject and subjects
like it. / will not pretend that we
can do things which 1 know We can
not do. All we can do is the best we
can to keep the evil down. The