The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1912-05-08
EXPERT TELLS OF
WHITE SLAVE EVIL
IS. w. Finch Speaks Before
Purity Congress in Ses-
sion at Louisville.
TNational News Association,


LOUISVILLE, KY, May s.-Over
f25.000 young women and girls are
yearly lured from their homes to ex-
kploitation on the streets according to
FStanley w. Finch, chief of the bureau
of investigation of the Department OF
Justice, who addressed the delegates
to the Worlds Purity Congress on the
White Slave evil. The congress is held
under the auspices of the Worlds Pu-
rity Federation, an organization for
combating traffic in women.
Mr.. Finch declared that not alone
were $4,000 women the yearly tribute
to the vicious, but that there were no
f1ess than $4,000 men and women en-
tgaged in their procuration and the to-
Ital number of white slaves in the
United States reached well over a
quarter of a million. Most of these,
said Mr.. Finch, have been led to
Ssuch lives by deception and trickery,
or have been driven to them by decep-
rtion and fraud.
Must Awaken States.
ITO completely eliminate this awful
traffic, the speaker continued, Eve
must extend the constitutional powers
,of the Federal Government and ava
ken the states to realization Of the
evil. The hands of the Government
would be greatly strengthened If the
law were extended so as to make it
crime for persons to communicate by
mail, telegraph, or in any other man.
mer from one state or territory to an
other or to any foreign country for the
purpose OF inducing or persuading any
woman or girl to travel in interstate or
foreign commerce for an immoral pur-
pose; and it would also be well If it
were also made a crime to send any
communication, by means of the tele-
graph, through the mails, by express,
or by any other common carrier in in
terstate or foreign commerce, for the
purpose Of soliciting money or other
valuable thing, except for legal and
adequate consideration.
There are number of other mat
ters which it might also be well to
cover in order to fully provide for the
suppression of the White slave traffic.
First. There should be an act of
Congress authorizing a woman to tes-
tify in such cases against her hus-
band. This is particularly essential
for the reason that, as has already
been stated, 1t is a common practice
FOR procurers to marry their intended
victims, and it is Frequently impossi-
BILE to secure conviction without the
hse of the testimony of the woman or
girl involved.
Second Provision should be made
by law for the issuance of search war
rants by any United States court or
United States commissioner or justice
OF the peace, or other similar Official
on behalf Of the United States; such
warrants to authorize United States
marshals and deputy marshals, and
agents of the Department Of Justice,
specially designated by the Attorney
General for the purpose to search any
place where there is probable cause
TO believe that any person is destined
or held in violation of law.
Third. The law should also author
1ze the arrest without warrant by the
persons heretofore mentioned, of any
pne detected in the act of violating any
such statute.
Fourth. In order to assure prompt
trials and substantial, swift and GER
tain punishment in such cases, the law
should also provide for the advance
ment of such cases and their trial
without delay, upon request of the At
torney General. 1t should also Ak, with
exactness the minimum penalty in
such cases and require judges to
promptly impose and cause the execu-
tion of sentences and prohibit the sus-
pension of sentences by the courts.
While. If the present White Slave
Traffic Act were rigidly enforced,
there would undoubtedly be a very
great decrease in the operations of
white slave trafickers throughout the
country. it Is impossible to prevent,
under the law, and consequently the
horrible fact of the existence Of this
e1a will