The chronicle=news., 1913-05-19
REMARKABLE REPORT ON
VICE CONDITIONS IN NEW YORK

kAnu women VI Tue Ohuer WOrlu-u
scarlet army no census has hereto
fore cnumerated-ply their trade Ia
one borough Of Greater New York
alone. THIS is the estimate Of the
Bureau Of Social Hygiene. an or rsan-
ixation Of which John ID. Itockrfcller.
Jr.. ID chairman. as made public t'-
night In an abstract Of u forthcOni.
special Investigator. after n PAINS
taking Inquiry into commcrcializc
vice conditions In Manhattan. ex-
tending over period Of nearly ten
months.
The report suggests NO remedies.
fixes no responsibility. Tha, phase
ix to be- dealt with later on. II pur-
ports merely to describe accurately
vice conditions In New York City
with the sole purpose Of bringing
out the facts" Tho hope % *.
pressed that subsequently, . satisfae.
tory policy TO check the evil may b
worked out.
Mr.. Rockefeller himself contribut-
ell the foreword to the volume. yut-
urc reports will deal with conditions
In other large cities In America and
with methods and their results Of
combaitiny the problem In Europe.
ard corrective agencies In New York
are described as wholly Inadequate to
their task.
Aside from u series Of chapters
dealing In minute frnnknrsx with the
operation Of notorious resorts
III hrouxhomt the city. the report treats
Of 'h" dance hall evil and Of the
alarming spread Of the, so-caii-d mas
sage pariors. over three hundred
report. and In many Of them not
the slightest effort was made to
cloak the immoral nature Of the bust
ness. Operators for these establish.
m-nts are often procured by advcr.
tis,nx In the newspapers" or the
dance halls the report xay~:
THE public dance han WAS found
to Justify the ~ors, that hus been
said Of Il. OF Is dances reported on
only five were characterized by the
investigators a. decent. Nor are
these dances attended only by hard.
-ncd profligstrs. Young kiris-somc
innoccnt--othcrs. u not cntirciy in.
noccnt. NJ any rate not wholly de-
pravcd. and young mon not yet alto
scihcr vicious. attend the Ra,hcrInka
In search Of smus~mcut and change.
Many are iaa0ceat workiuk kirls.
who seek Legitimate recreation. The
sinsist~r element In attendance II the
hired cadrta. who attesd with the
, cold -bloodod purpose OF findiaG new
subjects Of dcbauchefy aud Of suhse-
qucnt exploitation for gain. These
agents Of commcrriaiisrsi vice arr U.S.
uaily weii.drr~ard. wril-manncrrsi.
and Introduce themselves politely
and easily to strangers. They Oft
exhibit marked devotion. BY which
the Girls arc deceived and To which
they too often yield. When the sc-
sllction of the xiris Ii accomplished.
they are put on the street. and their
ruin Is complete
Mr. krcelaud argues. contrary I.
the expressed views Of ~ many in-
.vcstixstlnx bodic~. the xiris do not ~
q general th!nK take up life Of
shame because Of the pinch Of pow
crty. Tie holds that oftcncr they are
victims In their Ignorance Of the
agents Of commerciaiised vice.
1T is idic.'' he says. ito explain
away the phenomena on the ground
that they are the results Of the in-
II
human weakness would demand far
fewer and less horrible sacrifices.
Most OF the wrcckagr. and the worst
Of IL. II due to persistent. cunning
and unprinciplcd exploitation: to the
banding together In Infamous enter
pri.cs Of madame. procurer. brOthcl-
keeper and liquor vcndcr to vary OF
deliberately u c0ld-bloodcd traffic
for their Joint profit. traffic. he
voivcd procurcs at the most. with
few exceptions. her bare subsistence.
and that only so long rs she has a
trade value"
| THE Exploitcrs" and the ramifi-
cations Of their traffic Is treated at
length. by means OF money and
| lshrewdncss. says the report, the
traffickcrs usually evade the Law.
II Thirty houses in the TendcrlOin were
long operated rs a combine. II is cit
ed. under the direct control Of fif-
teen or more men. Most Of them
have been engaged all their lives in
the seduction and exploitation ol
women. New York is their Mecca
The report. however. follows their
tracks through Argentine. Braxi,
Cuba. Canada, Alaska and the large
cities Of our own country-San Fran
cisco. Portland. Seattle. Tacoma
Butte. Denver, Omaha, st. Louis
Chicago. Pittsburgh. Philadelphia
Finally they realize their hopes In
Ii Ncw York City. Here they hav,