The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1913-07-19
+ CONTINUED from Last Week.

lContinued from Last Week.
The police have not been convent
with trying merely to enforce the
ordinance. but in numerous instances,
where there have been disorderly sa-
looms frequented by women and men
the director Of safety or the chief Of
police has placed an officer in uni
form at the door, and 1t has been
found that such "a method has been
so effective in discouraging patronage
that such resorts have been forced to
suspend business or else to tone down
the demeanor Of their patrons and
patronesses to a degree more con-
formable with the usages of higher
society. -.
That there are in this city as you
state numerous wine rooms into
which boys and girls are invited, I
cannot believe. The police have >ex-
ercised great vigilance in this matter,
and are actuated by a sincere desire
to prevent such atrocious practices.
They are doing this. They will con-
tinue to do this. And they will con-
tinue to try to suppress wine rooms
as we'll as all other disorderly places,
and'I think that any one who will
seek to know the facts, will find that
this evil has been greatly reduced in
this city. =.
Again. when you complain Of street
walking, you refer to condition that
has existed In all cities, in all scoun-
tries and in all times. You bring
up a problem here as old as human
ity, as Old as sin, and I am glad that
you regard the men in this respect
as being as bad as the women. And
you present one phase of a. problem
which I can not solve, one which I
venture to say no man could solve
even if he were In my position.
The social evil is one with which
public officials have commended for
ages. 1t is one which has been made
the subject Of countless laws, from
the time Of the Mosaic code, down to
the latest revision Of the statutes. It
has been the basis Of the speculatlons
of moralists, philosophers and socio-
logists. It is subject upon which
the prophets of old uttered their in
spired moralities. But the scarlet
woman has survived all manner of
edicts and DEGREES and whole folios
Of impotent legislation. She has been
made the subject of a dramatic
period in one Of the imperishable
orations OF Cato in the Roman SEN
ate. She has evoked one OF the
most eloquent passages Of tho famous
historian of European morals whose
imaginative vision could behold her,
while creeds and civilizations rise and
fall, the eternal priestess Of human
ity, blasted for the sins of the peo-
pie. And the pathetic figure remains.
to typify q sad. age-old problem that
is seemingly as insoluble as ever;
The social evil presents itself in
cities In three principal phases, first
~ must speak plainly-that OF the
brothel; secondly, street walkers;
thirdly, women who are supported,
often in luxurious surroundings, by
para1nours. OF this last class we do
not speak. Society does little more
than lit her brow4 on that phase, and
the law does there not not interfere
any more than 1T interferes with
other prostitutions quite as deplor-
able, quite as sickening, and tar more
reprehensible because they are Who'll
ly without excuse, namely, those Of
lawyers and clergymen and artists
and writer's and speakers prostitute
ing their talents in the service OF the
privileged classes of society for the
sake of their favor, their patronage
or their reward.
What you speak Of is the second
class, the street walkers. Now there
are ordinances which prohibit this
kind Of soliciting on the street, and
there are ordinances which prohibit
what is known as lettering on the
street. The last offence is one very
loosely defined, the enactment is liable
to much abuse and, as many lawyers
assert, is probably without constitu-
tional validity. Laws seeking to regu-
late, diminish, or exttrpate the social
evil have been confined almost exclu-
sivey to the female.
Since the days of Aholah. and Aho-
libah. the man has been guiltless, but
the woman has borne her iniquity,
and it is only recently that there has
been anything like an acceptance Of
the truth that there should be an
equal moral standard of morals for
men and women. It would be diff
cult, even for a man possessed Of that
wide discretion and deep perspicacity
which inhere in policemen the mo-
ment they get a blue coat on their
backs, and shield on their breasts.
to detect among women on the street
at night, those that were Of ill-re-
pute; and it would. be still more dit
ffcult for them to tell whether the
men on the streets at nights were
as you say, unprincipled or not. I
think it would be very dangerous to
make them thus the silent and ire
sponsible jud ges Of the motives and
morals Of people they meet. So "
see at once that in this particular ap-
plication the doctrine 10 exceedingly
delicate, and about al the police can
do is to drive from the streets these
women who are known to be common
prostitutes And; they might arrest
men who were insulting females. al,
though 1t is difficult, because OF the
modesty Of women-some. shreds re-
naming even to. the most unfortu-
nate-to secure convictions in tins
class OF cases. e5*s.S: E5-ye+S ~. = =tls