The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1913-11-06
PROSTITUTION, PROFIT AND
PATRIOTISM.

find beating tomtoms so Justify in the
village of Arlington just now. AS {
travelling salesman the writer recently
made that place and being of an in
quiring turn of mind fell into discourse
with many of the business men.
These Arlington business men are
much like others of their class Any
thing that interferes with business, be
it a wedding, a bull fight, a flood, oil
a school teacher, it is bad. At present
the yellow jackets of the Arlington
business world are buzzing around the
head of a certain school teacher. Sc
new is this peculiar kind of fuss that
I have gone to some trouble to analyze
it.
During my stay there l discovered
that business in Arlington consisted
to a great extent in supplying the
wants of loggers. These men come in
by train loads and spend their money
as they earn it-like brutes. The sa,
looms do a thriving business. The
gents furnishing business is fair
Lodging houses do very well. In fact
any line of business connected either
remotely or directly with satisfying
the wants of loggers thrives when
the camps are running.
But there are other kinds of bust.
ness than legitimate business that
thrive in Arlington. In one of the
finest blocks in town you can get into
a game with big stakes any day This
game is run especially to fleece log
gers and green farmers from the bot
toms. The officers know all about
this gambling joint The business men
know all about it. They also know
that gambling is a very serious piece
of business in this state if the law is
enforced.
But down at the bottom of all this
business success aid the real eco
nomic center of gravity for all such
towns lies the degradation of woman.
In the center of the city, known to all
men, known even to all school boys,
known to all school girls, are two
neatly built houses of prostitution. In
these houses beer and whiskey are
sold. Until recently, if not even right
now, the beer was furnished these
houses illegally by a man sworn to
uphold the law-an officer. The
whiskey was furnished by a man who
stands high in the estimation of his
associates. Whiskey and beer are
still being sold in these houses. Each
room in at least one of the houses
has a notice posted to the effect that
the girls will be charged for one bottle
of beer for each visitor" At least
one of the "madames" refuses to al
low a girl to stay in her house unless
she can drink like a fish. The degre-
dation that this leads to is swift and
pitiful. For the filth that accompanies
this perpetual drunkenness makes
these places cess pools of loathsome
diseases, social sores that tester on
down to the fourth generation.
But the business men of Arlington
are not trying to stop these social
sores. They are not even trying to
save their own sons and daughters
from the blighting contagion. Their
whole energy is being used up in try
ing to rid the town of a man by the
name of Sinclair.
whats all this fuss about Sinclair
oyer?" I asked innocently of a group
of well-to-do men.
Damned agitator," came back the
reply
"But what did he do?"
"Do?" said a corpulent gentleman,
why, there isn't hardly anything that
he hasn't done. Attacked the flag and
as if that wasn't enough he has the
nerve to come here and right before
women in the high school auditorium
he ups and tells us that we have prosti-
tuition herel What's it his business if
there is?"
Then we settled down to talk the
matter over. All agreed that the flag
matter did not count, not with the
business bunch. But the thing that
did county was this: In the first
place Sinclair is "a Socialist and OBJ
jectionable ON that score; but his open
attack on white slavery seems to have
been very opportune. I'm Arlington
those opposed to the euslavement OF
women are nearly strong enough to
carry things their way and this Sin
clair coming I'm may swing the balance
i'm such a way that the owners OF the
houses viii be prosecuted.
How would this affect Arlington?
asked "a hotel keeper this. "Why If
would ruin the town." said the land
lord. DO you suppose that we coulJ