El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-04-15

Of the causes which lead so many
girls to go astray- The meager
wages paid working girls are being
raised by WOmen's influence The
great taboo which has existed against
the erring woman is being lifted by
her more fortunate sister who has
learned that she has been more Sinned
against than shining, and, therefore.
is anxious to help her to rehabilitate
herself rather than bury her under the
stones. Of everlasting shame In New
York there is an institution, known
as Waverly House, presided over by a
generOus-hearted woman who spends
her life trying to help the girl for
whom reform is possible More than
5000 women of the street are brought
before the night court of that city in
a single year. Miss Maud Miner is
present at this court. Her plying eyes
look kindly upon the unfOrtunates and,
when she recognizes the girl brought
there for her first Offense, she steps
awaiting her. In Waverly House, she
is given a chance to start anew. But
the percentage thus rescued is so pitt
fully small-only 40 in a year out
of 5000 women.
The establishment Of a greater num-
Der Of rescue homes for fallen women
is looked upon by many people as an
important aid in lessening the number
of lost girls Those who have studied
the question most incline to the BELIEF
that these have little result in check
ing the growth of the evil, although
they occasionally help individual cases.
The possibilities of reform in the in
dividual case are small indeed The
real cure must include an amount OF
preventive work to protect them from
falling into this slavery.
Not An American Problem Merely
The social evil is not merely an
American problem It is world wide
and the women OF every civilized ma
h. -s~r1- TO oh NJ
Carrie Chapman Gait, eX-preSident Of
the National American Women Suffrage
association, who has been studying the
subject during a two years tour Of the
world. says: 1T is the problem OF
modern civilized wOmanhood- The
heather East sells. The Christian
West buys. In the treaty ports of the
East at least a million women are
confined in this sort of slavery, their
life lasting from one to 10 years after
their enslaYement begins. Europe has
staggered under the burden of this evil
for centuries. The lead in freeing the
tituton must come from the country
where the women already enjoy the
greatest freedom"
The protection Of girls from the
clutches Of the agents for immoral
houses who infest every large rail-
road station, has led 10 the establish
ment of the Travellers Aid which is
rapidly becoming a strong protective
measure in the cities in which it has
been organized. The fact that so, 900
girls are lost annually in the United
States many Of whom never are heard
of by their friends, and that at least
100 of these disappear in tranSpOrta-
ton between New York and Chicago,
has called into the field the presence
Of one or more refined women in most
of the larger stations. They watch
for the young girls who come in upon
every train and, when they are not
met by friends, endeavor 10 see that
they are properly cared for. The need
OF more of these Travellers Aid agents
is strongly being urged.
So far, the laws Of the United States
regarding the social evil are better
than in most other countries. The wO-
men of the nation not only intend to
keep them so but also to secure their
better enforcement What the women
want is a better enforcement Of these
laws and a severer punishment dealt
to the man who forces or entices a
girl into white slavery. Miss Jane
who has given much study to
this subject, says that if the laws were
the social evil would be al
most overcome, since the number of in
nOcent girls who would voluntarily en-
ter a life Of shame is so small as to
be relatively unimpOrtant.
Tomorrow: Women in Politics.