The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-03-14
WICKED MEN AND FALLEN WOMEN

In Chicago, where the cross currents
OF wickedness from all points of the
compass meet in a great whirlpool Of
vice, but where men and women Of
high character are striving desperately
to stem the tide OF moral pollution,
commission OF members OF the Illinois
state senate is comforting with leading
citizens on ways and means to check
and diminish, even IL they cannot dry
up, the stream that bears so many
American girls to the bells OF the un-
derworId every year. It has for years
been the cry of a certain class of re-
formers almost sOlidly reinforced by
the socialists. that low wages was the
greatest and almost the only cause
that sent respectable girls to the street
and the red-light district, and even
tually to the potter's field 1t is idle to
deny that unpaid and underpaid work
has much to do with the evil that digs
pits worse than graves in over a hum
bred thousand American homes every
year. but we have in Ocala, well as
every other community in the land,
plenty of evidence that the following
letters. received by the vice commits
sion. are based on the truth.
The first letter said:
ITO the Commission-Girls don't go
wrong because they are hungry, or
because they need clothes. They go
wrong because they are temped by lies
and overpowered by the evil in men.
They listen to the fair and pretty
things that men tell them. and they
fan because they think they can trust
themselves and trust the tempters. 1t
Is not the employer. 1 was good girl
and l worked in a store / didn't get
much money. but that didn't matter
lived on So a week and would be liy-
ing like that now-but I met men.
They seemed to consider me their prey,
and all the time 1t was fight, fight.
They wanted to be nice to me, they
said, and to take me to the theater and
treat me fair-and give me a chance to
enjoy life. 1 didn't know men were
bad-all bad-where a girl is concern
ed. 1 thought only women were bad.
/ thought all a girl had to do to remain
good was to be truthful with herself.
God pity women who think that and
who keep their trust in men until 1t is
too late. Every day it was someone
else-always smiling at me-always
trying to give me fair chance to be
happy In the street they followed me.
L
who hung around! That is the big, big
secret of the thing that makes a good
girl bad If they had left me be-if
they had only left me be-only let me
live as l wanted to- wouldn't have
had to stink into the room when your
commission was trying to solve things,
and wouldn't have had to sit in cor
ner with my veil down, afraid to look
cgnnd xrynr,, n, ~ Fana
Another cry from the under world
echoed the words OF this letter. It was
more bitter, though, and it read in
part:
You're looking for the things that
make such women as I. Low wages!
Dance halls! Hungeri Cold! They all
helped a bit, but they did not turn the
trick themselves. You're all a bunch
of hypocrites. afraid to look the thing
in the face and afraid to learn the
truth, 1 don't know any girls who sold
themselves for money to buy bread or
clothes. But I do know lots of us who
hit the road for hell because a lot of
blaekguards kept bounding them with
their rotten attentions God
help the men and not usl We're all
right when we start. All we need is to
be left alone. There are hundreds and
hundreds of kids and sports who hang
around State street and wait like
wolves for the tired girls to leave the
stores. Why don't you make the men
be good? All the wages in the world
won't help us. Make the men good
and the girls will be good. Now they
haven't a chance, and they never will
have as long as the law smiles at one
and splits at another"