The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-11-04

pleasant and heartenine
one such thing has ecently hap
pened in a Southern town-AsheyjlIe
n C--and il has involved not onlv
the ace problem, but the social evil,
ABOUT which Miss Jane Adams has
! idte peen telling US so many things
we ought TO know. but would rathe,
not. In Asheville. it seems. as in
having their attention drawn 10 the
other places. good people had been
social evl by finding it at their own
uoors-or at any rate across the street
or next door, and even in the imme-
date neighborhood Of their churches
ana Protests were strong and
rigorous and as they came from PEG
PIE VINO knew how to secure a hear
ing, and whose wishes counted with
any city government. there was COM
paratively little doubt of sgettins ac-
t1oh from the authorities. So far. SO
Sooo' out there happened to be ON
man IN Asheville. the Rev. Z r
campbell. to whom il occurred 70 in
qulre where these disreputable estab-
lishments We're going when driven
from reputable quarters. He had no
ulHlculty IN discovering that the mass
OF them were already in close neigh
borhood Of the homes and churches
ana schools Of the so-cailed negro
quarter or the town. The were
mere, OF course, IN obedience to a
sort Of law Of the real estate business.
but he wrote to the papers and con
feSsed that he for one could not look
upon the matter with any easy CON
Sclellce' SO long as the negroes could
not protect themselves in this mat
ter, and most white people could.
1T was not a subject about which
people like to rush into print or make
speeches, but DR.. Campbell very soon
found that the better people of his
own race felt just as he did, and also
acknowledged their responsibility; and
With good support he set about fnding
a remedy. For once our Anglo-Saxon
hypocrisy in sue matters made the
remedy easy. 1t appeared hat the
entire business was illegal; that the
control of it was practically lodged in
the hands Of one mantle judge Of
the city police court; and the judge
was in sympathy with the movement.
and not in the least afraid to use his
power. The negro ministers wanted
to help, and did so with a simple
tatement Of the fact addressed to the
White ministers. which these in turn
presented to Judge Adams; and the
judge took such effective action that
within q week or two there was not
left a single social evil establish
ment in sight of a negro church or
school.
by a new system of arrests and
nneS for 'vagrancy-the accepted
method Of taxing the 'social-evil in
dustry'-it is wen hoped that the en-
tire business is going to be made un-
profitable in Asheville. 1t vas al
done very quietly, as SO many Of the
best things always are: but that is nc
reason why it should not be cele-
| hrQtQ6 For nrQ Cfico11y ovory Snnth-
ern city has ASheville's problem in
some form, and if any Northern cities
have it not, it is because they have nc
negro quarters"
The hope expressed in the above
editorial that the "social-evil industry
would be made Improbable in Ashe-
vile has become a reality, and every
establishment where the "sOcial-eviF
had it's habitation has been closed. and
the inmates driven out of the city
Thus it has been demonstrated that
by convincing examples. decency car
be made, to towns as to men. the i'm.
perative fashion,"
Severe on S%pecders.
1t is claimed by good authorize:
tina the modern mania for speed has
been the cause of more fatalities thar
any other death-dealing agency. II
there is one class Of offenders with
which Judge Adams deals more Sc
verely than another, it is violators o
the city traffic ordinances, especial!
automobiles. Being of the opinion
that a strict observance Of the STATE
and city laws regulating the speed %
automobiles is absolutely eSSentia
Judge Adams is a champion of tn
slogan, Safety first" and to the pro
lection of human life. In passin'
Judgment on guilty speed artists h
shows no leniency. in the enforce
ment of this law, he relies upon tn
"graduated scale of punishment
theory. After imposing ines on tn
same offenders a few times, he re
yoked the license Of some of them
and warned others that a road sen
tence would be in order next. In som
men who had been con
\ victed in police cour for speeding
rather than face Judge Adams on
! similar charge the second time, haV
gone before a magistrate, submit
ted" paid their fine. so that whe
the case was called in police cour
2 they could plead former conviction.
A defendant who had been befor
+ his Honor on the charge of eXceedin