The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1913-06-24
BY Evelyn Nesbit.
Chapter I.


I'm married. My husband is
in New York now, and that's
where / came from originally.
1t seems a long time since we
were married, but it can't be so
very long, because I'm just IS.
/ am now locked up prisoner
of the Juvenile court.
1 always got along pretty we'll
in New York before we were
married. Then l started west
with a show. 1t WASN'T hard
work. The girls were paid from
$12 to SIS a week.
Chorus girls have no harder a
time keeping good than any girls
do. It's no harder for a chorus
girl at SIS week to repel men S
advances than for a shop girl at
Sc. In fact, it's very much cas-
fer. A chorus girl has to keep
straight. The work is eXacting
and If she doesn't keep right
chorus she doesn't keep her job.
In Seattle | met Christine Neal.
She's been sentenced to Whittier
until she's 21. But then she was
as good and sweet a girl as any
body could find. And l was all
right, too.
We came to Los Angeles on the
boat after the season ended On
the way down l was convinced
that Christine was all right. Men
tried to talk to us, of course, but
they didn't get very far. We had
a good time in San Francisco
and were careful and got along
fine.
When we reached Los An
geles l thought all our troubles
and our lodging, all our need for
caution, was ended. But We were
both sadly fooled
After a few days-I had a lit
tie money-we went dowh to the
beach. We went to Long Beach.
When We went out in our bathing
suits everybody spoke to us. 1t
was the first time l had ever hit
anything like that.
I thought maybe it was the
custom here. California had al
ways seemed to me to be an out
landish sort of place. Nothing
. surprised me. So We answered
when they spoke.
Before I'd been in Los Angeles
a week l found out where a lot
of the danger lies. It's in the
mashers on the streets. / never
saw 30 many mashers in my life
as I have here. If a decent girl
stays out after dark, and even
In the daytime, she's accosted.
+ You can't go down to the corner
drug store to telephone without
having some man speak TO you.
But We passed up the street
mashers. Then I found that the
masher In his worst form existed
in the best hotels. At luncheon
in one of the SWEETEST downtown
hotels I, for the first time, had a
man come up and make a
straightout invitation to me while
! was sitting eating, with wait
er not 10 feet away.
1 didn't want to make scene,
so / Just started at him. He
dropped his cane and almost ran
away. / never saw a fellow of
his type yet that wasn't coward.
After this fellow in the hotel
had departed, paid my bill and
got out. That is, I aimed to get
out. But that lobby was a reg
ular hotbed of mashers. Two
more bowed and grinned and
tipped their hats and when I got
outside l was mad clear through.
Then I met the man l blame
/ just blame one man.
tmakes me laugh to hear men
criticize unfortunate girls. Men
are the responsible people in ev-
cry case. Yet they have the
nerve to blame us.
/ liked this fellow then. But
oh, how I detest him now. Our
cash was running low when we
met. He had big tan automo-
bile and he himself was an en-
gaging, strong fellow and ! went
out with him.
We went to the Vernon Coun-
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