The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-01-02
U. s. FILES BRIEF
 TO HOLD WOMEN
 i'WHlTE SLAvERS"

Washington, Jan. 2.-The govern ment seeks to fix upon a woman transported from one state to another in violation of the Mann white slave act joint responsibility with the man who contrived the violation according to a. brief just filed in the Supreme Court.
 The case is regarded as of the ut most importance, as the contention of the government if upheld by the court will have the effect of making women involved in white slave cases equally careful with the men to pre- vent their acts from coming under the scrutiny of the Federal author1- ties. The Governments positions if upheld, would also effectually prevent the use of the Mann act as a weapon Of blackmaiI on the part of women who commit violations
 The Governments new attitude is advanced in a brief in the case against Clara Halte, who, it is charg- ed, was transported from Barring ton, III, to Milwaukee, Wis, for inn moral purposes The United States Court for the eastern district of Wis consin held that the statutes involved did not permit a woman whoi was the subject of unlawful transportation though guilty participant to be in dicted as conspirator with the per son who caused her to be transported.
 It is on this point alone that the governments appeal is made, the De- partnaent Of Justice laying down the proposition that the violation of the Mann act was accepted as a result of a conspiracy between the man in wolved and Clara Holte, for which the two may be indicted and punished alike.
 Would Decrease the Cases.
 The application of the principle thus advanced would result in 8 remark able decrease in the number of cases brought under the white slave act where no question of immoral traffic is involved. It has often been charg- eded that the Governemnt's agents in the past have drawn heavily upon disappointed and jealous women with whose aid it was hoped to convict violators of the Mann act.
 This alleged reliance upon women violators has caused much dissatis- faction with the Mann act It has been openly charged that the effect of the law as now enforced is to put the government in partnership with 'blackmailers, for it is by threatening to see the district attorney that scheming women have succeeded in extorting money from their victims in many instances.
 Charges that the government ena- bles the blackmailer to ply her trade have been made by men indicted for violations of the Mann act. Further more it has been charged that the Mann act has been perverted into GOV ering eases of Immortality that it never was intended to cover and that should be controlled by stateslaws.
 As attorney general, MT. Mickey holds never expressed himself pub licly upon these subjects, but it was widely believed that he found the en- fO instances distasteful to him. Appar- ently his successor, MT. Gregory, Shares Ilis distaste of the collabora- tion of scheming women and special agents of the Department of Justice in working up white slave cases.
 Summary of the Brief.
 Here is a summary of the govern ment's brief prepared at the Depart ment of Justice:
 .sThe trial court held e1bstantiaaly that the woman, being merely the ob- ject of the unlawful transportation, could not be indicted and punished for aiding and assisting the man in transporting her.
 f%Fhe court relied generally upon the l doctrine that where the commission of an act requires concert of action be- tween two or more persons such per sons cannot be indicted for conspir- acy to commit the offense. Broadly l stated it is the contention Of the gov that the doctrine is restricted 1 to offences the commission of which E requires guilty complicity of two or more persons; that is to say, each of the persons. must knowingly join in 1oing the prohibite dacts.
 Under the white slave traffic act a woman may be transported by a man for immoral purpose without any guilty complicity on her part. In oth- l. er words, she may be entirely ignorant 1f his purpose in transporting. That being so, if she knowingly participates with him in bringing about her trans portation for an immoral purpose then, under such circumstances. the | two may be indicted and punished for