New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-02-14
Number That Disappear
from Homes Steadily
Increasing.
BUREAU TRACES
1924 OF THE MISSING
Few Genuine Cases OF Whlte
Slavery, Police Declarc-Many
Runaways Due to Parents.

Less than a month ago, giri OF -
a violinist. left the home OF relatives
in Manhattan. expecting to return 70
dinner She did not appear and the
next day her mother telephoned from
Brooklyn that her daughter had not
returned home that night. She has
not been seen since that time. Where
is she? The next week two girls were
reported TO the police as lost by their
frantic parents They have not been
found. And so il goes on; week after
week girls drop out Of sight. What pc
comes of them? Why DC they leave
home? Where do they 80!
The bureau of the unidentified dead
in charge Of Lieutenant Grant Will
Jams. whose duty it is TO trace those
who are reported missing, recently an
nounced that during the last year l45'
girls and young women had been lost
from homes in New York City alone
Their number increases every year
faster than the growth Of the city
would warrant
Theodore Bingham, former Com
missioner Of Police in New YORK, states
that 10000 young women and girls
are lost in the United States every
year. They simply drop out Of eXis-
tence'
If more evidence is needed as TO the
alarming nature of the peril, the I'm
migration League for Chicago says IN
its report that IN one year LOO young
women totally disappeared between the
Port Of New York and Chicago alone.
of whom no trace could be found.
Cause of Many Runaways.
An investigation Of the problem led
first 10 he bureau Of the unidentified
dead and then 70 several societies par
the Travellers Aid, when
have been created 10 protect women
who enter the city and 10 discover and
return runaways. Lieutenant Grant
Williams, who has reOrganized the bu-
reau and has several detectives under
his command, was OF the opinion that
of the many reasons for the disappear
ance of girls from their homes lack
Of freedom or severity on the part Of
the parents was the greatest
Il is not the girl from the poor home
no matter how miserable the conditions
in which she has 10 live, who IS the
problem, but the girl who does not re-
ceive the affection and respect 20 which
she is entitled, he said Hundreds or
the cases that have been investigated
show that the one VINO is dissatisfied
with home conditions and who has run
away has almost always been tempted
by another girl who lives alone.
According 20 the police view, the gem
uine cases Of white slavery are com
paratively few in number, though II
was admitted that the girl who had
gone from her parents home and was
ashamed or afraid TO return usually
ended on the streets or in the hospital.
Many Of the so-called white slave
cases are simply instances Of girls
who have gone from their homes for
the most trivial reasons: they hate
school, or they fail in an examination,
or are jealous Of some member of the
family. OF the ! ,439 reported lost to
this bureau last year only 2l5 have not
been found. The slightest clews fur
nish sufficient evidence for the staff
VI hfh'NAiffo NS4AeNoiANif a. WI n
Woman Detective Aids.
One Of these is woman. officially
called Detective Sergeant Young. whose
sole duty is 10 look up cases in which
there is possibility OF the rescue OF
some unfortunate young woman from
the hands Of white siavers.'
Detective Young recently found a
lost girl simply through a torn page
OF Sunday newspaper. Bodies found
i'm the river. suicides and street acct
dents furnish the solution for many
case that is crossed off the books Of
the bureau Of the unidentified dead a.
successfully traced
In the Office of Lieutenant Williams
IS what is pleasantly called rogucs
gallery of the dead. an institution OF
the leutenant's that has been rcspou-
siblc for putting an end 20 the anXicty
Of many parent. BY means of card
system that takes in cases reported out
side Of New York a well those IN the
city 172 men and women have been
found. Nothing that is found on an un-
identified body is thrown away, for
button, key or the most trivial article