Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-12-02
LETTERS
AGAINST CLOSING lwlLEl
4th Cavalry. Cashier, H, T.,

4
per there appeared a lengthy discus
/ sion OF the Iwilei situation By Sergt
Arthur Davidson. and the many falla-
| cious statements made therein by him
cannot be permitted to stand unchal-
lenged by either fair-minded soldiers
l or civilians At the outset. il is not
nv intention or desire 10 ridicule any
one or anything that savors of sincere
! merit: but the general tenor of sane
/ timonious better than thou attitude
which predominates throughout Sergt.
] Dayidson's letter gives rise to the i'm
preston that much CT il is hypocrisy
1 and the balance pure sophism. The
incoherent sequence of subjects which
the sergeant undertakes to discuss in
! his letter makes an intelligent rebuff
tai thereto somewhat difficult: but a
brief rejoinder to some OF the irTation-
al statements contained therein will
! readily convince any just mind that
Sergt. Davidson is. either an impracti.
i cal idealist or mere Moderator of
| time-worn platitudes and plasarisms.
Prostitution is older than the Old
| Testament and has continued to exist
in spite of church, pulpit and people
| since the beginning of time. While /
do not believe its practise is neces-
! sary evil, know that its existence
/ fills need that merits a great deal
more consideration than Sergt. David
son would have as give it. The small
salaries paid to the soldiers and the
nature Of their calling makes mar
| rage for them an impracticable II not
an impossible institution. Denied this
highly desirable and natural outlet for
their human passions and affections,
their acceptance of the only alterna-
tive afforded them naturally follows.
Any two men of. the same age and
physical maturity are subject to the
| same needs and desires, and the mere
| fact that one is soldier and the
other a civilian does not stimulate the
passions of one nor does it curb the
passions of the other.
1t is eminently unfair to deny the
soldier that which is enjoyed by the
civilian. simply because the latter is
! in a position to marry and the former
is not. These purely economic con-
iitions do not alter the physical needs
of either, needs that naturally exist in
/ all red-blooded men which even be-
| come more pronounced where men
lead an outdoor, healthful and inyigor-
ating life az do the soldiers.
1t would indeed be imposing "a hard
ship and a source of physical discom-
fort on the men in the service if they
were obliged to accept celibacy as APP
! piled to PRIESTS in addition to the
many other restrictions imposed upon
them now. Everyone knows that the
medical attention and prophylactic
| treatments given the soldiers keeps
venereal infection among them down
| to a minimum. While / do not approve
of the maiptenance of a district OF
/ prostitution for the sake OF the single
! civilians who patronize it for the sake
of avoiding the responsibilities Of mar.
riage or who are so degraded as to con-
tent themselves with such association
when the higher and finer institution
of marriage is open to them, yet, IN
the instance of soldiers who enjoy no
choice in these matters, 1t seems only
fair that this source of comfort be per-
| mitted them. a community assumes
| good deal when it takes 1t upon
| itself TO deprive the soldiers quartered
near them the enjoyment of func-
/ ton which they : themselves enjoy
! through the medium of marriage, me-
dunn inaccessible to the average sol
J dief
Sergt. Davidson INDUCES in very
fantastic flight of imagination when
he attempts to describe the dangers OF
seduction, of young boys by prostitutes
or lewd women. In a quarter Of CEN
! tury lived in one of the largest cities
| In the United States, | have never
heard or read of a single instance OF
la crime of the kind that he would have
] us believe is an ordinary occurrence.
Any boy or man who patronizes
prostitute does so with his eyes open
and of his ownffhee will, and charge
of seduction would lie but poorly on
the lips of the coward who uttered 1t.
II our idealistic sergeant were half as
eager to know as he is to speak. he
could easily learn that every state and
territory in this country has adequate
! laws on seduction for both men and
| women, and the newspapers attest to
| the efficiency with which these laws
are carried into execution.
White slavery is dark shadow OF
a past which will never return, and
the professional prostitutes OF today
are, with few exceptions, women who
choose that calling Of their own volt
ton. While / admire the sergeant's
fine theories of chivalry in defense OF
women's virtue and purity, there is
little or nothing to indicate that the
virtue or purity of our women OF today
is in jeopardy: ON the contrary, aside
from the rare outbreak OF a man.
savage in our midst, the chastity OF
our women seems fairly safe. Sergt.
Dayidson's entire article bespeaks the
illiterate mind which prompted it, and
reveals in its own weakness the mar
row perspective of the man who wrote
it.
1t would be a gross mistake to as
sumo that the closing of 1wilei VIII
N IInnnll1iu If