The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-06-22
Secretary of Navy Sends Assist
ant There for Cleanup.
Override Firm Protests of Gov
ernOr and Mayor.
PROTECT 5000 RECRUITS
Many UnhOused While Spacious
Homes Are Untenar+od.
Immoral Resorts and Bootleg
gers Flourish Unrestricted.
BY GEORGE MARTIN.

Newport, r. L, June 22.-AsSistant
Secretary of the Navy Franklin d.
Roosevelt arrived here today, threat
ening to clean up Newport.
He took a hurried but searching
glance at the town mostly famous for
being the summer habitat of the Four
Hundred; talked with some navy de-
partment and other government Off
Gals and then announced:
Governor Beekman and Mayor
Burdick- don't know what they are
talking about if they deny Secretary
Danlels's charges of immortality here.
L have myself seen the evidence gath
cred by agents of the department of
Justice and it is convincing. The sit
uation is directly up to the governor
and he will be given every emporium
ity to correct it."
There is a direct issue between Sec
rotary of Navy Daniels on the one
| hand and Governor R. Livingston
Beekman and Mayor Clark Burdick on
the other Daniels demanded a clean
up of disreputable houses, imperiling
the morals of Americas choicest lads
gathered in the naval reserve and
transmitted to the Newport authori-
ties scornful criticisms of the lack of
adequate housing facilities accorded
these 5000 boys. His personal inves
tigator is Roosevelt.
Gov. and Mayor in Angry Denial.
Governor Beekman and Mayor Bur
d1ck angr1ly deny all the charges. q
Housing and moral conditions about
! the reserv1sts have probably improved
since the first influx began in March.
| Wh1e probably no recruit TODAY is
without shelter of some sort spacious
homes and commodious outbuiIdings
OF wealthy Newporters remained com
pleteIy closed-boarded up-at a time
during March and April when yys-,,>5
a h a.
Ihe nation were forced to walk t}A
streets night and day.
Many of these homes remained
rocked barred and boared up-entire-
~ uIoccupled even today-when in
previous months they might have af-
Iorded habitation for fine clean bows
from good families whose patriotic
response to the call for volunteers
concentrated there here.
| Instead of these unoccunied bon,as
the recruits We're housed in .sn,I1
/ tents" in hotel corridors. or on the
pare boards of the armory and other
public buildings.
Town Generous to Recruits.
Governor r. Livingston Beekman
summed up the general view of the
elect in Newport today, when he ex-
planned:
| L would not consider it surprising
that the owner of a fine home would
not wish to turn it over to a lot of
| raw recruits.
1T is true that a large number of
wealthy Newporters' summer cot
| tages remain closed and have not
been offered to the recruits-but you
must remember that in most instances
owners live far away and come here
only in summer.
However, the townspeople have
been exceedingly generous and many
homes have been thrown open to the
recruits"
Mrs. Hamilton Fish Webster, an
executive officer of the Newport Red
Cross, agreed in part with the COVER
onr and added that she knew of no
widespread suffering in Newport.
But as to the moral conditions of
Newport" she said, despite the vio-
lent protestations of the governor and
the mayor, they are bad"
Dozens of Houses of Ill Fame.
Newport admittedly has four reg
ular houses of prostitution in opera
ton. There are many walking boot
! leggers who make a specially of SELL
ing liquor to recruits. Some towns
people do not hesitate to say that
there are dozens of disreputable
houses situated among the exclusive
cottages of Viewpoints social elect
And they add that naval guards sta
toned there to keep recruits away
seem to Ego blind when naval mer
walk in.
There are individual cases of vice
demanding attention every day. said
Mayor Burdick, but the general stu
J alton is not bad.
On downtown streets. the United
Press correspondent learned from
townspeople that there were admit
J teddy several shops in Newport where
a recruit might hire civilian clothes
leave his uniform and then sally forth
to delve into the towns pleasures
Sale of liquor to men in uniform is, Of
course, forbidden.