Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-07-04
The Value of a Clean City

When public opinion and grand jury action forced
the closing of Iwiei and the cleanup Of Honolulus
organized underworld" the city builded perhaps
even better than it knew.
The drastic action was taken as a moral purga-
tive, not on behalf of any particular class element
in the community but to clear the whole atmos-
phere of it's reeking vicious faint Of faStspreading
commercialized vice and petty graft. Honolulu
awoke to the fact that Iwilei and vice regulation
was farce; that the city was filling with imported
undesirables who were dragging into the net bun
dreds of young people here and that if the city
to be even averagely clean, a mighty blow must be
aimed at the center of the evil.
1t was aimed, the grand jury delivered it, and
after Iwilei was closed no man could say with truth
that Honolulu citizens not honestly trying to
clean up a foul spot.
And these citizens by that action have preserved
their city from the evil repute that has fallen on
Ell Paso, Texas, and that may fall on Newport,
Rhode Island.
Ell Paso's immortality has run so wide open that
United States troops have been taken away by the
thousand. Secretary of the Navy Daniels has warn
ed Newport that unless there is cleanup, the auth.
ority of the United States will be used to remove
temptation from the young men of the navy there.
As to Ell Paso, here is part of letter lately re-
ceived in Honolulu from j. D. shippee, financial
secretary of the Y. NJ. C. A. army headquarters, on
the border:
Things In FL Paso very quiet at this time.
great many Of the men were taken away and trans
ferred account Of the immoral conditions there.
You the lineup Of politics. they would not clean
up, consequently the camps have been cut down
there. At the present time, only have three
branches there. We gave up the store at At Masa
avenue and built q headquarters b: lding near the
Ohio camp Camp Stewart Is open at this time, and
also doing work at Base hospital-that Is the
extent OF the El Paso work
On the other hand San Antonio got busy immed1-
diatey and cleaned up, and by doing So she has been
awarded Of the largest aerial camps in this part
of the country. They are putting In q big bunch OF
time to have In the neghborhood Of $4,000 to 10000
men around San Antonio.
Uncle Sans army and navy heads will not eter
nally tolerate vice and it's rayages in the neigh
borhood of large bodies of their men, The attitude
of the Hawaiian Department here is known to be
strongly for civic cleanliness What the citizens of
Honolulu did q few months ago to force the closing
of Iwilei must be followed by vigorous, intelligent
and persistent campaigning on the part of the po-
lice force and the prosecuting attorneys Office to
get the city clean and keep it clean. There is known
to be scattered vice now, a good deal of gambling
much bootleggngo of booze. 1t is not easy to deal
with this sporadic law violation, but the disposition
to get after it unrelentingly is half the battle
The old and utterly false and unjust story that
Honolulu had to tolerate vice for the army is pune
tured, let us hope forever. It's up to Honolulu it.
relf to make and keep this decent city night and
day. on every street and in every alley.