Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-08-13
MRS. HUMISTON AND THE MISSING Girl s.
ny
ny FREDERIC J. HAsI<I

NEW YORK, August 1.-the pop
uiar feminine idol of Now York ut
present is not an actress but u woman
lawyer. Tho newspapers print her
picture regularly; the movies are after
her to sign a contract, and in tho
Italian quarter where she is particular
~ VOL known. the activities Of the
aVocntessa" are followed with awed
interest. Moreover. try to start con-
Versation with q Now Yorker, and in "a
lew minutes you will find yourself in
an animated discussion OF Mrs. Grace
Humiston and her missing girls.
Mrs. Humiston has made her per-
sonaiity strongly felt in New York in
the past few months. In finding Ruth
Cruger, she started a campaign for
the recovery of the other S5S girls re-
ported missing In five and half
months. The police department sud-
ueniy awoke from apathy and estab-
iisheo whole new department for
the recovery of missing girls Then
IL appointed Mrs. Humiston It's special
agent with full police powers and :,
squao Oh hve policemen to assist her
IN her work. AS n result, nearly $40
girls have been returned
The great problem, Mrs. Humiston
believes. lies not with the girl herself
Dut with her home conditions she
STANDS them as long as she can then
she runs away from home. Lonely and
unprotected. she Is usually an easy
prey for the various plausible men who
frequent the clty's streets, representa-
yves OF the most sordid business in the
"orlo The average girl feels that a
GOOD time is her natural heritage II
the sood time happens to appear in
inc form OF well-dressed young man.
VINO approaches her with Just the
proper amount OF admiration and re-
spect and suggests car ride or a
soda' she Is very apt to accept. There
Is ono chance out of ten that the young
man Is harmless. In Mrs. Humiston's
opinion; and there are three chancs,
out OF five that the soda will contain
drug.
Trnfnc Really Doe. Exiat.
Tho white slave traffic has bc.n Tho
princtpai feature of so many sensa-
tional moving picture dramas that the
average individual has about reached
the conclusion that 1t never did extst
anywhere else. Mrs. Humiston, how
ever, can tell you that IL docs. In
her rescuing Of girls she has Uncovered
some Information that has put the Po
lice Department and every home on IFS
guard. For the past two months her
spies nave been occupying certain
beats" in various sections of New
iork' and they have made tho unanf-
possible for young girl to walk
Tor ten blocks In New York without
being accostcd by q dozen strange men.
Cases of girls who have been drug
ged and carried off in ta4is are num-
erous. Several arc now being handled
by the Humiston Office. The majority
or THESE are girls who have had a
good bringinG-up In the most conser-
Yative OF middle-class homes II is an
interesting ha
suffers from this evil the most The
girl OF the East Side and sIums. who
has practically been brought up on
the streets. usually understands their
dangers and is an expert in avoiding
them. On the other hand, the society
sirl is 100 well protected to be sub
jcctcd to them. But the middlc-class
girl is neither sufficiently sophisticated
or protected.
or course. you will say. 1t is primar-
lily the girls fault. She should not al
low strange man to "pick her up"
But what would you say II you knew
that every onco in n while n girl is
taken screaming and struggling against
her VIII IN the very heart of Broadway
in broad daylight? This. according TO
Mrs. Humiston's chief detective. has
happened repeatedly. Two men over
power n girl and force her. resisting, 70
a taxi. while third stands n few feet
OIL and calmly turns fake moving
picture camera. Under these circum-
stances even the traffic policeman grins
good -naturedly while the crime is be-
ing committed.
Menace Increaaes Enormously.
Since are war. says Mrs. Humiston's
detective. the menace has increased
enormously owing TO the fact that i'm
portutions of women from Europe have
entirely ceased a few have been
brought from South America, but the
great majority have had 10 be secured
right here In this country. Hence. not
too great an emphasis can be put upon
the wisdom of protecting girls.
Protection. however. in Mrs. Hunts
toms opinion, does not mean close sur
veillance. 1t means giving your daugh-
tiers a good home and sufficient recrea-
tion to keep them satisfied with their
lot. The other day distrauGht mother
came to Mrs. Humiston and asked her
to find her daughter. who had -un