Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-08-14

NEW YORK CITY. August 10.-The popular
N feminine idol of New York at present 10
not actress but woman lawyer. Inc
newspapers print her picture regularly; the NOV
les after her sign contract, and in the ltal
ian quarter where she is particularly we'll known
the activities of the ''avocatessa' are followed
with awed interest. Moreover, try to start con-
versation with New Yorker, and in a few minutes
you will find yourself in animated discussion OF
Mrs. Grace Humiston and her missing girls
Mrs. Humiston has made her personality strong
ly felt in New York in the past few months. In
finding Ruth CTuger she started campaign for
the recovery of the other $50 girls reported missing
in five and half months. The police department
suddenly awoke from apathy and established
whole new department for the recovery OF missing
girls. Then it appointed Mrs. Humston its special
agent, with full police powers and squad or nve
policemen to assist her in her work. AS result
nearly eight hundred girls have been returned
The great problem Mrs Humiston believes lies
not with the girl herself but with her home condi-
tons. She stands them long as she can, then
she runs away from home Lonely and unprotected,
she is usually easy prey for the various plausl
bic gentlemen who frequent the city, streets, rep
resentatives of the most sordid business in the
world. The average girl feels that good time is
her natural heritage. If the good time happens to
appear in the form of well-dressed young man,
who approaches her with just the proper amount
of admiration and respect and suggests car ride
a soda, she is very apt to accept. There is one
chance out of ten that the young man is harmless,
in Mrs. Humistons opinion; and there are three
chances out of five that the soda will contain
drug
The white slave traffic has been the principal
feature of many sensational moving picture
dramas that the average individual has about
reached the conclusion that it did exist any
where else Mrs. HumistOn, however, can tell YOU
that it does In her rescuing of girls she has UNI
covered information that has put the police
department and every home on its guard. For the
past two months her spies have been occupying GER
tain beats in various sections of New York and
fhnEyh nya made he
practically impossible for a young girl to walk for
ter blocks in New York without being accosted by
a dozen strange men,
Cases of girls who have been drugged and car
ried off in taxis are numerous Several
being handled by the Humiston office. The ma
jority of these girls who have had good bring
ing-up in the most conservative of middle-class
homes. 1t is an interesting fact that the middle
class suffers from this evil the' most The girl of
the East Side and slums, who has practically been
brought up the streets, usually understands
their dangers and is expert in avoiding them.
On the other hand the society girl is too well pro-
tected to be subjected to them But the middle
class girl is neither sufficiently sophisticated
protected.
Of course, you will say, it is primarily the girls
fault. She should not allow a strange man to pick
her up" But what would you say if you knew that
every once in a while girl Is taken screaming
and struggling against her will in the very heart of
Broadway in broad daylight? Thus, according to
Mrs. Humistons chief detective, has happened re-
peatedly. The men overpower a girl and force her.
resisting to taxi, while third stands few feet
off and calmly turns fake moving picture camera
Under these circumstances the traffic police
man grins good-naturedly while the crime is be-
ing committed.
Since the war, says Mrs. Humiston's detective
the menace has increased enormously owing to the