Weekly journal-miner., 1918-02-27
LOCAL VICE ZONE IS NOW THING
 OF THE PAST
(From Saturdays Daiiy)

Prcscott's redlight district was closed with a bang at five o'clock yesterday evening, shortly after the arrival of Lieutenant Paul Popcnoe, representing the surgeon general s staff of the United States army, and this morning, for the first time in the city's fifty-odd years of existence, the lid has been placed on commcr- cialized prostitution, the crimson lights have been switched off and the squeaky pianos which for years have furnished the shrill janglc of bear cat" dance music for the frequenters of the honky-tonk are silent-silent for all time, the war department says.
 While it had generally been expect- ed that the line" would be closed on March lst, the arrival of Lieutenant Popenoc and the subsequent closing orders came like a bolt out of the blue, and the women of the vice zone and their male protectors were caught unawares. Lieut.. Popenoe arrived from the north on the 4:l0 train, and hunting up Chief of Police Tom Me Mahon, he went directly to the re stricted district, and making the rounds of the cribs, informed each oc- cupant that she must quit business instantcr. The landlords who leas- cd the cribs to the girls were notified that they would face a term Tn the Federal penitentiary if they rented any more property to be used for harboring prostitutes.
 Lieutenant Popenoc stated that the women would have until Sunday night to vacatc their premises, al though they would not be allowed to entertain any of their male friends in the interim.
 Within Is minutes after the word had spread through the line" that its days were numbered, the majority of the women had begun the work of packing up their belongings. Lace curtains were hastily pulled down from the windows, flimsy lingerie was slowed away in trunks, anc phonographs and other large pieces of furniture were being crated up for shipment. Many of the women an nounced their intention oi gong to different points in Nevada, while scv- eral of them arc going to try their luck in Los Angeles. About 40 wom- cn were affected by yesterdays order.
 The persons who are hit hardest bv the closing order are the owners and lcssecs of the buildings on South Granite street which had been dcvot- cd to the use of the pricstcSscs ot the night life. The two larger buildings contained about l5 cribs apiece, each of which was rented tor Sl.oO a night.
 While many local attempts have bcen made to close up the bad lands, ii was not until the war department got behind the move for the protec- tion of the morals Of the men m the army, that the movement attalncd sufficient momentum to successfully carry it through. Owing to the tact that the officer in giving his orders yesterday evening impressed upon inc women the fact that any attempt 70 locate elsewhere in the city tor the purpose of continuing their vooa- lions would result in their being sent to q Federal prison, it is not believed that any attempt will be made to open the resorts in outlying portions of the city. and it would seem that tbis last mark of the old free and easy days of frontier life has been crowd cd off the boards and rclcgatcd to place along with the flowing bowl, inc roulette wheel, the faro bank and other institutions which used to be regarded as a necessary adjunct 10 Ifc ;,, +bc Far West
 The Five-Mile Limit.
 In speaking oi the vice crusade last night, Officer Popenoe stated that inc closing ol the Prescott dis trict had come about primarily be- cause of the fact that the rcdlight district was within the fivcmile limit from Fort Whipple, and had the post not been located near the city, tho army authorities could not have sum- Inarily closed the Prescott lava beds.