Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-12-01

Firg!nia-Ncwpogt Ecws Hope
/ well
"yominE-Sheridan.
WaahingtOn--Sc Seattle.
West WrRinIa--WheclIng
Wonderfully Successful.
This does not mean, pf coprse.
that prostitution has been absolutely
and completely obliteratcd from
these communities and that soldiers
seeking s"X indulgence are unab|" 10
crafty their lust. IN the present
stale Of human imperfccuon, all the
military police aud all the local po-
Ice departments II they were ten
times as many ana ten times ~ "ffi-
ci"nt, CUuh not bring about that COM
p.ots elimination OF vice. II does
mean that ia these ummInltics
there cannot he found today the old
open invitation, flauntinR In tn" face
Of every visitor, 10 vicious sex nduI-
g"nC". II means that II prostitution
Exists, It Is iu some hole or corner
whence sooner or iatcI II viii be
driven out, for under the govern
W"ntB spur the local authorize are
watching ke"niy and the representa-
ives OF the law enforcement division
Of the commission on training camp
activities are always alert to stlmu-
late thls municipal WatChfuincs~ II
means tnat 10 far aS the soldier ~
| concerned the country has been
made tOlCraDly safe for him. And IL
means. so far as the communities
are concerned. that there exists "a
hlsher conception Of municipal duty,
"A finer spirit OF cooperation between
| officials ana Citizcns, a practical basis
of maintaining cleaner and safer
ci'tes for their people and for future
| generations.
Far reaching as the effects OF tho
municipal clean-ups have been IN
! protecting the soldiers and helping
mo cities, they have not by any
means ended the task OF the commits
sion on training camp activities
! with the bTOthels closed. pTOStitu-
ton entered new phase. Hotels ana
| fOOmlng houses we're utilized the
women meeting their PATRONS at
dance halls, Cabdrets, cafes and street
corners. This brand Of commcrCial-
ized vice has been found TO be more
! difficult 10 fight than the bawdy
! house type, bat II is also less danger
GUS, as II Is impossible for the husl-
ness to be 30 extensive. Moreover,
| ways have been found TO deal with IL.
| Hotels and rOUminR houses are
| watched closely and when sufficient
evidence Is obtained against them
they are raided. II this merely
drives their patrons to others more
safe because less well known. II at
least makes It more difficult for vice
To fourigD. and that diminishcs the
| opportunities for Indulgence on the
part OF the soldiers ana lessens the
chance Of their being infected by
Vcncreal Diseases
TaXicaO drivers, frequently run
ners for prostitutes or disurderly ho-
tells, are required most in many COM
| munitirs 10 obtain licenses. IL evil
| dence Of any connection with pros
| ttuiion is obtained against them
their licenses are revoked. This is
! carried ont SO vigorously that In some
| places they are hauled over the Goals
II they are known TO have carried
! man In uniform and a woman. Dif-
| fruit as fighting the scattered pros
ututes Of the hotels and lodging
houses Is, the law enforcement di-
vision OF the commission on training
| camp activities feels that it has THIS
, situation tUlsrably well in hand.
Still Another Variety.
! But there is yet another variety
, the third or last line, as II has been
termed. This Is taxicab prostitution,
either where the motor car is made
> 10 take the place Of dlsorderly
house or where 1t becomes trans
pOrtaiun agency TO some soquestered
nook miles away from camp or city.
This form of vice Is now engaging
the especial attention of the Commis-
siOns agents, and 1t is conceded to be
the most difficult OF all forms 10
deal with. Nevertheless by the strict
est Of watChfulnesS on the part OF the
district workers, the military police
and the local police forces, by the
regulation Of taxicab drivers and
similar precautions progress is being
made even in lessening this form Of
prostitution.
Meantime there has been from the !
beginning a steady and persistent en- !
deavor to educate the soldiers to thel
knowledge that confluence is pos
sible and desirable, that II is not un- |
healthful, but rather the reverse, and !
that sex indulgence with prostitutes, ,
whether Of the hrothel brand or the
promiscuous young girl OF the towns
VINO may be picked up ON Il street /
corner. is bound to be degrading and
almost certain to carry with II the
danger OF Yenereal disease. Ii is the
experience OF many officers that men
who never before had given seri-
GUS thought to the subject have come
70 view II In its true light. How
much progress this educational cam
palgn has made no one, OF course,
can pretend to say accurately. But
individual instances cited by army
I officers give reason to hope that the
! seed has fallen on good ground.
| President Wilson has said, in COM
mentinE on the work OF the com
mission that the federal government
: has pledged its word that as far as
care and vigilance can accomplish
the result, the men committed to its
charge will be returned to the homes
and communities that so generously
gave them with no scars except those
won in honorable conflict" In at
least ll6 cases they will find far bet
, ter communities to return to than
. thcy wrre when they left to enter