The Duluth rip-saw. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1917-19??, 1919-09-20

without closing the door and before
the very eyes Of the children.
Going home, those children shocked
their parents by innocently narrating
what they saw the eolored woman an,.
the white man dc in that house, said
house being rented to the dusky Jeze-
Tel by prominent citizen who dresses
in fine linen and fares sumptuously
every day. On Sunday he lifts up
his voice louily in L,ayer for the good
Lord to do away with sin, convert the
heather and to bring His kingdom
down to the wicked Earth.
Any resident down there, men ca
tering to the trade down there or even
casual strollers through Duluth's for
mer segregated district, will tell you
how they are hailed by the black
sirens and how many low white men
%. there to satisfy their animal pas
sions. You even will hear how booze
often is supplied to their white patrons
by the dusky Dinahs.
When a decent father or mother
protests against an immoral Negro
woman g actions, her favorite proceed
ure is to pull her raiment up onto her
back and then stick her naked poste-
rior out and towards the object of her
dislike, in a very ribald, obscene and
insulting manner.
Such common occurrences as these
finally goaded fathers and mothers,
forced by hard circumstances to live
where rents are cheap, to get up pc
tition to the late grand jury to inves-
tigate and then act, if possible. These
nasty, obscene and immoral conditions
impelled the Finnish residents to hold
two mass meetings down there on
South First Avenue East. At the first
meeting, a committee Of six was named
to draw up resolutions of protest to
be presented to the grand jury. AT
the second meeting, packed house,
the resolutions were adopted and for
warded to the county attorney for
presentation to the grand jurors.
The grand jury embraced an unusu.
ally large number Of men who strongly
champion decency and morality and
abhor lawlessness or anything detri-
mental to public morals.
After quick, sharp and vigorous in
vestigation, the grand jury made the
following report:
"From the witnesses who have
come before the grand jury, and the
evidence that has come before us, it
appears that rather deplorable stu
alton exists on lower South First ave-
nue. east, and the alleys adjoining,
and in the interest of remedying such
conditions, we do recommend that a
change be made in the personnel of
the officers patrolling the beats in
that vicinity, with the exception OF
Officer Isaacson, whose services meet
with the approval Of the law-abiding
citizens in that neighborhood, and we
would recommend to the commissioner
of public safety and suggest that the
officers now patrolling beats in said
vicinity be transferred and new Off
GERS, with the exception Of Officer
Isaacson, be placed in that locality.
"We also recommend that steps be
taken at as early date as possible
to enlarge the police force, as from
the evidence we have had before us
the police force is grossly inadequate
as far as the number Of officers are
concerned and, if possible, the number
of officers should be greatly increased.
"We further recommend that moral
conditions in that vicinity be remedied
at as early date as possible, and to
that end we urge upon the commission
er Of public safety forcible and strin-
gent prosecution of all violations OF
the ordinances, and recommend that
in the event of convictions for such
violations, that the judge Of the mu-
nicipal court impose straight maxi
mum Jail or work farm sentences with
out the alternative of fines. Our in
vestigation shows that immoral and
unlawful acts are being committed in
the vicinity above referred to, and
that law-abiding citizens therein are
entitled to prompt action on the part
of the commissioners of public safety,
and we sincerely recommend that the
police officers do everything in their
power to correct the Irregularities now
appearing to exist on lower South
First avenue east.
"We further recommend that in the
event of convictions being obtained,
and VIE urge the commissioner of pub
lie safety to obtain such convictions
if possible, that the matter be commu-
nicated to the county attorneys Of
flee and that if convictions are OBJ.
tanned for maintaining houses Of ill
fame, that abatement actions be COM
msnced immediately against the prop