The day book. [volume], November 02, 1911, Image 1

About The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917

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THE DAY BOOK
500 SO. PEORIA ST. 398 TEL. MONROE 353
Chicago, Thursday, November 2, 1911.
WILL THE NEXT -MAYORALTY CAMPAIGN IN
CHICAGO BE BASED ON THE SOCIAL EVIL?.
Dean Sumner Believes It Will The Vice Commission
Says the Social Evil is a Commercialized Business in
Chicago,, With Annual Profits of;More Than $15,-
- 000,000 How the Vice Commission Was Created
- J
In an address -before the North Side Physicians' club, Dean
Sumner, chairman'of the Chicago Vice Commission, said he believed
the next .mayoralty campaign in Chicago would be 'based on the
Social,Evil. t ' ' ' '
If that happens, Chicago will be better equipped to intelligently
conduct, such a campaign than any city in the country.
The reason for this is that a commission of eminent men and
womenj, in whose integrity and sincerity of jmrpose all Chicago
has confidence, 'has "gone" clear to the bottom of existing vice condi
tions, and found the connection between vice in modern cities and
economic conditions.
It-has been the history of vice crusades in most cities that those
w.ho like-to be considered good citizens have heartily applauded
newspapers and crusaders so long as th'ey attacked only the brewer,
the saloonkeeper, the gambler, the burglar, the thief and the prosti
tute, but have dropped out of the fight when causes were traced
to'economic conditions and involved so-called eminently respectable
citizens.
Quite often, too, these vfce crusades have been startedi for
"a political .purposeT In some 'cities the. public service corporations,
the frenzied financiers who fatten on watered bonds and stock,1 and
the crooked politicians, have egged on such crusades in order to
serve their own selfish ends. .
But when, -for example,- the crusade against the keepers of dis
orderly joints got too near some eminently respectable citizen, of
wealth and social prominence, who owned the building then the
crusade became unpopular with some of the so-called goody
goodies. - t
They were willing to attack the 'ignoraint and not prominent
mm Jffil wmm pr(?l?finiJly inppd in ? m; m not tHt influw-
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