The day book. [volume], November 29, 1911, Image 2

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

Image provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

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tinental, Europe. y "Moreover, the
American conscience will not tol
erate the semblance of legalizing
vice,
"But we have in America a fine
- way of making moraHawsrand
then a: fine way of .noCenfojfcing
them. We hand this greatT
. est social problem over to the po
lice to deal with as they -see fit
regardless of laws.
' . '"The Chicago police furnished
us with a list of 1,108 professional
prostitutes. Our investigation,
. which was not complete, showed
4,600, so that there are at least
5,000 professional 'prostitutes in
--Chicago. The number .of clan
destine prostitutes is enormous,
nany thousands. I mean those
, vho work and eke out their
icanty wages by immorality, and
mose wno re jmmoral by choice.
"The profits on the Social Evil
in 'Chicago, in a year are esti
mated at $16,000,0p0, and- the
number of men served by them at
5,990,Q0Q.
. The. Social Evil is pregnant
with disease that leaves blind-
ness, paralysis, mental decay and
physical rot in its trail.
"The life of a. girl in this life
averages five years. Therefore,
every year there must be 1,000
i girl recruits. Where do they
come4fro$n?
, "They come through ignorance
or degeneracy or economic con
ditions. They, come through the
dance halls, the, cheap theaters,
the ill lighted parks and amuse
ment resorts and the big-lake
steamboats.
"W&fa&that about; 5p,per cent J
go, into, this life through economic
reasons, .because of low wages,
not only in department stores,
but in all Industries where women
are employed, Women' have
crowded -fast into the industrial
field, T.he consequence is a large
supply and a low wage. When
a woman Realizes that she is earn- t
inly only $6 a week, which will
not support her, and that by giv
ing up her virtue she can earn
$30 or $40 a week, is it any won
der that she 'finally yields to the ,
econoniic pressure.
"Consider the thousands who
come out weary and ill-paid from
store and factory to go to cheap
boarding or rooming houses,
where they are associated with
all kinds of men and women.
They are hungry for a kind word,
for a friend, and there.are always
men waiting' to take advantage
and drag them down. -,
"We should not turn this vice "
question over to the police. I
maintain that no matter how
honest a police force may be, that
part of it which is continually
brought into contact with an il
legal traffic cannot contfnue to
maintain its honesty. Where a
"business is illegal, graft is bound
t6 prevail.
"The worst influence outside
the houses of ill-fame is the sa
loon. We must first separate the
social evil from the police con-
trol and then divprce it from the
saloon.
"Perhaps the saloon has come
to stav as an American institu
tion,, but if it must stay Jet it be
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