The day book. [volume], July 24, 1914, LAST EDITION, Image 9

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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ONE MAN'S OPINIONS
BY N. D. COCHRAN
Why Hound the Women? Judges
and policemen are solving the vice
problem just as other men have been
trying to solve it since the dawn of
civilization. That is, policemen are
arresting prostitutes and judges are
fining them.
Arresting and fining these women
of the underworld doesn't reform
them. It doesn't purify their bodies
or save their souls. It doesn't make
a dent in vice. It doesn't decrease
the number of prostitutes or increase
the sum total of human virtue and
morality.
Take any one of these lost sisters.
At one time she was a sweet and in
nocent babe, nursing at a fond moth
er's breast. Doubtless she kneeled in
prayer at her mother's knee as soon
as she was able to repeat the Lord's
prayer. No doubt she went to Sun
day school and to church.
Finally came a man. Betrayal, de
sertion then other men. Then pos
sibly the master of this slave the
maquero, the cadet, the pimp that
low, disreputable scoundrel who fol
lowed her as she prowled the streets
in search of men with money. The
wretch who beat her, who took from
her the money for which she had
sold herself and then made of him
self a "good fellow" among his fel
low pimps around some redlight re
sorts. Finally she is arrested there is a
vice crusade on she is yanked up
before a judge the awful majesty of
the LAW must be vindicated she is
fined she pays that fine to society,
to US, to YOU and ME the state.
What happens then?
There is no home for her. No
church stretches forth its arms in
Christian charity and takes her to
its bosom. Her more fortunate sis
ters won't touch her. She's unclean
found out a wanton a woman of I reliable psychologist (if such exist)
the streets yes, a woman of the and if the boy is found to have the
streets, for there is no place else for
her -to go and ply her trade.
And out on the street she goes
again to "hustle" harder than ever to
get back the money WE took from
her in fines.
And the learned judge, the wise
judge, the most potent "judge he
wraps about his human form his
seeming virtue, his unsullied ermine,
his marvelous chastity and wonderful
honor, and goes home to the bosom
of his family and prays to God that
no daughter of HIS shall ever come
to such a pass.
Yes, God forbid that his innocent
daughter shall ever come before such
a judge, and come before him as a
woman of the street.
It's a wise dispensation of Provi
dence that we can't know all there is
to know of our ancestors, and can't
look far enough into the future to see
what becomes of our grandchildren
or their grandchildren.
I presume there is not a family in
America today, which if traced way
back in its mortal meandering,
wouldn't disclose among some of the
remote ancestors a thief, a murderer,
a perjurer and a prostitute.
And no living man, no matter how
pure, how cautious and how careful,
can say that in future generations
there will not be found among his
progeny, lawyers, preachers, gam
blers, thieves, perjurers, murderers
and prostitutes.
LETTERSfoEDITOR
Editor Day Book: A more or less
eminent psychologist named Dr.
Hickson, wbrking in connection with
the Juvenile Court, has recently been
quoted in the newspapers as having
proved, statistically from personal ob
servation, that criminality in boys is
a disease.
If this is true the government
ought to have every boy at a given
age say 3 or 4 years tested by a
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