Chapter XXIII

THE WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH.

On Monday, February 8, 1909, The Illinois Vigilance Association, an organization having for its object the suppression of traffic in women and girls, held its second annual conference against this evil. The meeting was held in the auditorium of the Young Men's Christian Association, in Chicago.

Dr. Winfield Scott Hall, professor of physiology in Northwestern University Medical School, spoke on the subject that is the title of this chapter, and was followed by Judge Julian W. Mack. Their plain, chaste, truthful words gave no offense to the refined ladies and gentlemen, and young ladies and young gentlemen, who composed that large audience of nearly a thousand people. Instead of offense, appreciation and gratitude were in every heart.

The addresses of these two eminent men are here reproduced word for word from the stenographer's report, not omitting the enlivening interruptions from a woman in the audience, herself a physician and much interested in this reform.

CHAIRMAN BOYNTON: "The White Slave Traffic and the Public Health" is the topic of the address by Dr. Winfield Scott Hall, Professor of Physiology, Northwestern University Medical School:

DR. WINFIELD SCOTT HALL: Ladies and Gentlemen: It might be of interest to note in passing that my interest in this matter has been directed particularly along educational lines, to know that since the first of October, 1908, I have addressed young men and boys on this subject to the number of not less than twenty thousand, mostly in the colleges and high schools, setting forth to them in perfectly clear and simple language the proper hygiene and physiology of the sexual system, teaching them the methods of right living.

As to this nefarious traffic that we have just been hearing about, and the relation of that traffic to the public health, I would like in one sentence to sum up a parallel between this white slave trade and the black slave trade that continued from the time of the Colonies to the memory of many of us present. I believe that we have not yet expiated and paid the price of that slave trade and it may be many generations yet before we pay for it. Blood flowing in rivers is a part of that price, from the hearts of the noblest sons of America. This white slave trade must be paid for in blood. Who are the primary victims? In most cases, pure minded girls, ambitious to go out and earn a higher wage and think they can send home wages to father and mother, and they fall into these snares that are set for them.

DENOUNCING THE POLITICIANS WHO PROTECT THE DIVES The author and his band of noble workers fighting the evil in the very heart of the vice district

JAMES BRONSON REYNOLDS Special investigator for President Roosevelt

But we must not stop there. These poor girls do not live over at the most ten or fifteen years and a large proportion of them perhaps take their own lives. But if you could see the line of men that I saw the other night passing through one of these fifteen-cent lodging houses, lined up as they passed through to take their couch for the night, where over two hundred of these men passed by, and a large proportion of these men showing ulcers and other superficial stigmata of the venereal diseases! They represent the under world, the under dogs of society, the men who are down and out, who years ago visited the houses of ill-fame and got the disease and are now ekeing out their lives, hoping for the end to come—many of them.

But we can look further for victims. I believe that only a small proportion of the women who are in the houses of ill-fame—only a small proportion—make their way there of their own volition, and that small proportion are of the degenerate class who are born with a screw loose somewhere. From their babyhood they who are born with this taint—and we could, perhaps, trace that taint back—but born with that taint, they gradually go into that life—but they make a small proportion. The rest of them are either betrayed into that sort of a life, their lives ruined because they trusted some man, or they are bartered into it through this nefarious white slave traffic.

All lewd women are diseased some of the time and some lewd women are diseased all of the time. Now, whether the lewd woman is of the clandestine type or a professional in the house of ill-fame, it does not matter. Some say the clandestine is the more dangerous. Why? Because no attempt is made to have medical care. . . . That doesn't get at the real condition at all, and so she retains disease in her body and gives it to every one perhaps who visits her for months to come. When that is in a woman's system, it is almost impossible to eradicate. It is shocking, but we must know the facts. Statistics show that of the operations on women in the hospitals of New York City year before last for the removal of one or both ovaries, sixty-five per cent of those operations were brought about and necessitated because of gonorrheal infection.

WOMAN IN THE AUDIENCE: And most of them were married women.

DR. HALL: A considerable proportion of them were from the house of ill-fame. No small proportion of them were lawfully wedded, high minded, wives and mothers. Now, it is not customary for a doctor to say to a woman going to the hospital, "Madam, your difficulty is of a venereal origin"—no, he says, "I find an abcess. You must get to the hospital as soon as possible or you probably will lose your life. It is a question of life and death to get to the hospital and have an operation." If the doctor had said to this woman in every case "This is is of gonorrheal origin," you can imagine what the woman would say who knew she had led an innocent, pure life. She would say "Why?"—"You must have got it from some man." "But I never have had any contact with any man but my lawfully wedded husband." "Well, you must have got it from your lawfully wedded husband then."

Our standards are not high enough. Why a lawfully wedded husband should fix it up with his conscience to act so basely towards his wife we have yet to find out. But it is a wrong standard and I am glad to be able to say to the wives and mothers in this audience that almost without exception when I say to young men "Fellows, isn't it time that we have a single standard of purity for men and women?" they respond the same way you have responded and it is a question of education and we must keep it up.

Fathers and mothers in this audience—and I see there are probably grandfathers and grandmothers—let us see to it that our children are instructed in these matters by telling them the truth in early childhood, and then when they get older—girls fourteen or fifteen years old—let their mothers take them into their confidence and tell them some of these things, tell them the truth and endeavor to protect them against the wiles of tempters out in society.

I hardly need to say anything about syphilis. You know what the leper of the Orient used to be required to do and perhaps to this day—when any one met this leper, you know, he had to stand back and raise a warning hand and say "Unclean, Unclean." But the man who has syphilis, does he have to raise any warning hand? No, he mingles in the best society; he drinks from our drinking glass and the innocent child perhaps uses the same drinking glass in the railway train. Fortunately, there is only a short period of time when he can transmit it through the drinking glass, but during that time there is nothing to restrain him, so far as I know.

When I was a student in the medical school a quarter of a century ago, it was a common thing to pass over with some jocose remark the disease of gonorrhea. But that isn't done any more. Why? Because it is now proven to the medical profession that gonorrhea is quite as dangerous as syphilis. But the people in general do not know that. Let us tell the young men, especially, that they cannot afford to run the risk of gonorrhea, because it may not only wreck their own lives but the germs may lurk there and may be transmitted two or three or more years later to some innocent bride.

QUESTION FROM WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: Couldn't the husbands be examined?

DR. HALL: That is a perfectly fair question. I have a daughter and I want to just say this that no man is ever going to take that daughter from under my roof until I am sure that he has not got tuberculosis, for one thing, and syphilis and gonorrhea for another.

CHAIRMAN BOYNTON: I am sure it is a matter of congratulation that we have physicians in the city of Chicago who can talk as Dr. Hall has talked to us this morning. I am glad the time has come when we can sit as men and women and hear the truth and be unashamed.

I am sure we are all glad to have with us Judge Julian W. Mack of the Circuit Court, who will address us.

JUDGE JULIAN W. MACK: Ladies and Gentlemen: I am on the program for the closing words. I have no particular subject to talk about but it is a great gratification to listen to the words, particularly of Dr. Hall, and to see the response that they receive in a mixed audience such as this. Too long have we buried our heads in the sand; too long have we been silent on these great subjects; too long have we lied to our little ones, and thereby helped to bring about the destruction of so many of them.

I am not one of those who believe for a moment that salvation lies in education alone. Most drunkards know the evil of drink. Most men that yield to these temptations have some idea of the evil that they are going into, but girls in great numbers do not know. The young boys in great numbers do not know. Just as Dr. Hall said, you cannot appeal to a thousand school or college men, putting before them the truth, bringing them to the knowledge of terrible danger—and get any but one response. Our young people are noble and brave and we can rely upon them. If we could not, there would not be much hope of our country. We must educate them. We must tell them the facts. It isn't many years ago that the physicians were most guilty on this subject. If they had but told the men of our generation what we are now endeavoring to tell the young people of today, there would not be as many of these operations as there are now. But they passed off these matters so indifferently, as they might a slight cold, and that is what they all did practically about ten years ago. It was a crime against the young people of that day. The physicians, the clergymen and the laymen have all been awakened to a realization of our duties, at least, so far as education is concerned. It is up to us to see to it that all the boys and girls know something of the mystery of life that they may guard against the dangers and the temptations that confront them.

Dr. Hall spoke of some of the evils that await the innocent wife. Let me carry that a step further and apply it to local conditions. In our County Hospital we have a floor in the children's ward for the treatment of these cases among the children. Dr. Billings, President of the State Board of Charities and one of the, if not the leading physician in this section of the country, and Dr. Frank Churchill, one of the leading children's specialists of this city, told me a few days ago that there are from forty to sixty children at all times in that department, and that this disease is so virulent, so contagious, that there is grave danger to every child that enters that building and is treated for other diseases in other distinctive parts of that building, and that the great and crying need for the children—the sick children—today in Chicago and in Cook county, is not one floor devoted to this, but a distinct, separate building so that the children who have not yet become afflicted and are taken to the hospital for other contagious or non-contagious diseases, may not become infected and carry into their own homes gonorrheal trouble that comes through contagion, and it is up to this Vigilance Association, the Society of Social Hygiene and the other organizations, to see to it that the innocent children who are sick and as yet not afflicted with this disease, taken to our county institution do not come out worse than they enter. It is up to us to demand that they provide a proper children's department, a proper children's building, for the treatment of these cases.

The Society of Social Hygiene is but three years old. Similar organizations exist in the large cities of the country. They are due to the awakening of the people. They are spreading among the young people the knowledge of the conditions that confront them. It is up to the rest of us to do our share in other ways. Each of us can be an inspiration in his own family, in the public and in the private schools. We, the educated people of this community, can instruct the lesser educated parents so that they may realize their duty to their children. Our children and their children come together. We cannot escape that brotherhood, even if we wanted to. Our children, no matter how well we care for them, come into contact with the rest of the children of the city. We do not do our duty by our own unless we do our duty by the others too, and unless we see to it that they are properly cared for also, danger awaits our own children. That is putting it on selfish grounds, but I put it to you on the broader ground of brotherhood to man. Let us all join. On this great question at least we are one. No matter how we may differ on other social problems, on this question of the white slave traffic every decent man and woman stands on the same ground.

—E. A. B.