Morgan 1 Committee of Sixteen Preliminary Report of an Unofficial Organization upon the Vice Conditions in Montreal after an Investigation lasting three months financed by private citizens. Conducted during August, September and October, 1918 g Publication No. 1 Issued October 31st, 1918 McGILL UNIVER- SITYs LIBRARY Committee of Sixteen ▼ T Preliminary Report of an Unofficial Organization upon the Vice Conditions in Montreal after an Investigation lasting three months financed by private citizens. Conducted during August, September and October, 1918 ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ Publication No. 1 Issued October 31st, 1918 INDEX OF CONTENTS Page Personnel of Committee. 5 List of Subscribers. 6 Treasurer’s Statement. 8 Foreword by Chairman. 9 Toleration of Vice in Montreal. 13 Weakness of Raiding System. 14 Responsibility of Property Owners. 16 Number of Houses of Prostitution. 17 Attitude of the Courts. 17 Policy of Suppression Advocated. 18 Discussion of Policy of Toleration. 20 Present Conditions in District. 21 Cabmen and Chauffeurs Involved. 23 Summary of Observations in District. 25 Disregard of Regulations during Influenza Epide¬ mic. 26 Exploitation of Girls. 27 Moral Effects of Life in the District. 29 Moral Effects on Children. 31 Conditions Revealed by Analysis of Cases. 32 Boundaries of District. 32 Analysis of Problems. 33 Venereal Disease.34,38 Resources for Handling the Problems. 35 Problem of Handling Older Girl. 39 Commercialized Vice the Underlying Problem.... 40 Regulation, Segregation, Toleration Not Effective 41 Public Opinion the Deciding Factor. 41 Attitude of Committee of Sixteen. 42 Programme of Committee of Sixteen. 43 Committee of Sixteen OFFICERS Rev. Herbert Symonds, D.D., LL.D.Chairman. Irving P. Rexford.;.Vice-Chairman. Alex. Falconer, K.C.Hon. Treasurer. Miss Kathleen Moore.Hon. Secretary. Miss Lucy C. Phinney, B.A.General Secretary. MEMBERS Miss L. E. F. Barry.Hon. Secretary, Catholic Social Service Guild. John Bradford.Community Secretary, Montreal Y.M.C.A. James Carruthers Dr. W. W. Chipman.Montreal Maternity Hospital. W. B. Colley.Salvation Army. Miss Olive Z. DeLany. . . .Superintendent, Victorian Order of Nurses. Robert C. Dexter.General Secretary, Charity Organization Society. Mrs. F. Wilson Fairman.. President, Sheltering Home. J. Howard T. Falk.Director, Social Service Dept.,McGill University. Rev. Father Gauthier.St. James Parish. Lieut.-Colonel A. Lome C. Gilday, M.D., D.S.O.. Western Hospital of Montreal. Miss B. Glassman.Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. Miss Bessie Hall.Head Worker, University Settlement. Rev. Dr. E. I. Hart.Superintendent, Methodist Union, Montreal. Major A. K. Haywood, M.D., Superintendent, Montreal General Hospital. Lady Hingston.Hon. President, Catholic Social Service Guild. Miss Mabel C. Jamieson. . General Secretary, Montreal Y.W.C.A. Miss Quigley.Catholic Societies. Mrs. Colin K. Russell.... National Committee for Mental Hygiene. Dr. Samuel C. Schwartz. . Temple Emanu-El. Miss Eleanor Tatley.President, Local Council of Woman. COMMITTEE OFFICES 210-213 Drummond Bldg., 511 St. Catherine St. W., Montreal A copy of this report will be mailed to any local address upon receipt of a written request. 5 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS Carruthers, Jas. $250.00 Davis, Sir Mortimer B. 250.00 Morrice, R. B. 250.00 Webster, Lome C. 250.00 Lake of the Woods Milling Co., Limited. 250.00 Ogilvie Flour Mills Co., Limited. 250.00 Reford Co., Limited, Robt. 250.00 Angus, R. B. 100.00 Brown, K. C., A.J. 100.00 Johnson, Phelps. 100.00 Lyman, Arthur. 100.00 Miner, Mrs. Clara A. 100.00 Riordon, Carl. 100.00 Grier, Geo. 50.00 McConnell, J. W. 50.00 Learmont, Mrs. J. B. 50.00 Berliner, E. M. 25.00 Bydwell, H. E. 25.00 Gauthier, Rev. Father. 25.00 Macaulay, T. B. 25.00 Rexford, Irving P. 25.00 Hall & Co., W. M. 15.00 Anderson, John. 10.00 Anglin, J. P. 10.00 Anonymous. 10.00 Baillie, John. 10.00 Barry, W. H. 10.00 Baxter, W. P. 10.00 Birks, Wm. M. 10.00 Bourke, H. S. 10.00 Brown, F. B. 10.00 Byrne, D. J. 10.00 Clark, H. A. 10.00 Cookson, W. S. 10.00 Coward, S. H. 10.00 Ewing, S. W. 10.00 Falle, A. S. A. 10.00 Findlay, W. E. 10.00 Grieve, John. 10.00 Henwood, H. B. 10.00 Hogg, Geo. 10.00 Horn, M.S. 10.00 6 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS —continued Humes, L. S. $10.00 Hurlbatt, Miss Ethel. 10.00 Jenkins, John. 10.00 Kent, W. G. 10.00 Kersley. Geo. 10.00 Mackay, Hugh. 10.00 McLean, C. H. 10.00 Millen, Ernest. 10.00 Milligan, Geo. 10.00 Minty, Robt. 10.00 Mitchell, P. V. G. 10.00 Murphy, A. McA. 10.00 Mussen, W. H. C. 10.00 Nelson, H. A. 10.00 O’Brien, E. M. 10.00 Rutherford, S. F. 10.00 Schlemm, Leonard E. 10.00 Scott, H. A. 10.00 Shaw, F. J. 10.00 Shaw, Major H. LeRoy. 10.00 Smith, Allan L. 10.00 Southam, W. W. 10.00 Smyth, H. W. 10.00 Symonds, Rev. Dr. Herbert. 10.00 Teele, F. W. 10.00 Tilden, S. W. 10.00 Townsend, G. H. 10.00 Wells, T. G. 10.00 Wood, A. B. 10.00 Gomery, R. 5.00 $3,135.00 NOTE.—All but three of the subscriptions below twenty-five dollars were received from members of a local organization who were asked to make up a fixed sum by contributing ten dollars each. 7 COMMITTEE OF SIXTEEN TREASURER’S STATEMENT Receipts. Private Subscriptions. $3,135.00 Disbursements. Administration, Trained Service, and Office Force. $1,255.00 Printing, Stationery and Postage.. 213.13 Telephone and Telegrams. 30.88 Rent of Offices. 246.00 Initial Cost of Furniture. 267.50 Miscellaneous Expenses. 166.30 Estimated Cost of Printing and Mailing Report. 300.00 2,478.81 $ 656.19 Signed, — ALEX. FALCONER, October 28th, 1918. # Honorary-Treasurer. Note: — It was estimated in advance that the sum of $2,500.00 would be required to carry on the investigation and case work for three months and then issue the Committee’s report. In order to cover possible contingencies, it was de¬ cided to raise $3,000. As the original estimate has not been exceeded, the surplus of $656.19 is available to be applied towards cost of carrying on the work during November. 8 COMMITTEE OF SIXTEEN Foreword The entire civilized world is to-day sensible to the gravity of the problems presented by the existence of prostitution especially in the form of what is known as commercialized vice, and by the consequent prevalence and spread of venereal diseases. Everywhere men and women are preparing for a determined campaign against these evils, so destructive of the spiritual, moral, and physical life of the race. In the city of Montreal these problems cry aloud for the united action of all who are concerned in the betterment of our civic life and conditions. Without drawing comparisons invidious to our city, it may safely be asserted that there are few, if any, cities of a similar size where the conditions are more alarming. From time to time earnest social workers have called attention to the grave temptations and perils which beset the path of the young, but though their cry falls on not altogether deaf ears, yet so vast is the evil, and so intricate and per¬ plexing are the problems it presents, that the mass of the public despair of success, and conditions remain as they were. • We venture to affirm that this spectacle of trium¬ phant vice is intolerable. That this great city of churches and charities should throw up its hands with scarcely a struggle constitutes a situation that should fill us with shame. The situation constitutes nothing less than a challenge to our faith if we are Christians, and to our moral fibre if we are not. 9 There is no reason for this despair. We have suffi¬ cient evidence from cities larger and worse than our own that the evil can be met, and, at least, diminished. Never¬ theless, we do not close our eyes to the fact that of all the evils in our midst this is the most difficult to contend against. For this reason the prime necessity is the hearty and unanimous support of all well-disposed people. The Committee of Sixteen originated at a meeting called in June, 1918, by the Girls’ Cottage Industrial School at which Miss Maud E. Miner, of New York, gave a report of her brief survey on conditions in Mont¬ real as affecting young girls. It was there decided that in order to lay bare some of the underlying vice condi¬ tions, an agency for dealing with delinquent and wayward girls by means of specially trained workers would fill a great need. The organization thus formed aims to make it possible to present a united front to combat the problem of commercialized vice. It is an effort to unify the religious and moral forces of the city and is not to be regarded as a new Society, but rather as a focus for the efforts of all other Societies. It numbers in its mem¬ bership Roman Catholics, Protestants, Jews. Its mem¬ bers (though not representatives) have been chosen from many social agencies without distinction of race, language or religion. It enters not into competition with any other organization, but aims at co-operation through a correlation of forces. Its members are nearly all specialists in some one or other of the social agencies of the city. Business men, and representatives of the professions of medicine, law and the church are also included in its membership. The report which follows is the result of but three months’ activity under the direction of its devoted and capable Secretary, Miss Lucy C. Phinney. It has to do with indications of the conditions that exist, and sug¬ gestions as to possible methods of dealing with them, rather than with the endeavour to present positive conclusions at this early date as to the way of meeting the conditions. We believe it sufficiently justifies an earnest appeal for continued and larger support. For the 10 successful prosecution of its work it is essential that there shall be a solid foundation of all kinds of facts bearing upon all phases of immorality. But the collec¬ tion of facts and their careful tabulation and analysis involve expense, as the appended financial appeal shows. Our work aims at being the united effort of the citizens of Montreal, irrespective of race or creed, and to them we confidently appeal for support. But even more important than strong committees and generous financial support is a fearless and outspoken public opinion. Without this even the police are powerless, but with it, strong, patient and determined, we are convinced that results can and will be achieved to the enduring benefit of this great community. HERBERT SYMONDS, Chairman. i 11 Preliminary Report Committee of Sixteen & Toleration of Vice in Montreal “Notwithstanding the fact that the law prohibits commercialized prostitution and professional gambling, and that the police officials are charged with the responsi¬ bility for the suppression of vice and the apprehension and the prosecution of those engaged in such pursuits, houses of commercialized prostitution and gambling dens are tolerated aid exist openly in large numbers.” The above quotation is the opening paragraph of the Chapter on Vice Conditions in Montreal from the Report of the Survey made by the New York Bureau of Municipal Research in Montreal in 1917. This Survey was made before the present Police Administration went into effect, and was partly instrumental in bringing about the appointment of the present Director of Public Safety. The Committee of Sixteen feels, however, that quotations from this Report of the New York Bureau, although dealing with conditions existing a year ago, will give a conception of the immense problem which has still to be handled by the new Police Administration. The indict¬ ment of the former Police system, strong as it is, is in the last analysis an indictment of the citizens of Montreal whose public opinion was so lethargic as to let such a state of affairs continue. The present Administration has not yet had time to attack the evil in all its branches, entrenched as this evil was behind the protection of toleration and special privilege. Neither has the present Administration heard the clear-cut voice of public opinion offering support, without which no Police 13 officials, no matter how conscientious or industrious, can put new life into laws fallen into disuse. We believe that co-operation of the present Police Administration and of the public of Montreal, based on mutual knowledge of the magnitude of the problem, may be brought about by the presentation for public consideration of part of this Report. Although made at the request of the City authorities at a cost to the citizens of thousands of dollars, this Survey has never been made public. Some suggestions made in the Report have in certain instances been initiated, as in the case of the appointment of a “Director of Public Safety” already mentioned. But the conditions revealed in the Chapter on Vice cannot be adequately dealt with until they are known to the public. Despite much effort, law enforcement will fall short, and the situation in Montreal continue much as revealed in this Report of the New York Bureau unless we have an informed and active public opinion. Amount of Fines Collected To quote further from the Report:— “From May 27, 1917, until November 17, 1917, the fines collected at the Recorder’s court as the result of raids on disorderly houses (in which the defendants were in practically every instance complained of and pleaded guilty as keepers of disorderly houses, sellers of liquor without licenses, and keepers of liquor for the purpose of sale) amounted to $41,604.75. Part of this money reverted to the general funds of the city and part to the general funds of the Provincial Government. In practically none of these cases, according to the police, do these fines result in cessation of the activities of those fined. In most cases the fine is promptly paid by the keeper of the house or by some man who is finan¬ cially or otherwise interested in the establishment.” Weakness of Raiding System “These periodic raids result in what is in effect the licensing of disorderly houses for revenue purposes. It is freely admitted by the officials that the raids made 14 are not conducted for the purpose of suppressing vice. This admission is unnecessary because of the fact that despite the raids and the subsequent payment of fines, commercialized vice thrives almost without official interference except for the inconvenience of an occasional trip to the Recorder’s court on the part of those engaged in it.” “That the keepers of these houses have no fear of any punishment other than a fine and no fear of anything but a temporary interruption of business is evidenced by the fact that with but few exceptions they pleaded guilty notwithstanding the fact that in addition to being charged with the offence of keeping and maintaining disorderly houses they were in many instances complained of as having sold liquor without license and having kept liquor on their premises for the purpose of sale. The Law provides that persons convicted of possessing or keeping liquor in disorderly houses must be sentenced to jail for at least three months.” Convenient Technicality Resorted To “The sentencing of the defendant to jail is manda¬ tory and no option of a fine is given. Thus it would be natural to expect that persons who in open court plead guilty to keeping and maintaining disorderly houses, selling liquor without license, and keeping on their premises liquor for the purpose of sale, would be sentenced to jail in accordance with the Law. But this does not happen because of a convenient technicality resorted to by the police which further evidences the fact that the purpose of these so-called raids is fully understood by both the police and the keepers of these disreputable resorts.” “The technicality resorted to is this. When a raid is conducted three separate complaints are prepared by the police in practically every case: one charges the keeper of the house with ‘keeping and maintaining a disorderly house’ at a certain address; the second charges the same person with ‘selling liquor without a license’ at a certain address (the address being the 15 same as that contained in the first complaint of keeping a disorderly house); the third charges the same person with ‘keeping liquor on premises for purposes of sale’ at a certain address (the address being the same as in both the other complaints) but no mention is made in this last complaint that the address or premises mentioned is actually a disorderly house, thus leaving the defendant free to plead guilty on three complaints without running the risk of being sent to jail as the statute intends. The court takes cognizance only of the statements made in the complaint and does not go beyond the facts contained in the affidavit of the officer, perhaps properly so. Of course, it is not hard to understand that if the members of the morality squad were to charge these proprietors of disorderly houses with keeping liquor in a dis¬ orderly house, an offence punishable by imprisonment, there would be very few, if any, who would plead guilty, thus ending the farce. ” Responsibility of Property Owners Under the caption “Owners of Property not Pro¬ secuted”, the report reads:— “Not only does the Law prescribe a penalty for keeping and maintaining disorderly houses, but very properly goes further in that it provides that the landlord, lessee or agent of such premises, who knowingly permits the use of his property for such purposes shall be deemed to be the ‘ keeper of a common bawdy house. ’ It is interesting to know that in connection with the periodic raiding of these disorderly houses the department ascertains the names and addresses of the owners, landlords, lessees or agents of the premises and goes through the formality of serving.notice on each such person.” “The sending of the notice which is fully recorded in the records of the police department invariably ends the activity of the police department in so far as the prosecution of such owners is concerned. A large number of disorderly houses in the city have been operating at the same premises for many, many years and the pro¬ perties have been owned in many cases by the same 16 persons for long periods during which time many raids on the premises were conducted. Therefore, the notice from the police department to these landlords that the property is being used for immoral purposes can scarcely be held to be news to them, particularly since the rentals obtained from such properties are practically double the normal rental value of property used for legitimate purposes. This high rental serves as a pretty good indication of the use to which the property has been put. ” Numbers of Houses of Prostitution The report makes the following statement in regard to the number of houses of prostitution in existence at the time of this Survey:— “ The estimate as to the number of houses of commer¬ cialized prostitution given by the officers of the morality squad is that there are between 250 and 300, and they state that there are also about six or eight hotels operated almost exclusively as houses of assignation. The esti¬ mate given by these officers is probably conservative and probably does not include the very many places operated as disorderly flats, furnished rooms and ‘call houses’ which are conducted throughout the city and not within the so-called red light district.” Attitude of the Courts Another paragraph headed ‘‘Leniency of Courts Merely an Excuse for the Unenforcement of Law,” contains several suggestions for bettering conditions. It reads:— ‘‘That hundreds of immoral places are permitted to exist is said by the police department to be due to the leniency of the judges of the Recorder’s court in that prosecutions in this court invariably result in imposing a fine rather than more drastic punishment. That this is merely an excuse, not a real reason, for permitting open vice conditions to exist, even though the statement concerning the courts be true, is evidenced by the fact that if the police officials would conduct the prosecutions for keeping liquor in disorderly houses in accordance with 17 the statutes the court would have no discretion in the matter of sentence but would be compelled to commit the defendant, if found guilty, to jail. Moreover, the officers in charge of the police department are far too experienced not to know that there are many other methods of suppressing vice besides the occasional arraign¬ ment of offenders in court. For example, a vigorous prosecution of the owners of the properties used for this purpose would immediately result in reducing the amount of commercialized vice. Resorting to the statutes pro¬ viding for the abatement of nuisances is another measure which would also serve to improve vice conditions. The police officers know that the first measure necessary in suppressing vice is to impress upon the minds of those engaged in vice that the policy of the police department is suppression and that the department does not intend to tolerate immoral conditions. Upon the announcement of such a policy by the police officials there would be an automatic closing of a large number of such places without even the need for arrest or prosecution of the owners, agents or operators. ” Policy of Suppression Advocated In summing up, the report emphasizes the necessity for a policy of suppression. Beginning “A Definite Policy of Suppression of Vice should be Demaided,” it says:— “As already stated the law imposes upon the city officials the duty of suppressing commercialized vice and makes it a crime for any person knowingly to rent his property for use as a disorderly resort. It is believed that this law furnishes the basis for a policy of suppression. It may be argued that it is impossible to wipe out the social evil, but it has been proved in the city of New York within the past four years that a policy of suppression backed by energetic police work will greatly minimise commercialized vice, and will at least relieve the city of Montreal of the shame of being a silent partner in vice, which it is so long as it continues to tolerate present conditions and collect moneys in the form of fines. 18 It is therefore urged that the administration change its policy and order the police to suppress commercialized prostitution immediately through a vigorous campaign.” “The declaration of the policy of suppression followed by a vigorous prosecution of one or two of the more prominent owners of disorderly houses or houses of assignation would automatically result in the closing of many of the premises, the owners of which are now fully aware of the policy of toleration in effect. It has been proved that commercialized prostitution flourishes where vice is protected or permitted, and decreases where the authorities express and approve determination to rid the city of it.” Public Opinion Gradually Forming In spite of the fact that this Report was not made public many inklings of the situation which it revealed were reaching the citizens of Montreal. From the pulpits many consciences were stirred. During the past year the press reports of famous Court cases and of investigations of police corruption indicated that much more could be disclosed. Public opinion was gradually arousing itself, realizing that patriotic motives alone compelled a clean¬ ing up of vice conditions to make Montreal safe for our returning soldiers. The forming of this Committee of Sixteen, which was organized within a month and financed by the prompt generosity of a few citizens, is only one indication that at least some of the citizens of Montreal recognize the duty and responsibility of “setting their house in order.” The reorganization of the Police Department we trust will do much, but law enforcement depends for its adequacy on the state of public opinion. The conditions of Montreal in 1917, as described in this Survey of the New York Bureau must be considered when viewing the conditions of Montreal in 1918. If conditions be already improved, only eternal vigilance will keep them improved. And eternal vigilance can be maintained only when the public is on the alert. 19 Discussion of Policy of Toleration The Report of the New York Bureau discloses the operation of a policy of toleration. What or who is in the last analysis responsible for this policy? And how far does this policy hold at the present time? To obtain satisfactory answers to these questions is abso¬ lutely fundamental. Theoretical answers cannot be considered. Through its investigations and case work, the Committee of Sixteen will endeavour to ascertain the actual answers and lay its findings from time to time before the public. We may then know the nature of the first difficulty to be overcome. For instance, answers have been volunteered from some quarters as follows: “Toleration of vice exists because there is money in it,— money for the manipulators, money for landlords, for police, for Court officials, and for the Municipal and Provincial Treasuries.” Others say, “Toleration exists because it is the only or best policy. Segregation and regulation fail to segregate or regulate. Therefore let us tolerate.” Still another class claims, “A policy of toleration exists because prostitution is a necessary evil,—it has always existed and always will,” while others contend that the responsibility for the present condition resulting from toleration lies with an apathetic and uninformed public, which either does not realize that evil conditions exist at all in Montreal to-day, or is unaware of the far-reaching results of the existence of such viciousness and depravity in undermining the moral and physical well-being of our citizens. Finally, there exists a class of people as represented on this Committee who believe that the policy of tolera¬ tion can be supplanted by a policy of suppression when a thorough scientific study of existing conditions is made in an unsensational, constructive and co-operative way, and the actual state of affairs presented to the public from a social point of view. This “social point of view” implies looking at the evil not only as an evil in itself, but in the light of its moral, physical and economic effects. This Committee has begun such a study in its dealings with the 124 cases of delinquent, wayward 20 and immoral girls which have teen brought to our attention during the first two months of our work. In them are revealed something of the cost and burden of the present system of toleraton. Through citing at the present time some of the cases actually known to us we may remove some of the ignorance and apathy supposed to exist. By a regular aid careful analysis of such cases throughout our work we shall from time to time present scientific and constructive studies for those who are ready to be influenced by actual facts. For those who contend that toleration is expedient or neces¬ sary, we shall add a later report in regard to the nature and effect of the policy here, and enceavour to show some¬ thing of the policies in other countries as applicable to us. Present Conditions in District It must be remembered thal the vice conditions discussed in the Report of the Nev York Bureau applied a year ago. However, in order to cbtain some indication of what is going on at the present time, the Committee had a brief investigation made in tie “district” recently, and have several reports on file from which the following extracts have been made, the first dealing with five adjoining houses on Cadieux Street, Nos. Z-l, Z-2, Z-3, Z-4 and Z-5, which were watched from the sidewalk by a member of this Committee on tie night of September 21st, 1918. House No. Z-l. During the period from 8 to 10 P.M. 21 men and 1 woman entered. Automobile No. Z-6, a large touring Cadillac, vith men and women in it, brought men to this house se\eral times and waited for them. One woman left the huuse and went off in this car, returning later very drunk. One of the men from the car tried to force her to go up the street, but a policeman arrived and interfered Once or twice the woman who acted as doorkeeper announced to callers in a loud voice that the house vas full. Three men came from this house and threatened the member of the Committee if he stayed around vatching any longer. 21 Chinamen delivered laundry from car No. Z-7 to this house, one of the two Chinamen entering the house and remaining for about twenty minutes. About 10 o’clock one terribly drunk man was carried out of this house. Car No. Z-8 with three men in it drove up and all entered. House No. Z-2, an upper story tenement, with street door wide open and stairway well lighted. Twenty- five men and three women were seen to enter. Cab No. Z-9 drove up and two women and one man entered. They stayed from 8.30 P.M. till after the Committee member left the vicinity well after 10 o’clock. House No. Z-3, a flat on the street level. When a customer rang the bell a woman opened a small panel in the door, and if satisfied opened the door. 51 men and 2 women entered. One woman came out. One of the visitors was absolutely blind and arrived alone. He was apparently recognized as a regular visitor. House No. Z-4, an upper tenement with door and lighted stairway, similar to house No. Z-2. 25 men and 2 women were seen to enter. One man who was very drunk fell down the stairs on coming out. House No. Z-5. This is a big stone house on the corner of an adjoining street. A large yard in the rear is sometimes used as a standing place for cabs and cars while the occupants brought to the house are inside. The yard is quite private being surrounded by a high fence with a sliding gate, and visitors may, if they desire not to be seen, drive into the yard and have the gate closed before they get out of the car or cab. Four women and thirty-six men, including two American and four British sailors, entered. One of the American sailors, a well educated man apparently of good family, came out after being in about an hour, his friend staying longer, and in course of conversation informed the Committee member that he and his friend had arrived by boat from Cleveland only that night, and that a man on the boat told him of house Z-5 as being a good place. He stated that there were 21 girls in the house, that one room was reserved for tourist parties and sight-seers, that the prices were three dollars for a visit, and five dollars for a visit lasting one hour. 22 Many Cabmen and Chauffeurs Involved Cabs and motor cars were continually calling, bringing visitors or taking them away. In most cases the driver got out, rang the bell and spoke to the one opening the door. He then informed the occupants of the cab or car that all was well and they entered. In some cases the driver was paid at the door, in others he waited for his passengers to come out. Record was kept of all cars and cabs calling at house No. Z-5. Cabs Z-10, Z-ll, Z-12, Z-13, Z-14, Z-15, Z-16, Z-17, called without passengers and after talking with the woman at the door, apparently received some¬ thing from her and then drove off. Three other cabs and ten motors, whose numbers were also secured, brought passengers to the house or took them away. A typical instance noted is that of Car Z-28, driven by a well-dressed French-speaking man, which arrived with one young girl about 19 or 20, and three other men, one very large and about 45. The driver seemed sober, the girl a little under the influence of liquor, while the other three men were quite drunk. All except the driver entered the house. The car called back for them in about forty minutes. In another case, Car Z-29, a very large touring car, called at house No. Z-5, and four men and four women came out of the house, two men being some¬ what drunk and the other two very drunk, and all drove away. Further Observations of Houses Five houses adjoining, on City Hall Avenue, Nos. Z-30, Z-31, Z-32, Z-33 and Z-34, were watched on the night of September 14th, 1918, from 8.30 P.M. to 10.30 P.M. At house No. Z-30, twenty-five men and one woman entered. At house No. Z-31, twenty-seven men, including three soldiers; at house No. Z-32, fifty-two men and one woman, and at house No. Z-33, thirty-five men, including three soldiers, were seen to enter. At house No. Z-34, two women and fifty-nine men, including four soldiers, were seen to enter. These houses were well lighted up and a woman was on duty at the front door of each to open it promptly when visitors arrived. She was seen to direct them 23 where to go. Men, women and some young boys, as young as 9 and 10 years, stopped to watch proceedings as they passed down the street, and took great interest when the front door opened to let men in or out. It was noted that a young girl of 13 or 14 was seen to come out of one of these houses. Two men, apparently between 40 and 45, were seen to visit each of the five houses in turn. When they first arrived they were apparently perfectly sober. When they came out of the last house they were so drunk that they could hardly walk. Bottled goods were delivered at one or two of the houses during the two hours in question. About 50% of the 188 men who came out seemed to be more or less under the influence of liquor. In several cases men were seen to go in apparently sober, and come out less than half an hour later apparently quite drunk. At house No. Z-5 Cadieux Street, formerly noted on page 22, on Thursday night, September 26th, 1918, the observer saw motor car Z-36 driven by a civilian and with six soldiers in it drive up to the corner where this house is situated. The driver and one of the soldiers held quite a conversation in French with the woman who answered their ring and then all of the soldiers, all of whom were sergeants and at least three of whom had the rank of Company Sergeant Major, went into house No. Z-5, carrying with them quite a number of large parcels. The motor car then went along Craig Street and into a yard on St. Monique Street. A very large number of cabs and motor cars came up to house No. Z-5 with customers for the house. Frequently cabs and cars that contained no passengers came up to the house and the drivers apparently received money, perhaps a division of the spoils from customers brought previously. On Friday night, September 27th, 1918, at ten minutes past nine, cab No. Z-38, with no one in it drove up to house No. Z-5. The driver went to the door, entered the porch, and then came right out with several bills in his hand which he counted under the electric light at the comer. He then drove off with no one in his cab. In watching other houses on Cadieux Street, two respectable Italians living nearby were interviewed. 24 They both claimed that the houses across the road were very bad. One of these men has lived there for eleven years, and has a nice clean house for which he pays $19.00 per month. He said that he must move from the neigh¬ bourhood as his eldest girl was nearly 13, and the neigh¬ bourhood was not a safe place in which to bring her up. A number of children were playing about the streets at the time of this investigation of the houses in question in spite of the heavy rain. Summary of Observations in District To sum up the investigation, in one evening from 8 to 10 P.M., on September 21st, in five adjoining houses on Cadieux Street, 10 women, 168 men, including 2 American and 4 British sailors and 10 soldiers, were seen to enter, and 7 drunken men and 1 drunken woman were observed among those leaving. In front of five houses on City Hall Avenue, on September 14th, 1918, from 7.30 to 9.30 P.M., there were seen to enter these houses 187 men, two of whom were American sailors. Four women also entered. It was estimated that 50% or from 80 to 90 men were under the influence of liquor on coming out. On September 25th, from 8.30 to 10.30 P.M. on Charlotte Lane, 88 men and 5 women were seen to enter two adjoining houses, while on the same date between 8.30 and 9.30 P.M. on Lagauchetiere Street East, 16 men and 3 women were seen to enter two adjoining houses. On September 24th, on St. Justin Street, 9 men and 2 women entered one house within an hour. Children were playing about the street and observing curiously as doors were opened and closed. Boys conducted men to houses and were seen to be paid, apparently for acting as guides. A boy of 14 came out of one notorious house. Many cabmen and procurers are apparently hand in glove with the houses, and aid in gathering custom, as it was noted that on several occasions men refused to enter when driven up to the houses. Division of the spoils undoubtedly follows as indicated by the 25 frequent calls made at the doorways by empty cabs, and by the conversations held by the drivers with the doorkeeper, after which they were seen counting money. Disregard of Regulations during Influenza Epidemic On the nights of Saturday, Sunday and Monday, October 12th, 13th and 14th, when every amusement resort, store, and even every church was officially closed owing to the influenza epidemic, and the congregating of people in numbers of more than twenty-five absolutely prohibited,conditions observed in the district and reported on by several members of the Committee were beyond description. It is estimated by our observers that from three to five times the volume of usual nightly business was going on in the houses of prostitution in the district every night over this Thanksgiving week-end. Similar reports were received during the week following when the epidemic was at its height. The chances of infection under the conditions in these houses are enormous, and the effective checking of the influenza epidemic is undoubt¬ edly seriously interfered with through its dissemination by these hordes of visitors. Records of the Montreal General Hospital Emer¬ gency Department show a marked increase over the usual number of emergency cases of accidents, stabbings, drunkenness, etc., caused by carousing in the district over this week-end. A complaint had to be made to the City authorities on the part of the Hospital to enforce quiet on the bordering streets when the recovery of dangerously ill patients was threatened by the carousing and disorderly conduct in the neighbourhood. This noise is a nightly nuisance to patients and nurses at all times, but owing to the increase of debauchery at this period the trouble was accentuated. That all this was at a time when every nurse, doctor and public- spirited citizen was aroused to the last degree to care for the victims of influenza, is only one of the many illustrations of the lawlessness in the district. 26 What of the Girls Involved? Such a cursory glance reveals scarcely the edge of real conditions. Imagination halts at the threshold of these houses. It is only necessary to imagine the going and coming night after night to realize that fresh supplies of girls must be constantly recruited to replace those worn out by the great nightly demand. And what of these girls? Exploitation of Girls In a study of our records it is indicated again and again that vice in Montreal is thoroughly systematized for the exploitation of girls and young women for the profit of third parties. Girl after girl has recounted as a warning for us to give to other girls that there is nothing in the “life” for the girl,—the madam and the pimp getting all the profit. Take the case of Mary B.,* 15 years old, who made the acquaintance of Fred, a famous procurer, at an apartment on St. Denis Street. Mary met him through Ethel G., a thoroughly depraved girl of only 17, who had already led another one of our girls astray. Mary had become delinquent and occasionally immoral before this time, and it was easy for this unscrupulous man to persuade her to go with him to Madame Z. on Lagau- chetiere Street. One of his infamous co-workers had already recruited another of Ethel’s associates, feeble¬ minded Maud T., who later came to our attention and who in turn pointed out Mary to a worker of this Com¬ mittee. Mary on reaching Madame’s house, saw $50.00 given to Fred by Madame Z., and she was not allowed to leave until this had been paid off by her earnings. Mary paid $12.00 a week for her board and $2.00 pro¬ tection money, which may or may not have been used by Madame for this purpose. Moreover, Mary was forced to buy at exorbitant prices clothes to wear in the house and later, when she was allowed one afternoon * In specific cases here cited, names, nationalities and certain identifying features are changed. Each story has been obtained from the girl herself and is here presented only after a sufficient measure of corroboration has been secured through investigation and cross references to other cases to cause our trained workers to believe that the facts can be relied upon. 27 a week to go out, her street clothes. Clothing dealers who had a monopoly of this business in the houses drove the bargain and divided the profits with Madame. These clothing dealers have also been pointed out by other cases as being on hand at court to pay fines after raids, after which the girls return to work off the fines, more enslaved than ever. Mary found herself in a cheap house,—in the blunt parlance of the district, a “dollar” house. Each visitor netted her personally 50 cents, Madame getting the other half. From six to twelve visitors were received every night, and Mary was obliged to take anyone who came, Negroes and Chinamen as well. Practically no pre¬ cautions were taken against disease, and Mary became ill with syphilis. She still worked on, receiving her daily round of six to twelve visitors. When the secondary stage was reached she was too ill to continue and went to the hospital for treatment. There she was pointed out by Maud T., her family notified, and steps taken for her commitment. Pimps and procurers seem to seek for their prey among the delinquent and defective girls, and go about undermining the morals of innocent girls that they may gradually bring about their downfall for their own ulterior ends. Popular opinion and sentiment are more easily aroused by the sensational drugging and forcing of one innocent girl into the life than by the scores of cases where insidious and deliberate methods are used to bring about moral downfall. The man who brings about a girl’s first mis-step is playing into the hands of the watchful pimps and madams who hasten to reap the • profits. Time and again girls have said to our workers, “He told me it was no use trying to be good now, that everybody is down on the girl who has once fallen”. Thus do the exploiters profit by an unthinking public opinion. Maud T., a tall, very pretty girl of 16, with the mind of a child of 11, illustrates another instance where girls are definitely recruited for exploitation and the profit of others. Maud was of English parentage and had a mental taint inherited from her insane father. She was 28 early to show signs of delinquency, and at the age of 14 she was placed in one of the institutions of the city. Unfortunately, however, her mother gave in to Maud’s entreaties, and took her home, not recognizing that Maud could not protect herself on account of her mental deficiency. Through meeting Ethel G., mentioned pre¬ viously in connection with Mary B., Maud began to be out late at night, and finally was turned out of her home by her mother to whom the importance of infinite patience and constant supervision had not been suffi¬ ciently pointed out. At Dominion Park one night Maud met a noted procurer who offered to find her a room with a woman he knew. He did not offer to live with her himself, but took her to one of the worst houses of ill-fame in Montreal, where he later came to collect her earnings. After a month of this life she became diseased, and with the cunning occasionally shown by the defective delinquent, she escaped from this Italian pimp who kept the house in partnership with a notorious woman. She soon returned to the streets, however, and before long made a bargain to live with and help support a Syrian pimp reputed to be one of the worst in the city, as compensation for his giving her the money to be cured of venereal disease. Maud’s mother, how¬ ever, located her just in time and sent her to the Hospital where she was found to be in a serious condition and was kept as a patient for a month. Our workers are supervising and assisting in keeping a 15-year old sister, who is very bright, from getting into the ways of the defective girl who was such an easy prey. Moral Effects of Life in the District That life in the “district” leads to appallingly inhuman reactions is apparent in the case of the widow of 40 who prostituted the body of her younger daughter, Lizette, 16 years old, who became a mother by her own mother’s paramour, who is now the husband of Lizette’s elder sister. Lizette, pretty as a picture, and with a faculty for straightforward truthfulness which assures a spark of recoverability, came under our care and was treated 29 for syphilis and gonorrhea in a hospital. Her baby, to whom she is devoted, and to pay whose board she remained a slave in her mother’s house until she could stand it no longer, was also treated for hereditary syphilis. Lizette’s story, corroborated by her mother’s admission and by outside evidence, was that she was for a time the only inmate of her mother’s house of prostitution, and frequently received as many as 15 men a night. Her mother’s house was raided soon after Lizette escaped, and a strong effort was made to bring out Lizette’s evidence against her mother in Court. The frequenters of the Court, the birds of prey in the shape of bondsmen and bail givers, so intimidated Lizette that she dared not testify. Her mother was merely fined, although put under bond not to reopen her house. She is now, though terribly diseased, in a rooming house, and is openly negotiating to secure a man who will “keep” her daughter Lizette as his mistress, and with whom she too can find a home. Another case showing the soul-deadening influence of life in the “district”, is that concerned with a girl who was seen in one of our institutions, — a girl of only 16 but looking 26. She was hollow-eyed, tall, stooped, wasted with a hacking cough, and haunted with the memories of her life. Her family had come from Europe about twenty years previously. Her father was a mechanic with a good wage, and the family had a pleasant home in the outskirts of the city. There were two boys and this little girl, and their mother was an excellent woman. About six years ago, the father began to neglect his family and his business, and to run about town. About a year later the mother died of neglect, so her daughter thought, but her husband stated the trouble as cancer. After his wife’s death, the father gave up his business entirely and became openly a keeper of three houses of ill-fame, one of which is managed by one son, and to another of which he took his little girl. She was in the house at the age of 11, and said she was forced into the life at 14. At 16 she had become thoroughly diseased, and came to the Hospital for treatment. Her father did not even put himself out to inquire for her when 30 she failed to return home, she having been mercifully- committed to an institution from the hospital by the court. Two weeks after this girl had told us her story she was dead at the hospital from tuberculosis, the result of the hard life she had lived and the depletion of her system from venereal disease. When a worker talked for half an hour to her father, trying to persuade him to pay for the girl’s funeral for which the hospital had arranged, he said with a voice and manner devoid of emotion that he could not pay the $25.00 as both he and his son were out of work and the war had killed “business”. Moral Effects on Children But this deadening of the human soul finds other prey than those responsible for commercialized vice. The effect has an even more costly toll, a toll which can be reckoned only in the future. The children living in the “district” or attending the public school on Sanguinet Street, where nearly 1000 children are drawn daily, some of them coming from homes outside the “district,” are exposed to the precocious knowledge of sexual experience and depravity which has been proven to be one of the most serious causes of insanity, to say nothing of delin¬ quency, crime and moral depravity. A little boy of 11 years, living in the “district,” was recently seen at the genito-urinary clinic of the Montreal General Hospital, where he had been under treatment for two years for syphilis. The story of this mere child disclosed that he had been sexually infected by a prostitute who had enticed him into a neighbouring house. A little girl is known who was recently placed in a children’s institu¬ tion after the arrest of her mother as a prostitute, whose little mind was so filled with sexual matters that she was found to be abusing other children as well as herself. Only one who has struggled to eradicate this virulent infection from the innermost recesses of a child’s mind can feel the unspeakable horror of this child’s condition. 31 And what of the poor working man who is forced to live where rents are cheap and where he can avoid paying car fare? Why should his heart be broken by the ruin of his children, as in the case where a boy of 11 had abused his sister of 7 years, putting into effect practices observed through a neighbouring window ? We are trying to locate a young girl of 14 who, we are told, went daily to a den of prostitution for the use of Chinamen, returning a factory pay envelope to her mother at the end of each week to furnish evidence of her being legitimately at work. This is perhaps the most flagrant case of many concerning young English speaking girls living on or around Dorchester Street. A special study should be made of this situation. Conditions revealed by Analysis of Cases Our preliminary work of three months has proved to us that our method of approach through case work is filling a vital need,—that of the establishment of a standardized and trained work with girls which will offer treatment for victims of vicious conditions, while at the same time seeking out the causes of the disorder itself, and attacking the evil at its source. In our study of conditions through actual cases, we have had the advantage of material coming straight from those most affected by the evil conditions of the city, from the girls who are in the midst of it,—some who are still fighting and others who have succumbed. We have used as our point of contact our real interest in their condition, our desire to better them and our intention to improve conditions for others. The response of the girls to this appeal has been inspiring. Boundaries of the District The area generally spoken of as the “district” lies between St. Lawrence and St. Denis, Ontario and Craig, but in our work we have let the so-called “district” define itself by placing every case and house of ill-repute on a map. Fifty-four houses have been referred to us for investigation or have been disclosed in the process 32 of case work, of which number 42 are located between Amherst and Bleury, Ontario and Craig. Seventy-two, or fifty-eight per cent of the total number of cases which have come before the Committee, also lie between these boundaries. There is a decidedly westward trend of cases and houses, there being 29 cases and 5 houses between Bleury and Guy with which our workers have had to do. A northward trend is shown by the location of 16 of our cases and 7 houses north of the so-called district above Ontario. The remainder of our cases are scattered in practically every outlying district. Of course a very large number of additional houses exist in the districts referred to. but the ones mentioned above are those actually disclosed through our case work. Analysis of Problems An analysis of the problems outlined may show the source from which we have gained our general informa¬ tion on conditions. The problems range from moral neglect at home, poor living and working conditions, poor recreation, delinquency, illegitimacy, immoral living with men, life of prostitution, inmate of a house of prostitution, victims of pimps or procurers, and the general complicating factors of mental deficiency and venereal disease. These constitute 124 cases, 93 of which have been proved by our investigation to have been immoral. The Committee has not analyzed this material as to occupation, wages, living conditions, etc., as there would be no valuable indications from so small a group. In fact only harm might result by calling attention to some phase conspicuous here and not evident in a wider study. Analysis of Age and Nationality An analysis, however, may be safely made of such factors as age and nationality, in order to show the nature of the cases handled. These cases were referred to us for investigation primarily because there was a degree of recoverability and because no agency existed for dealing with cases where the factors of both immorality 33 and disease were involved. Classification by age shows that 43, or about one-third of the total of 124 cases that were referred to the Committee, are under 18, while 31 are between 18 and 21 years of age, making nearly three-fourths of the girls classified under 21 years. Twenty-one girls are between the ages of 21 and 25, and eleven are between 26 and 30 years of age. In 18 cases, the ages were not definitely ascertained. French and English-speaking girls are about equally divided, there being 66 French and 55 English speaking. One hundred and four girls were born in Canada, 10 in the British Isles, 4 in the United States and 6 scattered or unclassified. The religions represented are 65 Roman Catholic, 45 Protestant, 2 Hebrew, and 12 unclassified. These figures are not significant in proportion to the whole city group, as 124 is too small a number on which to base conclusions. It merely signifies the problem here handled. Prevalence of Venereal Disease Our work has given an indication of the terrible cost in venereal disease as a result of the volume of commercial¬ ized vice. Fifty-two of the girls brought to our attention were suffering from either syphilis or gonorrhea, and of these forty-six had been or still are in a highly infectious stage, while living at home and daily going out to work. Only twenty-three were having treatment, and of the remainder twenty-one are known to be neglecting their treatment. In many of these cases a girl was examined, told her diagnosis and then did not return for treatment. This shows that some means for handling this situation should be considered in order that those deliberately neglecting treatment may for their own good and the protection of the community be followed up. Although some of the girls seen in the genito¬ urinary clinic professed to be professional prostitutes, the great majority were girls who had not been immoral for money, and so not widely promiscuous. The burden of suffering and expense involved by some of these victims of disease is almost intolerable, while the man who was the source of infection may be still going on 34 infecting others. Our workers have noted a reformative and steadying influence in the regular attendance at the hospital for treatment. This would be another argument for the establishment of additional standardized clinics where instruction by properly qualified physicians would accompany the treatment of these diseases. Venereal Disease More Alarming than Influenza At the present time of epidemic and the resultant perturbation in the public mind, it may be pointed out that syphilis alone is far more rampant in Montreal to-day than influenza and is far more costly and deadly in its effects on those afflicted and on its innocent victims of the next generation. Society is requiring a war basis of efficiency in public health. What efficiency can be expected when venereal diseases are allowed to run rampant which, “as a danger to public health, as a peril to the family and as a menace to the vitality, health and physical progress of the race, are justly regarded as the greatest of modem plagues”? Resources for Handling the Problems A resume of the problems involved shows that a number of these should have been dealt with more adequately by existing agencies, thus cutting down the source of supply for the exploiters. For instance, neglected children,—children of drunken and immoral parents,—may afford many a recruit for the watchful pimps and procurers. Agencies working with family problems should be especially watchful of the children, who are to be the future citizens of the Dominion. Living Conditions Bad living conditions, another problem frequently found by our workers to be contributory to immorality, result largely from the conditions in lodging houses where a girl has no place to receive friends except in her bedroom. A girl has very little assurance that she is in a safe lodging house unless it is investigated and super¬ vised by some social agency. Much more could be 35 done by settlements and other social forces in providing room registries, which should be advertised regularly. The question of licensing all rooming houses is one worthy of careful study. The girl living away from home, especially the very young girl from the country, needs great protection on her arrival in the city, and every precaution should be taken to place her in the right environment. The Travellers’ Aid already does much. The churches also, which receive letters from the country parishes telling of a girl’s arrival, are able to provide proper friends and interests, but there is a tremendous leakage in the case of numbers of young girls who come to the city entirely alone and unannounced. If country clergy and priests could be provided with a central clearing house through which names of girls leaving for the city could be sent, a definite effort could be made to locate the girls and provide proper living, working and recreation conditions before it is too late. Working Conditions Bad working conditions, implying low wages, long hours, insufficient lunch room and toilet facilities have been found in numbers of cases. On the other hand, much credit is due to the pioneers in industrial welfare work who have supplied nurses and lunch and recreation rooms. Recreation Under bad recreation conditions we have noted numbers of instances where girls are connected with no properly supervised recreation centre, and have no way to meet young men except on Dominion Square, St. Catherine Street, or in dance halls and “movies.” Social Centres already organized in school buildings meet a need for democratic recreation not only for girls and boys but also for their parents. Additional Social Centres throughout the city in various school buildings would be veritable bulwarks for social and moral better¬ ment. Such agencies as the Y.W.C.A. are best fitted 36 for the more difficult task of providing recreation for girls and boys together. With sufficient quota of trained supervisors, such clubs can be of great value in preventing the formation of harmful relationships and acquaintances which will come about unless some¬ thing else is provided. At present young men and girls are seeking recreation in the public dance halls which are without adequate supervision. Attractive recreation must be provided under respectable conditions to coun¬ teract the insidious influence of other recreation. The domestic servant is peculiarly isolated and is found to figure most largely in the problem of the unmarried mother. Greater provision for club work among such girls on the part of the churches and social organizations and more thoughtful attention on the part of their employers would inevitably result in bettering conditions. Protective Leagues Advocated Girls’ Protective Leagues, for which we feel that the present time is auspicious, are a special feature in protective and preventive recreation elsewhere. Such Leagues have been successful as a means of banding young working girls and women together for the exchange of ideas on their own living conditions. Each League is headed by a girl elected from its midst and is self- supporting. Trained workers help in organizing, but topics for discussion, plans for recreation, etc., are made by the girls themselves. Such Leagues become some¬ times most valuable in cleaning up immoral conditions which can be known only to the girls themselves and often individual girls are prevented or rescued from a life of vice by the League members. Delinquency Delinquency among younger girls comes within the province of the Juvenile Court and its probation officers, supplemented by commitment to tlje House of the Good Shepherd or the Girls’ Cottage Industrial School. A system of supervision for such girls on their discharge 37 would help to prevent a recurrence of delinquency by re-adjusting the girls to their home environment and by finding suitable employment. Mental Deficiency The importance of mental deficiency as a com¬ plicating factor, and the difficulty of dealing with it cannot be over-emphasized. Until institutional care is provided for the mentally deficient girl, there will be a daily increasing cost in illegitimacy, disease and crime. The establishment of psychopathic clinics for the study and diagnosis of such cases w r ould be invaluable. Illegitimacy Illegitimacy is being dealt with by several agencies and institutions by keeping mother and child together. When the child is put away the girl is usually lost track of and in such cases further special work should be done to keep her from falling into a life of prostitution. Ille¬ gitimacy among married women is fraught with special significance at this time, but only after a special intensive study can any inferences or conclusions be drawn. Venereal Disease The complicating factor of venereal disease is so important and so flagrant that too much importance cannot be attached to it. At the present time at the Montreal General Hospital there are three clinics per week at which there is an average attendance of two hundred men and women suffering from venereal disease. This indicates the tremendous problem handled by only one of the hospitals in our city. Of all cases not specifi¬ cally admitted for venereal disease in the wards of the Montreal General Hospital for a period of three months, twenty-six per cent were found by means of a routine examination of the blood to be infected with syphilis. Additional figures have been laid before this Committee by reputable physicians of Montreal in regard to the percentage of men who are infected in this city, which 38 are so much more startling that the Committee decided not to print them. The facilities for handling these diseases in the cases of both men and women are woefully inadequate. A special report is to be issued by this Committee which will lay the whole problem before the public for consideration. Problem of Handling Older Girl The problem of handling the older delinquent, immoral or diseased girl is made very difficult by the lack of facilities. These victims of the immoral condi¬ tions of our city seem from our work so far to be of a type that will respond to reformative influence, as many of them have been almost inevitably drawn into the vortex by reason of its very proximity. For such girls as are not mentally defective a redemptive home under refor¬ mative influences, to which they could go voluntarily for treatment for disease and for industrial training, would be a great boon. The contact with the courts and the jails could be made more conducive to uplift and reformation by means of highminded and highly trained probation officers who could study each girl personally and direct her in her plan after discharge. At present some girls are met at the very gates of the jail by the men who have been reaping the profit from their life of prostitution and who are waiting to make sure of their victims once more. Others after trying to do right sink back into the life for want of a helping hand at the critical time. A temporary home where a girl may be placed for observation and physical and mental examination pending arrangements for her future would be of inestimable value to agencies, hospitals, institutions, police and courts which are handling problems of delinquent, wayward or runaway girls. Under the direction of highly trained workers, and with special arrangements for making complete physical and mental examinations, such a home would do much to facilitate the successful rehabilitation of the young girls we are trying to help. It would fill an emergency need for a place to which such girls who 39 are now in the district and are known to be anxious to leave could be taken, pending further plans for their care and protection. At the present time there is no place except private boarding homes for them, and such homes are exceedingly difficult to find, and are seldom satisfactory, owing to the need for exercising supervision and precaution against disease. Commercialized Vice the Underlying Problem Every one of the foregoing problems is aggravated by the basic problem of commercialized vice,—vice systematized and artificially stimulated for the profit of a third party. Its presence in our city as an outstanding and insidious evil cannot be doubted. The young working girls of our city can tell of their constant fight against its influence. It is not only known to us within the city however. Our unclean conditions are well known outside. For instance, several score of pros¬ titutes and their pimps came from Europe recently by the way of South America with Montreal as their objective believing that they could safely carry on their business here. One insidious feature in connection with many houses of prostitution in Montreal is the illegal sale of liquor by their proprietors. Commercialized vice flourishes in its most virulent form under these conditions. The law recognizes that having liquor for sale in a disorderly house is a particularly serious offence, for it provides a special penalty of imprisonment without option of fine for those found guilty of such an offence. This is one feature connected with illegal traffic in women which can and should be immediately dealt with. The present policy of suppression in the United States will inevitably bring about an influx of manipula¬ tors of vice who have found their business no longer profitable at home. Public opinion must array itself on one side or the other. An easy-going policy of toleration has existed here either because the public is ignorant of conditions or because it believes definitely that toleration is the only or best method. 40 Regulation, Segregation, Toleration, not Effective That toleration is the only, or best method to be employed is emphatically denied by Dr. Abraham Flexner of New York, whose book “Prostitution in Europe” is an exhaustive treatise presented after years of research. In an article in “Social Hygiene”, Dr. Flexner sets forth European experience and methods applicable to American conditions. He says in part: “Whatever an American city undertakes to do, let it be careful how far it rests its proposed policy on what is popularly supposed to be European practice and experience. Regulation, tolerated houses, segregation, and medical examination cannot be advocated in America on the ground that they have succeeded or that they are even widely used in Europe. They are not widely used. Some of them are not used at all and none of them has succeeded anywhere.” Public Opinion the Deciding Factor Public opinion is always responsible for vice condi¬ tions in a city. It is public opinion that is responsible for the present policy of suppression in the United States to remove all immoral conditions affecting soldiers. In stating that the red light districts have been almost universally abolished in American municipa¬ lities, Mr. Raymond B. Fosdick, Chairman of the Commission on Training Camp Activities, at Washington, goes on to say, “ Let me point out that this change for the better in America is not due to laws, because we have practically the same laws on this subject that we had twenty years ago. It is not due primarily to better police forces, because while our police are undoubtedly more effective and more honest than they were a decade ago, they have merely responded to the same potent influences which have brought increased efficiency and higher standards of public duty to city government throughout the United States. The real underlying cause of improvement in the conditions surrounding prostitution is to be found in an educated and informed public opinion which made it possible for the police to utilize the law—just as the same kind of public opinion 41 would probably have made it possible for them to utilize the law twenty years ago. Without an organized public opinion, law and the police are helpless.” If this is true in American cities it can be made true here. What is more, it must be made true or Montreal will find itself infested with the dregs of every other city on the continent. Attitude of Committee of Sixteen The earnest endeavours of the Committee of Sixteen will be directed towards stimulating public opinion to attack and suppress commercialized vice and towards the making of public provision for the care and reforma¬ tion of the victims of its exploiters. The Committee needs a mandate from the public in regard to the continuance of its work. We call for an expression of public opinion and ask that each of our readers will keep an open mind and seriously determine for himself his attitude in the light of the reports which we shall publish from time to time. Along with financial support, the outspoken opinion of each and every citizen who believes that this evil should be overcome will count in the fight of “Organized Righteousness against Organized Viciousness”. Patriotism demands that we bring about the moral betterment of our city, and make it safe for the return of our noble soldiers as the least that we can do to show our appreciation of their efforts in bringing victory to our cause. 42 WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE COMMITTEE OF SIXTEEN? The first three months’ work of the Committee of Sixteen, with only two trained workers, an office staff of three and some assistance from volunteers, has just scratched the surface of conditions in Montreal, yet that which has been revealed by this brief work makes the members of the Committee feel not only that the work SHOULD be continued, but that it absolutely MUST be continued and on an enlarged scale. Of necessity, the Committee’s present report to the public of Montreal only outlines briefly some of the conditions of which the Committee found evidence and illustrates these condi¬ tions by selecting only a few of the cases which appear to be typical. Even in the short period of three months a vastly greater amount of information came before the Committee than could possibly be included in its report and scores of individual cases were followed up out of which only a few examples were selected. The members of the Committee feel certain that there are immense possibilities for good in a work of this nature carried on in a dignified, unsensational manner by specially trained workers giving their whole time to it. They believe that any money properly spent in such work will be repaid a hundredfold by the general benefit to the community. The members of the Committee are prepared to carry on, to engage the ser¬ vices of several more trained workers as soon as such can be secured, to closely supervise their efforts and then to report at regular intervals to the public, provided the public are willing to supply the means for financing the work. The financial statement published on page 8 shows the amount raised for the first three months’ work and how it was disbursed. In order to carry on this work 43 for the twelve months from November 1st, 1918, on a properly enlarged scale, it is estimated that the sum of Twenty Thousand Dollars is required. This sum, if provided, would be spent approximately as shown in the following statement. From this statement it will be seen that the greater proportion of the money will be expended for trained service in order to maintain a corps of workers, some of whom would be continuously engaged in scientific investigation of local conditions, while others would be following up and seeking out individual cases where pre¬ ventive and remedial measures would be required. In the process of the latter case work valuable information would also be derived concerning the basic problem. Administration, Trained Service, Office Force $15,000.00 Printing and Mailing Publications. 1,500.00 Rent, Light, Taxes. 1,400.00 Emergency Assistance. 500.00 Car Fares for Workers. 500.00 Printing, Stationery, Postage, Office Supplies 300.00 Telephone and Telegrams. 225.00 Miscellaneous. 575.00 $20,000.00 If this money is supplied it will enable the Com¬ mittee of Sixteen to make substantial progress in the following work:— (1) Provide a clearing house for information regard¬ ing local vice conditions, study the general situation and its needs and from time to time make recommendations and then initiate or aid movements to have such recommen¬ dations put into effect by the proper authorities. (2) Develop a sane, properly informed public opinion which will advocate and insist upon a continuous suppression of commercialized immorality, a policy the Committee recommends as a result of its own investi¬ gation and from learning of the experience of other cities both on this Continent and in Europe. (3) Provide a central bureau to which private citizens may confidentially refer individual cases for investigation by trained workers, and to which girls 44 and young women who have been victims of vice condi¬ tions, or who are in danger, may turn for confidential, sympathetic advice and guidance, and which will under¬ take the prosecution of men where the evidence obtainable seems to warrant such action. (4) Endeavour, by influencing public opinion, to bring about a change as quickly as possible in local conditions so that it will be unprofitable for those who have been driven out of other cities, because of their association with commercialized vice, to come to Mont¬ real to carry on their traffic in women. (5) Endeavour to inform the public of the grave dangers arising from certain infectious diseases which are spreading in Montreal with alarming rapidity, largely as a result of our toleration of vice. (6) Direct an investigation into the working, housing and recreational conditions of girls and young women; to warn girls of existing dangers, to bring about better conditions when possible, to expose or prosecute individual cases when thought advisable and endeavour, through some movement, perhaps similar to the Girls’ Protective Leagues which have been so effectively adopted in other cities, to band girls and young women together for mutual protection and instruction. The Committee of Sixteen proposes in all this work to co-operate as far as possible with the city authorities and all established organizations which are working along similar lines; not to overlap or duplicate their work but to use their facilities to the fullest extent and, in addition, to undertake a more intensive, special¬ ized work along the foregoing lines. The Committee of Sixteen, after a three months’ study of conditions in Montreal, believes that the work proposed, if efficiently and continually carried on, will rank in importance among the very first of the city’s social efforts. It is a task of great difficulty and will require workers of special training, intelligence and capa¬ city, and the field to be covered is broad. Montreal has long neglected its vice problems until its condition is known throughout the Continent as being particularly bad. It is strongly felt, therefore, that some action 45 must be taken and taken now. But to enable the work to be carried on effectively, financial support and co¬ operation from the general public are absolutely necessary. The amount estimated to be required for the year commencing November 1st, 1918, is Twenty Thousand Dollars. A number of $1,000 and $500 subscriptions are required in addition to a large number of smaller amounts. WHAT WILL YOUR SHARE BE? Any amount will be gladly received and will be officially acknowledged. Any subcription may be paid in one payment or in half-yearly or quarterly instalments. All payments should be made by cheque drawn to the order of “The Crown Trust Company, for Committee of Sixteen,” The Crown Trust Company, 145 St. James Street, Montreal, having kindly consented to act without charge as agent and to receive and acknowledge sub¬ scriptions. Will you not take your pen, write out a cheque and mail it now? 46 Will you please fill in one of these subscription blanks and invite a friend to do likewise with the other? Committee of Sixteen I hereby agree to give to the Committee of Sixteen . Dollars, to be used for current expenses in its work against commercialized vice in Montreal, I further agree to pay this pledge as follows:— $.on the 1st day of.19 $.on the 1st day of.19 $.on the 1st day of.19 $.on the 1st day of.19 Final payment should be made not later than August 1st, 1919. Please write name very clearly. Signature. Address. Date. Draw cheques to order of “The Crown Trust Company, for Committee of Sixteen/’ and mail them to The Crown Trust Company, 145 St. James Street, Montreal. Committee of Sixteen I hereby agree to give to the Committee of Sixteen .Dollars, to be used for current expenses in its work against commercialized vice in Montreal. I further agree to pay this pledge as follows:— $.on the 1st day of.19 $ .on the 1st day of.19 $ .on the 1st day of.19 $.on the 1st day of.19 Final payment should be made not later than August 1st, 1919. Please write name very clearly. Signature. Address. Date. Draw cheques to order of “The Crown Trust Company, for Committee of Sixteen,” and mail them to The Crown Trust Company, 145 St. James Street, Montreal. SOUTHAM PRESS UMITEtf MONTREAL