Fighting the Traffic in Young Girls; Or, War on the White Slave Trade

Prostitution

Fighting against this slave trade under the archaic Illinois laws was
quite disheartening because it was almost impossible to get more than a
fine upon the charge of disorderly conduct. The laws were so full of
loopholes that the traders laughed at the idea of being prosecuted.
However, in Illinois, at least, we have choked the laugh. The features
once wreathed in smiles begin to show the lines of worry and fear, for a
new law called the Pandering Act has been passed. This went into force
July 1st, 1908. The new law is good, but experience has shown where
improvement is necessary. Without exception, in cases I have tried,
certain wholesome-minded jurors have said after concluding the case,
that the penalty was too light for the first offender. It should be made
more severe. Therefore an effort is now being made to make the first
offense punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary from one to ten
years. Then, also, there should be a new law covering the bringing a
female person of any age into the state or taking her out of the state
for immoral purposes. The age limit should be omitted from the present
Illinois law, which does not punish those bringing girls over the age of
eighteen into the state. While other states are sending for copies of
the Illinois pandering and other white slave laws, the state legislation
will soon be uniform upon this subject, the United States government
should be alive to the situation also. At present it has only the
immigration laws regulating the importation of immoral women to fall
back upon. A federal law under the interstate and foreign commerce act
should be passed at once. The federal government has better and more
effective machinery for getting at the facts in the foreign and
interstate traffic in girls than have the various states. Commerce
consists in intercourse and traffic, including in these terms the
transportation and transit of persons and property, as well as the
purchase, sale and barter of persons and property and agreements
therefor. A federal law might be enacted as follows:

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History

Fighting the Traffic in Young Girls; Or, War on the White Slave Trade

Prostitution

Fighting against this slave trade under the archaic Illinois laws was
quite disheartening because it was almost impossible to get more than a
fine upon the charge of disorderly conduct. The laws were so full of
loopholes that the traders laughed at the idea of being prosecuted.
However, in Illinois, at least, we have choked the laugh. The features
once wreathed in smiles begin to show the lines of worry and fear, for a
new law called the Pandering Act has been passed. This went into force
July 1st, 1908. The new law is good, but experience has shown where
improvement is necessary. Without exception, in cases I have tried,
certain wholesome-minded jurors have said after concluding the case,
that the penalty was too light for the first offender. It should be made
more severe. Therefore an effort is now being made to make the first
offense punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary from one to ten
years. Then, also, there should be a new law covering the bringing a
female person of any age into the state or taking her out of the state
for immoral purposes. The age limit should be omitted from the present
Illinois law, which does not punish those bringing girls over the age of
eighteen into the state. While other states are sending for copies of
the Illinois pandering and other white slave laws, the state legislation
will soon be uniform upon this subject, the United States government
should be alive to the situation also. At present it has only the
immigration laws regulating the importation of immoral women to fall
back upon. A federal law under the interstate and foreign commerce act
should be passed at once. The federal government has better and more
effective machinery for getting at the facts in the foreign and
interstate traffic in girls than have the various states. Commerce
consists in intercourse and traffic, including in these terms the
transportation and transit of persons and property, as well as the
purchase, sale and barter of persons and property and agreements
therefor. A federal law might be enacted as follows:

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Fighting the Traffic in Young Girls; Or, War on the White Slave Trade

Fighting the Traffic in Young Girls; Or, War on the White Slave Trade

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