The Secrets of the Great City: A Work Descriptive of the Virtues and the Vices, the Mysteries, Miseries and Crimes of New York CityMcCabe, James Dabney
History
The Secrets of the Great City: A Work Descriptive of the Virtues and the Vices, the Mysteries, Miseries and Crimes of New York City
McCabe, James Dabney
New York (N.Y.) -- Description and travel; New York (N.Y.) -- History
'MY DEAR SIR.--Your note of to-day is before me, with the printed sheet
of the '_Great Metropolis Condsened_,' inquiring whether the figures in
the paragraph marked 'Licentiousness' can be verified. I have to say
that I have nothing in my possession to sustain such monstrous
statements. During the past fall I had a careful examination made of
the concert saloons in this city, for the purpose of using the result
in our annual report; which you will find in the leading dailies of
Friday, January 5th, instant. At that time we found eleven hundred and
ninety-one waiter girls employed in two hundred and twenty-three
concert and drinking saloons. Although the greater part of these girls
are already prostitutes, yet we have evidence that they are not all
such; but continuation at the employment is sure to make them all
alike. Previous to that I had not made any census of persons of that
character since January 24th, 1864, when the footing was as follows:
Houses of prostitution, five hundred and ninety-nine. Public
prostitutes, two thousand one hundred and twenty three. Concert saloons
of ill repute, seventy-two. The number of waiting girls was not then
taken.
The newspapers of last week, in reporting Bishop Simpson's speech,
delivered in St. Paul's Church, made him say that there are twenty
thousand prostitutes in New York. I felt it about time to correct the
impressions of such well-meaning men as he, and on Thursday last I sent
out an order, instructing a new census to be made. I have nearly all
the returns in, and I find a much less increase than I expected. A
large number who have been following the army during the war, very
naturally have gravitated to this city. Where else would they go? But
with all that, the increase is below my estimate. On the 22d day of
January, 1866, the report is as follows:
Houses of prostitution, six hundred and twenty-one. Houses of
assignation, ninety-nine. Concert saloons of ill repute, seventy-five.
Public prostitutes, two thousand six hundred and seventy. Waiter girls
in concert and drinking saloons, seven hundred and forty-seven.
You will see that houses of prostitution have increased twenty-two in
two years, and houses of assignation have decreased thirteen. Concert
saloons have increased four. Prostitutes have increased five hundred
and forty-seven. The waiter girls will be increased by the figures to
come in.
As it regards 'other women,' we have no means of knowing anything of
their number. That there are many of them cannot be disputed; the
number of houses for their accommodation tells us that; but there is no
such number as two thousand five hundred, you may depend on it, visit
those places, and of those who do, the waiter girls furnish the larger
portion.
So that, taking all the public prostitutes, and all the waiter girls in
music saloons (and these we have to a unit), there are but three
thousand three hundred.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account