[209] It was by this indirect influence that I was induced to write the present chapter. The editor of a prominent German review wrote to me for my opinion regarding a Bill dealing with the prevention of immorality which had been introduced into the English Parliament and had aroused much interest and anxiety in Germany, where it had been discussed in all its details. But I had never so much as heard of the Bill, nor could I find any one else who had heard of it, until I consulted a Member of Parliament who happened to have been instrumental in causing its rejection. [210] J. Schrank, _Die Prostitution in Wien_, Bd. I, pp. 152-206. [211] The history of this movement in Germany may be followed in the _Vierteljahrsberichte des Wissenschaftlich-humanitaeren Komitees_, edited by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a great authority on the matter. [212] Report on _The Social Evil in New York City_, p. 38; see also Rev Dr. J.P. Peters, "Suppression of the 'Raines Law Hotels,'" _American Academy of Political and Social Science_, November, 1908. [213] It is probably needless to add that the specific object of the Act--the Puritanic observance of Sunday--was by no means attained. On Sunday, the 8th December, 1907, the police made a desperate attempt to enforce the law; every place of amusement was shut up; lectures, religious concerts, even the social meetings of the Young Men's Christian Association, were rigorously put a stop to. There was, of course, great popular indignation and uproar, and the impromptu performances got up in the streets, while the police looked on sympathetically, are said to have been far more outrageous than any entertainment indoors could possibly have been. [214] _The Social Evil in Chicago_, p. 112. [215] The methods of Maria Theresa never had any success; the methods of Calvin at Geneva had, however, a certain superficial success, because the right conditions existed for their exercise. That is to say, that a theocratic basis of society was generally accepted, and that the suppression of immorality was regarded by the great mass of the population, including in most cases, no doubt, even the offenders themselves, as a religious duty. It is, however, interesting to note that, even at Geneva, these "triumphs of morality" have met the usual fate. At the present day, it appears (Edith Sellers, _Cornhill_, August, 1910), there are more disorderly houses in Geneva, in proportion to the population, than in any other town in Europe. [216] See e.g. P. Hausmeister, "Zur Analyse der Prostitution," _Geschlect und Gesellschaft_, 1907, p. 294. [217] Theodore Schroeder, _"Obscene" Literature and Constitutional Law_, New York, 1911.