The recent examination of more than 200 "white slaves" by the office of the United States district attorney has brought to light the fact that literally thousands of innocent girls from the country districts are every year entrapped into a life of hopeless slavery and degradation because their parents do not understand conditions as they exist and how to protect their daughters from the white slave traders who have reduced the art of ruining young girls to a national and international system.--Hon. Edwin W. Simms, United States District Attorney at Chicago. If parents will shut their eyes to this canker that is feeding on the flower of our nation they may continue to expect their daughters to be "kidnapped," lost or mysteriously missing.--Arthur Burrage Farwell, of the Law and Order League. THE TRAGEDIES OF THE WHITE SLAVES. CHAPTER I. THE TRAGEDY OF THE MATERNITY HOME. A young reporter for a great Chicago newspaper was sent by his city editor into the heart of the "red light" district to investigate a murder at one of the city's brothels. The trail of the story led the reporter into one of the most notorious dens of the city, the "E---- club." This home of vice is located in a three-story stone mansion. Around it radiates the elite of the district. It is owned by two sisters, immensely wealthy, who have made their fortune through the barter of girls' souls. A negro butler attired in livery admitted him into the reception room of this gilded den. Velvet carpets that sank beneath the feet covered the floors. Massive paintings by old masters were on the walls. The gilded ceilings radiated the glare of vari-colored lights which studded it. From the silver dance-room came the sound of soft music, interspersed with the discordant laughter of drunken men and girls. In a few seconds a woman entered the reception room. She was prettily clad in a flowing silk gown. Her mass of black hair was wreathed about her head. As she met the gaze of the reporter she started, and fled, as though terrified, from the room. The recognition had been mutual. In the face of the fallen woman the reporter had seen the features of an innocent girl who had been a playmate of but a few years before. Her family was wealthy. Her father was one of the most prominent surgeons in Illinois. In the city in which they lived he had served several terms as mayor. She had been the belle of the town. Her many accomplishments and innocence had won her many suitors. But she spurned them all for the love of her father and mother. She was the only child in the family. Her every wish and want had been fulfilled. But a year before the reporter had heard that she had died. The papers in the town contained articles at the time lamenting her death. According to the stories, she had been drowned in Lake Michigan while sailing in a yacht. A body of a girl supposedly that of her's had been shipped home. There had been a funeral.