Many advance the argument that the evil is a necessary one and must be
tolerated, else the safety of virtuous women upon our streets would
be seriously threatened and imperiled. The fallacy and absurdity of
this contention is proved by the conditions which exist in many of the
large cities of Great Britain and Canada, where houses of ill-fame
are practically unknown, and where women are as safe as in cities
where the segregation of vice prevails. This result has been obtained
by persistent effort on the part of officials whose duty it is to
suppress and punish crime. Such a condition can never be secured here
if districts are established where this particular form of vice may
flourish with the tacit approval of our public officers. Surely we in
Chicago are not willing to admit that which has been done elsewhere
cannot be done here.
Chicago could not legally license or regulate this evil, for our state
law forbids license. The moral sentiment of our people is also against
it. Several years or so ago, when a resolution was introduced into
the city council looking toward segregation, medical examination and
license, a vigorous protest was made by the Chicago Woman's Club, the
Evanston Woman's Club, and other such organizations. The good women of
Chicago will not tamely submit to such additional degradation of their
wronged sisters.