A WONDERFUL LEADING--HOW GIRLS ARE LURED TO THE DANCE-HALLS.
Early in March, 1906, I returned to a board meeting at Beth-Adriel,
following which I began speculating as to my next move, for as yet I
had no direct leadings. Before retiring I prayed earnestly to know the
mind of the Spirit. It was in the neighborhood of 2 A.M. when I
awakened with the impression to "Go to B---." As I knew it would be an
expensive trip, I decided to ask the ticket-agent whether he would
grant a stop-over privilege on my half-rate ticket. Learning that he
would, I decided to take every advantage of this and eventually, say
within six weeks, to reach B---. That afternoon, whilst on the train, I
suddenly remembered that I had ordered my trunk checked to B---, and
again I felt that strong impression to _go right through_. So when the
conductor called for tickets, I forfeited all stop-over privileges.
I arrived there about 2 A.M., and at once went to the leading hotel.
About ten o'clock the following morning I was asking the gentlemanly
clerk a question similar to the one I had asked the Redwood City
depot-agent. It quite disconcerted him for a moment; but, upon learning
my object, he referred me to a Salvation Army woman, whom I immediately
looked up and fortunately found at home. She was pleased to receive one
on such an errand, and agreed to accompany me to the dance-hall and
slum district that night.
My next errand was room-hunting. Very seldom do I remain more than one
night in a hotel in a strange town, for almost invariably many doors
are soon opened to the non-salaried workers in the Master's vineyard.
Then the next thing is to walk around in order to get my bearings and
familiarize myself with the town, the churches, the press, the pastors,
etc As soon as possible I call upon the pastors and make engagements to
fill pulpits. This privilege, however, is granted only after the
ministers have, to their satisfaction, examined my credentials and
indorsements.
At seven o'clock that evening I was again with Mrs. Wilson, now attired
in her regulation uniform, and at half-past eight we stood in one of
the popular dance-halls. Here dancing, drinking, smoking, and gambling
were being indulged in by black, white, tan, and mulatto of both sexes.
Barring a few exceptions, I have never seen such an array of the
inferior type of nationalities. The place was crowded; for this was
Saturday night and also St. Patrick's Day.
[Illustration: SCENE IN A DANCE HALL]
While Mrs. Wilson was at the bar asking if I might sing and speak, a
slender, fair-haired girl suddenly seized my left hand and quickly
whispered: "Lady, we are trapped. Quick! your number. Where do you
live? Act as though you weren't speaking to me. The proprietor may be
watching. I'll be there at ten in the morning." I immediately gave my
street and number, and she skipped away, just as Mrs. Wilson returned
to tell me that she had not succeeded. This refusal was only what we
had expected. After distributing a few tracts we were requested to
desist; so we concluded to go elsewhere. _That sight was sickening._
And that refined-looking girl--who was she? What did she mean? We shall
soon learn.
Other places which we visited that night were equally as bad, in fact,
indescribably so, and they were numerous. However, we did what we
could; but only once could I make use of the autoharp, and then only to
sing to the poor souls coming out of the first dance-hall, for we held
a brief street-meeting. I observed that not one girl or woman put her
head out of the door; afterwards I learned that a fine of $2.50 was
imposed for every offense of this nature between the hours of 7:30 P.
M. and 3:30 A.M.
Upon returning from my breakfast the following morning, I was informed
by my landlady that two young women were awaiting my return. After the
greeting both commenced to talk so excitedly that I requested one to be
the spokesman for the other. They appeared to be nearly of an age,
about sixteen and seventeen, and were sisters. As nearly as I can
remember, this was their story:
"We were attending high school several miles from our home. When we
returned home at the time of the spring term, we learned that father's
crops had failed and that mother was almost disabled from rheumatism.
What little reserve fund they had was almost used up for medicines and
necessities; so after a discussion of the matter they agreed to let us
go to the city (San Francisco) to work, provided we should promise not
to separate. This would leave our fourteen-year-old sister to help
mother, and the two boys to assist father.
"A few days later we, alter kneeling in prayer with our mother, started
on our journey. In a few hours we were asking the matron at the Oakland
ferry-depot for a respectable lodging-house. She directed us, and from
there we obtained situations as waitresses in a first-class private
hotel on Bush Street, where we remained and gave satisfaction for some
time; but one afternoon we were foolish enough to yield to the
persuasions of some of our girl companions to take a car ride to the
Park and Cliff House. I suppose we were enjoying ourselves so much that
we did not realize how quickly the time was slipping away until some
one remarked, "O girls, look at the clock!" It was within fifteen
minutes of the hour when dinner must be served. We all ran for our car.
When we arrived at the hotel, the landlady had put a new crew in our
places. She would listen to no excuses, but told all four of us to go
to the office for what wages were due us. Ours wasn't much, for we had
been sending most of it home right along; so we were soon reduced to
our last dollar.
"One of the girls who had worked with us told us to go to a certain
employment agency (situated then on Ellis Street). The man behind the
counter seemed to have lots of situations, but only one where we could
work together, and as _neither one of us knew how to cook_, we couldn't
take it. It was for cook and second girl in a private family. 'Hold
on,' he said, as we were about to leave and try some other agency;
'would you be willing to leave town? If so, I have a nice place for two
waitresses in a resort patronized by none but the best people of the
neighborhood.' We told him we couldn't afford to take it unless some
one would advance our office fees and our fares. 'I'll see to that,' he
replied. 'Can you be ready to leave right away?' There was nothing to
prevent, as our trunks were packed with the expectation of obtaining
immediate employment; so all we had to do was to go quickly to our room
with an expressman, then take a car to the depot, where the agent would
meet us, check our trunks, put us aboard our train, and leave us, with
our tickets, bound for B----.
"My! how we did hurry through! The girls who roomed with us had gone
out; so as our weekly rent was paid in advance, we didn't see even the
landlady when we left our lodgings. We reached the Oakland Mole, took
our train, and after a long day's journey arrived at our destination in
the early morning hours. We were met by some woman, who brought us in a
hack to the place where my sister spoke to you last night--only she did
not take us into the dance-hall, but somewhere up-stairs, into a
comfortable bedroom. In a few minutes she came with a nice meal on a
tray, told us to eat, to put the tray outside the door after we had
finished eating, and then to go to bed and sleep as long as we wanted
to, as she knew we were tired; then she left us.
"It seemed to be pretty noisy in the neighborhood, but we were too
weary to care, so were soon asleep. When we went to leave that room in
the morning, we found we were locked in. Sister hammered on the door,
and soon the woman came. She told us she had done it to keep the other
lodgers from disturbing us; but before evening we knew that something
was wrong, for she never lost sight of us for a moment. Then she told
us there was going to be a dance that night, and asked us to look our
best.
"About half-past seven we went with her downstairs and then along a
passage-way into that hall where you found us last night. Sister and I
looked around for a minute, and then both of us said to the woman,
'What kind of a place is this?' There was a long bar, and two or three
young men were cleaning glasses and wiping bottles, and there were lots
of girls in fancy dresses standing around, chatting and some smoking
cigarettes, also a few men, young and old. We were [reader, I will give
you their exact expression] scared stiff. The woman, after introducing
us to a fine-looking young man, said to him, 'These are the young girls
sent by ----, the Ellis Street employment agent.' Then she took us into
the dance-hall a few feet away. She told us that the young man was the
proprietor of the place and that he would be a good friend, as would
she, if we wouldn't 'do any kicking.' About 8:30 the crowd began to
come in earnest, and by 9:30, and from that on, men and girls drank,
danced, and cut up until closing-time.
"Mother Roberts, I can only liken our first night in that awful saloon
and dance-hall to a bad nightmare.
"The woman didn't require us to dance unless we wanted to, until the
second night; then she said that _we must_, or else we would be fined,
and that as we already owed our fares, also other debts for incidental
expenses, the sooner we made the best of the situation the better it
would be for us. She called some girls to come and tell us how much
they enjoyed the life they were now leading, and how much money they
were making in percentage on the drinks that were sold across the bar
to the men and them. They said we needn't drink whiskey if we didn't
want to, as we would need to keep our heads if we were going to make
all we could out of the men in getting them drunk."
"Why didn't you appeal to the authorities, girls?" I inquired.
"Mother Roberts, _they only laughed at us. We tried. It was no use.
They seemingly stood in with the proprietor_. Millie went to the
post-office, accompanied by one of the girls, an old hand, the second
day after we arrived, to see if any mail had been forwarded, and on the
way back stepped into the ---- Hotel to inquire if they had any
vacancies for two waitresses? The clerk asked, 'What address?' She was
too ashamed to tell him where we really were; so told him to drop a
card into the post-office general delivery as soon as he had situations
for two. About three days afterward she got a post-card saying there
was one vacancy; but we couldn't take it, as we were more determined
than ever not to separate."
When I told them how it happened that I came, those two poor girls
cried with joy and thankfulness. And now to act quickly. We all knelt
in prayer. They agreed to stay in my room whilst I went out to notify
Mrs. Wilson and the pastors. Never in all my life did I work faster,
and in an hour I had these sisters safely housed with Mrs. W--, as she
would not be suspected of secreting them. At two o'clock the pastors
met me in one of the church studies. They decided to call immediately
for a mass meeting of women on the following afternoon, to be addressed
by me. Notices to this effect were gladly inserted by editors of the
daily papers. _The whole community was astir._
In the meanwhile the dive-proprietors were searching for the girls. No
one suspected Mrs. Wilson or me. In fact, those dive-keepers had not
regarded me as any more than an ordinary visitor that night of my
introduction to their dance-halls, and had not noticed the girl
speaking to me.
Before they left B----, the following article came out as an editorial
in one of the leading daily papers. It appeared on the morning of March
23, 1906.
HOW GIRLS ARE LURED TO DANCE-HALLS.
The general interest in the efforts to better the conditions of the
fallen women, make timely a rough outline of the methods by which girls
are lured into the haunts of vice, and kept there until they have lost
all power or desire to escape and win their way back to decency and
respectability. It is not pretended that this line is accurate, or that
it fits any particular case, but the information on which it is based
is gained from what are believed to be reliable sources, and it is not
likely to be misleading: if applied in a general way.
HOW GIRLS ARE LURED.
In the first place, of course, no girl that has not made some misstep
or committed some indiscretion, could be enticed to a dance-hall or
kept there for a moment if it were possible to get her inside its
doors. But in every city or village in the country there are persons in
the guise of men [yes, and women also] who are actively interested in
helping girls to make the first misstep. These scouts and envoys of
infamy are at the public dances; they waylay waitresses and working
girls who are struggling to keep themselves on wages that are
insufficient for their actual needs of food and clothing.
They get into the confidence of these girls, and sometimes when they
are "down on their luck" or when they have committed some act that
makes them ashamed to look their family or their employers in the face,
these men come in the name of friendship and promise to find the
overworked and underpaid girl, or the indiscreet girl, a place where
she can earn money fast and earn it easily.
* * * * *
THE DANCE-HALL LIFE.
As a usual thing the girls are taken to some place in another town
where they are not acquainted. This suits the girl, because she does
not want to meet her acquaintances, and it suits the man, because it
gives him greater security in his evil transaction. The girl is nearly
always penniless at this stage, and the man advances the money for the
railroad ticket and the necessary food. The first act that lures the
girl to the dance-hall is disguised as an act of friendship, and the
first bond that is placed on her to keep her there is the bond of
gratitude and obligation. In addition to that, where would she go if
she did not like her first glimpse of the dance-hall, an ignorant,
friendless girl in a strange town?
* * * * *
THE "RULES" OF THE HOUSE.
One of the first things in which the recruit to the dance-hall is
instructed is the rules of the house. She must be on the floor, ready
to dance at seven o'clock, and they must remain on duty until 3 A.M.,
or so long as the patrons of the house continue to come and buy drinks.
Between these hours they have thirty minutes for supper. If they are a
minute late or stay a minute over the time allowed for supper, if they
step out on the sidewalk during their hours of duty, if they get drunk,
or if they commit other stated offenses, they are subject to a fine by
the manager of the house, and the fines range from two dollars and a
half up.
In the beginning of her career the new recruit usually gets fines
charged against her faster than her credits mount up on the manager's
book. But there are other rules, one of the chief of which is to make
the men who come into the dance-hall buy as many drinks as possible,
and if a man comes in who has money, to see that he spends it all
before he departs. The girl is coached in the art of getting the money
from the men, and in some of the worst dives they are told that if they
get hold of a man who has money, and who does not seem inclined to give
it all up, to give the bar-tender a wink when the refractory customer
calls for his drinks, and the bar-tender will "slip him something" that
will make him more amenable.
* * * * *
THE PERCENTAGE SYSTEM.
The way girls make money for themselves is through percentages on the
liquor which the men they dance with buy. After every dance the dancers
line up at the bar and drink. The drinks for a man and his partner are
twenty-five cents, and the girl's percentage is ten cents. If a man is
liberal and will buy wine at one dollar a bottle the girl's percentage
is forty cents. If he is still more liberal and will buy wine at five
dollars per bottle, the girl gets two dollars and a half. The
percentages are punched on a little card which the girl carries, and
they are added up in the morning.
The money which the percentages represent, however, is not all paid
over to the girl in the morning. She is given what cash the manager
thinks is necessary to keep her through the day, and the remaining is
credited against the railroad fare that has been advanced, and against
the fines that may have accumulated. If a girl does not like the place
and wants to leave, she is shown her account and informed that there is
a balance due the house, and that it will be necessary to hold her
clothes and other effects.
* * * * *
BECOMES SCHOOLED IN VICE.
In the meantime the girl is being schooled in vice and crime. She
learns that it is more expeditious sometimes to take a man's money out
of his pockets than to wait for him to spend it twenty-five cents at a
time, buying drinks. No matter whether the house profits by these
thefts or not, they form another bond to tie the girl to a life of
shame; for some one must always know of them, and if the girl is
untractable she is threatened with criminal prosecution. If she commits
no crime, she can still be charged with vagrancy, and it too often
happens that police officers, knowingly or unknowingly, are made the
instruments of persecution and the means for whipping these unfortunate
women into submission to any wrong.
Dancing all night every night, drinking after every dance, living in
the fumes of liquor and tobacco, and in constant jangle of profanity
and obscenity, how long is required to snuff out every spark of
womanliness that a girl may bring with her to such a haunt?
DOG-LIKE DEVOTION TO MALE ASSOCIATES.
And yet there is one trait of her sex that is not snuffed out. It is
the distinguishing trait of womankind and one of the finest traits that
the human race can boast of--the trait of constancy and devotion.
The lower the fallen woman sinks, the more wrongs and iniquities that
are placed upon her, the stronger it sometimes seems this devotion and
constancy becomes. Nine-tenths of all the women of the tenderloin, it
is stated, have some man, or some animal called a man, about whom this
affection, this dog-like devotion centers. No matter how much he may
abuse her, no matter if he takes every cent of the earnings of her
misery and shame, no matter if he beats and kicks her because she can
not give him more, the girl in nearly every case, is faithful to "the
kid" and the worst fate than can befall her is that "the kid" should
"throw her down." [In other words, forsake her.]
And "the kid" always throws her down some time; for "the kid" is not
encumbered with any such inconvenient traits as constancy and devotion.
Then there is carbolic acid, or a long debauch, and a sinking down of
the system, and the horrible disease against which even the county
hospitals, which are open to the criminals and outcasts of society, who
never did a stroke of useful work in all their lives, close their
doors. And then there is the dishonored grave, over which the friends
and the relatives, maybe, are ashamed to weep.
DANCE-HALLS TABOOED.
In the enlightened communities, where there is a healthy public
sentiment, dance-halls are no longer tolerated. Their day is over in
California, and in only a few places are they permitted to exist. In
the places where they do exist the communities are still hanging on the
ragged edge of frontier life, where there is little regard for the
common decencies of life. Sacramento recently made a clean-up of its
dives, and disreputable dance-halls were closed up.
It is recognized by those who are observant, that dance-halls are more
degrading than any other form of dissipation. They are public
institutions with their doors open to all who enter, and those with
money to spend are made welcome. When the money is gone, their welcome
is worn out, and if the person is saturated with liquor, he is kicked
out ignominiously, only to return when he has more money to spend.
THE RECRUITING STATIONS.
In the large cities agents ply their trade of securing recruits for the
dives in the interior. Girls on whose cheeks the blush of innocence
still remains, are employed for various respectable positions, and sent
to the interior. They are escorted to the trains, and even in some
instances the proprietors of the dives see that they are on their way
safely to their dens of infamy. A telegram is forwarded informing the
resident manager, that more material for the dive is en route. The
local manager meets the girls at the train with a hack and when they
arrive at the place, almost invariably at night, they find their trunks
have preceded them. They learn little of their surroundings in the late
hours of the night, and when they do realize their positions, they feel
altogether lost, without money or friends.
RECENT CASES SUBMITTED.
The foregoing is not always the case. Some know the place of their
destination, but some of them do not. Not long ago a Los Angeles girl
answered an advertisement for work and was told a respectable position
awaited her in R----. Just as she prepared to board the train for the
mining town, she was taken in custody. On investigation it was learned
that she was destined for a notorious dance-hall in R----, that even
the respectable people of the town had not been able to close up.
About two weeks ago a woman was arrested in R---- and is awaiting trial
in the United States court in Los Angeles for using the mails for
immoral purposes. It is alleged that she was an agent for a dance-hall
in R---- and had sought to obtain recruits for the dive.
Those in a position to know, state that the dance-halls are far more
infamous than the real palaces of degradation. They are the
stepping-stones to the other places, and lead on to destruction,
preceded by misery and shame....