The Road to Destruction Made Easy in Chicago Louise de Koven Bowen ISSUED BY THE JUVENILE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO 1916 The Road to Destruction Made Easy in Chicago Louise de Ko\en Bowex ISSUED BY THE JUVENILE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO 1916 The Road to Destruction Made Easy in Chicago FOR nine years the Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago has been carefully watching both physical conditions and moral sur- roundings in theatres, dance halls, cabarets, amusement parks and lake boats, as well as other places which, unless they are properly regulated, easily subject young people to the grossest temptations. During these nine years the Association has been encouraged many times to believe that conditions were improved, but investi- gations made during the past eight months have revealed the fact that the general non-enforcement of law in Chicago has become dangerous- ly registered in these very amusement places. So shocking have con- ditioiis become that even well intentioned young people in search of recreation, at the present moment in Chicago, walk a road easily lead- ing to destruction. Although the city administration cannot be held responsible for the lake boats, the^ conditions on the excursion steamers afford one more danger to Chicago youth. Young people would have a right to consider that an excursion on Lake Michigan would be a perfectly re- putable outing, and even a somewhat careful mother might naturally assume that her daughter would be safe with a party of young people "spending the day on the lake." She could hardly be expected to know that there are two distinct types of lake boats — those that carry the holiday and excursion crowds, and those that carry the regular passenger and business traffic ; nor would she know that as a usual thing numbers of disreputable people habitually travel on the excur- sion boats. These latter carry the largest number of people — not all of them by any means an undesirable type, but the respectable people are used by the disorderly element as a cloak for their improper con- duct. The disorderly groups are of two kinds ; young women who are professional prostitutes and men who follow the excursion crowds looking for women recruits. There is still another group consisting of young men and women who are already acquainted but without social standards ; they are perhaps drifting toward the "lover" stage and quickly reflect the laxity and disorder on the boat. They start out for a day's excursion, but find the voyage longer than they had anticipated. The boat is delayed several hours and they return to the city with their relations irrevocably altered and the whole aspect of their future changed. The largest of these excursion boats is licensed to accomodate 2,800 people and doubtless often exceeds this limit. A crowd of this size on shore would be well policed, but the excursion boats often do not have more than one police officer on board, whose duty it is to keep this large number of people in order. The lack of supervision encourages a curious tendency in the individual to permit himself greater license of conduct in a crowd and in unfamiliar suroundings than under ordinary circumstances. If for no other reason than this every boat should be well policed. While the regular boat excursion is supposed to take only one day, the excursion boats often are late and frequently do not dock until two or three o'clock in the morning; sometimes as late as four or five o'clock. The Juvenile Protective Association made its first investigation of lake excursion boats in 1910, only to be startled and horrified by its findings. For two reasons it did not publish the result of its investi- gation. First, because the members of its Board felt that it would be most unfortunate if the parents of respectable young people should feel that they must deprive their children of what ought to be a wholesome and sane recreation; and second, because they did not doubt that these conditions would be quickly remedied when brought to the attention of the management of the steamboat lines. After repeated letters had been sent to the managers, the owners and as many of the local stockholders as could be found, and after many of these letters had been followed by personal visits, both of these efforts having failed to elicit any co-operation or to produce any improvement in conditions, the Association tried prosecuting the steamboat management on the charge of selling liquor to minors. This charge could not be sustained because of the difficulty of estab- lishing jurisdiction. If the ofTense occurred within three miles of Chicago, it was a violation of a city ordinance; from there to the middle of the lake it was breaking a law of the state of Illinois; then the boat sailed into the waters of the state of Michigan and for three miles before landing was under the ordinances of the approaching port. The same difficulty obtained in regard to open violations of decency involved in renting staterooms — the same space was often rented over and over again during one crossing. The Association did not attempt to prosecute under the charge of gambling, indecent dancing, soliciting, etc., al- though all of these offenses were obvious. Two years were spent in establishing the futility of prosecutions. The third year the Juvenile Protective Associatio'n invoked the aid of a committee of the Union League Club, who finally called together at a luncheon some of the owners and stockholders of the excursion boats to hear the reports directly from the Association. At this luncheon — possibly because of talk of indictment by a Grand Jury — the gentle- men invited to the luncheon promised immediate reforms. In the next few weeks one boat, never one of the worst, was thoroughly cleaned up, the staterooms were removed, the bar was minimized, the decks were better lighted, and the police supervision was increased. In many of the excursion boats, however, only very superficial changes were made, and during the following summer conditions were almost as bad as ever; as for the boat which had been improved — the Pere Marquette, it unhappily went to the bottom of the lake. For several seasons the Juvenile Protective Association began over again its dreary round of securing small improvements while the essential dangers were untouched. Some help came from the com- mittee appointed by the Board of Education to investigate the charge that "lake steamers are detrimental to the character of public school children," whose findings corroborated the Juvenile Protective Asso- ciation report. Further publicity was obtained of the shocking condi- tions on lake excursion boats, incorporated in the 1911 report of the Chicago Vice Commission. These findings agreed with the Juvenile Protective Association that the evils could be corrected only by insist- ing that the Federal authorities, under whose control the boats are run, enforce the law. In the summer of 1915 a vigorous effort was made by the Associa- tion to secure action from the federal authorities. Repeated visits were made to the office of the federal officials connected with the Department of Commerce, and by a curious coincidence a full report was handed to the Deputy Inspector of Customs the very day before the Eastland disaster. The two government officials interviewed, both expressed their interest in and approval of the work of the As- sociation, and promised to take up the matter at once with the manage- ment of the steamship lines. Under the horror of the tragedy of the Eastland, the newspapers were eager for any material relating to the lake boats. They were given access to the records of the Association and for several days made full use of the material. The Association had a right to hope that in the reforms which it was assumed would undoubtedly follow such a disaster, the moral and social conditions of the boats would be considered as well as adequate safety provisions. Before the end of the season, however, the lake excursion boats were running with their uSual quota of passengers, and most of the old shocking conditions prevailed, as shown by the report of the investigators of the Juvenile Protective Association. Forty trips in all were made by these men across Lake Michigan, covering six different steamship lines. On most of the investigated boats, paddle games, roulette wheels, doll and candy raffles were permitted. The dancing was vulgar, rough and indecent. Liquor was often sold to minors ; men and women drank freely ; couples lay about in each other's arms on poorly lighted decks ; staterooms were rented indiscriminately to men and women without any regard to their martial relations — in many instances to young people under 18 years of age; men were taking liberties with decent looking girls, some of whom were intoxicated. The safety appliances were used as seats ; the life boats were covered with people who were lying on them; ropes were tied up in knots, and in case of accident there would have been great loss of life. Shall this be allowed to continue? The Juvenile Protective As- sociation feels that nothing effective can be done about safeguarding life and morals on the lake boats without a large body of public opin- ion. It seems incredible that after the enormous loss of life on the Eastland this has not been secured. While every effort is being made to do away with prostitution in the city of Chicago and the segregated district is practically closed, many of the lake excursion boats, seeming to offer innocent enjoyment with fresh air and the holiday making which city young people so obviously need, are virtually floating houses of vice and a fruitful source of supply for the so-called "White Slaver." As the season of 1916 opens the Juvenile Protective Association is planning to do the usual amount of investigating, and it hopes at last to secure a genuine co-operation from the federal authorities, with some action on the part of the Harbor, Wharves and Bridges Com- mittee of the City Council. AMUSEMENT PARKS. One naturally assumes that an evening spent by young people in the park — even an amusement park — from the very fact that it is out of doors and filled with people of all ages, would be free from the more open temptations which one easily associates with dance halls, cab- arets, etc. On the contrary, however, the investigators of the Juvenile Protective Association have found that there is no public opinion against the most open familiarity on the grounds of the amusement parks; that overt indecencies are overlooked by the good-natured crowds ; that there is no official supervision ; and that young people after the excitement of the evening are allowed to go unchecked down the most direct road to destruction. The assistant to the Judge of the Juvenile Court of Cook County recently spoke of the prairies adjacent to one of our amusement parks as "the largest house of assignation in Chicago." An investigation made of one amusement park, covering six visits, was perhaps typical of many of the other parks. This investi- gation disclosed vulgar and suggestive advertisements for penny arcades, although the display inside was often very tame; many gambling devices were in operation ; girls of eighteen years were drinking to excess; small, children with older people were drinking beer; a child three years old was seen intoxicated. As it was so-called Carnival Week, dozens of girls were dressed in men's clothing or in baseball suits, almost inviting the horse play which was accorded them. Men were taking undue liberties with girls and open embrac- ing was seen everywhere. Children under 16 years of age were em- ployed on floats in an evening parade, thus violating the Child Labor Law. Two pairs of deformed twins were displayed in a side show ; groups of intoxicated girls and boys were seen wandering around the grounds with their arms around each other; young girls were sitting on the knees of their escorts. At midnight the grounds were crowded. Hundreds of children were among the last to leave, and many girls were joined by young men as they left the park. Conditions in the dance halls were good in this park, but the supervision on the grounds was not sufficient, and indiscriminate selling of liquor to minors and familiarity between young men and women evidently led to immor- ality. While the park reported upon doubtless was one of the worst in the city, its general demoralization was not unlike that found in all of the parks investigated. THEATRES. During the last decade the "movies" have attracted an ever increasing number of young people. In 1909 there were in Chicago 405 five and ten-cent theatres. The Juvenile Protective Association at' that time was anxious to get an idea of conditions in the theatres, and their ofificers made 1,156 visits to them. The investigation showed a demoralized condition of affairs, and 216 violations of law were re- ported to the police, the building and fire departments, and the state factory inspector. In 1911 the Association undertook another investigation of the theatres. They found that because the price of the license for the smaller theatres had been raised, there were then only 298 third-class theatres; in 288 of these, motion pictures were shown, of which 251 were good, 33 fair, and only 4 were bad. At this time the Associa- tion also found that there had been a general improvement in the physical condition of the theatres. Since 1911 the Juvenile Protective Association has constantly had its officers visit the moving picture shows and the cheap theatres in their districts. For a time the conditions seemed greatly improved and this improvement has continued up to the present city administra- tion. The Censorship Committee under Second Deputy Funkhouser of the Morals Division of the City Police, with its ten censors ap- pointed under civil service, has done extremely good work. This de- partment has been much criticized by the motion picture men and by some of the newspapers who have objected to its censorship. During all these attacks, however, it has been steadily upheld by women's clubs and other organizations who have appreciated the excellent service it has rendered to the youth of Chicago. That the admirable work of this Board of Censors has more than a local reputation can be shown by the fact that in California whenever it is especially desired to attract a most respectable audience, the film is advertised as having been censored by the Chicago Board. The Association has recently received many complaints in regard to moving pictures and realizes how difficult it has been for Major Funkhouser to keep up the standard of his department under the con- stant pressure to which he has been subjected. There have even been persistent rumors that the Morals Department of the City Police was to be abolished, a calamity which would speedily throw the conditions prevailing in the moving picture theatres back to where they were when the Juvenile Protective Association began its investigation several years ago. During the latter part of 1915, when the Juvenile Protective As- sociation made an investigation of 14 theatres on South State Street, the results were found to be very discouraging. In only two of these fourteen theatres was the performance respectable ; though the adver- tisements on the outside were in every case worse than the perform- ance, and in many instances the advertisements had nothing to do with what went on inside. The barkers employed by the management appealed to the sporting blood in the crowd, urged them to see the living models, assured the men that they needed the stimulus which the performance would give them. In 11 out of the 14 theatres, child- ren were present in the audience; in 7 the advertisements were very objectionable; in 1 they were indecent; in 2 theatres chorus girls danced in the aisles, flashing an electric light in the faces of the men and singing a song about wanting someone to love them. In 3 theatres indecent folders were given away to the purchasers of candy; in 2 theatres professional tattooers were advertising their skill and occa- sionally securing a client. In 7 theatres the dances were coarse, ob- scene and vulgar. In 5 there were muscle dancers who posed and danced suggestively ; in 6 theatres women in tights posed as living pictures, such as Liberty, September Morn, etc. In 2 theatres women danced practically nude. The shows were all of a low order. Pictures of actresses in scant costumes and suggestive poses were openly displayed outside, while inside the vaudeville skits were vulgar, the dances were suggestive, and the performers often scantily clothed. Twelve of these theatres were reported to the Morals Division of the City Police Department. Nothing was done and they were reported a second time. Fortunately, through the efforts of the Morals Committee of the Woman's Church Federation, 8 of the theatres have since been closed. This was the more necessary since the majority of these 14 theatres are in the vicinity of one of our large public schools whose pupils are among the patrons of the theatres. DANCE HALLS. The majority of young people dependent upon public sources for recreation doubtless find it most often in a public dance hall. For this very reason these places should be kept as decent and wholesome as possible ; but at present in almost all of them liquor is sold to young people. This is due to an iniquitous law peculiar to Chicago which provides that a special bar permit can be issued by the Mayor to any group of people who call themselves a society organized for "fraternal, 7 educational or charitable purposes," and who pay six dollars for per- mission to sell liquor from three o'clock in the afternoon until three o'clock in the morning. Such an application is supposedly investigated by the police and a permit given only to responsible organizations. Many of these permits are given to people whose real object is solely to sell liquor. In some cases they have been granted to saloon-keepers who by the use of a permit can sell liquor until three o'clock in the morning and thus avoid closing at one o'clock as required by a city ordinance. In utter confusion of mind, one young woman came to the Juvenile Protective Association itself to ask how a special bar permit might be obtained. She wanted to make a trip to New York and had heard that by hiring a dance hall and selling liquor she could make five or six hundred dollars in one night. In the latter part of 1914 an attempt was made to pass an ordi- nance in the City Council which prohibited the sale of liquor in any dance hall. There was so much objection to this ordinance on the part of aldermen representing foreign born constituencies that a compromise ordinance was introduced and passed in April, 1915. This ordinance provides that great care must be taken in the issuance of special bar permits ; that application for such permits must be made fifteen days before the date on which the entertainment is to be given, and that it must contain the names and addresses of the officers of the club seeking the permit ; that the city collector must keep posted in his office a list of such applicants; that any citizen may file an objection to the issuance of the permit within five days of the en- tertainment; that a bond of $3,000 must be given with every appli- cation for a permit; that if any objectionable feature occurs at the entertainment it can be reported within five days by any citizen, and if this complaint is sustained when investigated by the Second Deputy of Police, the officers of the organization can be held accountable. The Juvenile Protective Association, however, has found that the present police department is making little effort to enforce this ordi- nance. So carelessly are the permits issued that in one case the man in whose name the permit was granted had been dead for several weeks. The result of this great laxness is that many bar permits are granted without investigation to "fly by night" clubs who have no financial or moral standing, sometimes to organizations without even an ad- dress and again to several individuals who have combined for the purpose and who give a dance solely to make money. Among the clubs whose special bar permits were investigated by the Juvenile Protective Association were those bearing such absurd names as The Merry Whirlers, the Put Away Trouble Club, the Girls' Taxi Club and the Tutti Trampi Club. The present situation is extremely discouraging because the Juvenile Protective Association, as well as many other agencies in Chicago, for the last six years has made repeated attempts to better conditions in the dance halls. The Association began its effort in 1910 because it received so many complaints regarding dance halls from mothers whose chidren were attending dances in public halls that the Association determined upon an exhaustive investigation. For sixteen months it had investigators in 328 dance halls; many of public halls were visited a number of times. The results of this in- vestigation showed that the public dance halls of Chicago were largely controlled by the saloon and vice interests, many of the halls being owned by the brewery companies. As a consequence, hundreds of young girls are annually started on the road to destruction, for the saloon keepers and most of the dance hall owners have but one end in view, and that is profit. In the majority of the dances visited during the sixteen months, liquor to minors was sold in more than half of the halls, the grossest and most dangerous form of tough dancing was being practiced, and in only seventeen instances did the police render good service. It was found that 190 halls had saloons opening into them, and that liquor was sold in 240 out of the 328 halls. The employes of these halls were always ready to give information to young people regarding the location of disreputable hotels, and in many cases the use of the dance hall premises for immoral purposes was connived at by the management. Many of the halls were poorly lighted ; there was little protection in case of fire and the ventilation was wretched. The conditions in the worst halls were reported by the Associa- tion to the police or to the city's chief executive, and in consequence some licenses were revoked and in many of the halls conditions were improved. In the winter of 1912-1913 the Association kept six in- vestigators busy visiting the dance halls, and began a systematic pro- secution of proprietors bringing many of them into court charged with sale of liquor to minors. In three instances the Association upon re- quest furnished social workers, to supervise Italian dance halls, and these workers were paid by the proprietors of the halls. This experi- ment was a success, and the halls so supervised became thoroughly 9 respectable. The O'Hara Investigating Committee and the Curran Commission summoned many dance hall keepers before them and the officers of this Association were called to give evidence concerning some of the halls. They did so, using the card index to the dance halls, which is kept by the Association. In consequence of the publicity incurred thereby, the dance hall proprietors took more pains with their halls and conditions seemed somewhat improved. In the winter of 1914-1915 another investigation was made covering about fifty of the worst halls. While some of them were bad, the conditions on the whole showed improvement. Under the present city adminis- tration however, the dance halls during the winter of 1915-1916 are more open in their violations of decency and in their disregard of all city ordinances and state laws than ever before. The Association has had investigators in the dance halls during the entire winter. There are now about 800 such halls in Chicago. The investigators report the indiscriminate sale of liquor to minors, im- proper and indecent dancing, undue familiarity between young men and girls, and such flagrant indecencies that they are absolutely un- printable. At one dance investigated by the Juvenile Protective As- sociation on March 7th, 1916, intoxicated waiters were seen hugging and kissing girls; young men held girls upon their knees; the girls were immodestly clothed ; the premises of the dance hall itself were used for improper purposes. Three policemen were present at this dance, all of whom drank freely. The license of this hall was revoked two years ago because of a disgraceful incident which occured on the premises and this dance hall was referred to in the report of the Mor- als Commission, who in November, 1915, recommended that its license be revoked. Under the present administration its dances are un- restrained, and indecency and libertinism go hand in hand. Another dance advertised a band just up from the "Pup Cafe." At this dance the patrons were almost all intoxicated; young men and women were immodest in their actions and the dancing became so vile that the management finally interfered. The patrons were negroes and whites who danced together in a grossly immoral way. The "Put Away Trouble Club" was investigated on March 21, 1916. The crowd was extremely boisterous; men shouted at each other across the room ; frequent screams were heard from the women ; boys and girls would sit for many minutes locked in close embrace until the bystanders called time. The investigators reported that the dancing was the worst they had ever seen in a public dance hall, A large number of the women present seemed to be professional prosti- tutes. Very disgusting muscle dances were given by a few women ; liquor was served after three o'clock in the morning and almost all of the young men were intoxicated — one couple so much so that they could not stand up. There was no interference on the part of the management with the dancing; two policemen were present at this dance but made no effort to enforce the three o'clock closing ordinance or to control indecent dancing. There were several girls present under 18 years of age. When this dance was reported to the Chief of Police it was neces- sary to deliver the report to him by hand as it was of such a character that it could not be sent through the mails. Yet up to date no action has been taken on the part of the police in regard to this dance hall. The Association began suit against four of the officers of this club. The case has been continued twice, and is now set for hearing May 18th. But by that time the hall where this dance was held will have had several other dances, and by the middle of May the dance hall season is over. Another dance was investigated on February 18th, 1916. The Morals Commission recommended on November 15th, 1915, that the license of the hall where this dance was held be revoked. At this dance three police officers were seen drinking; another policeman was acting improperly with a woman ; from twelve to three o'clock the intoxication of the patrons of the hall became apparent. Women were sitting upon men's knees, and at most of the tables where liquor was served men and women were guilty of the most improper conduct. One girl of only 17 years, who was very much intoxicated, was one of the worst offenders. At three o'clock an agent in livery passed through the hall saying "Nice rooms at Hotel." One woman was giving her four year old boy liquor which speedily made him intoxicated, much to the amusement of the bystanders. There were cabaret singers who sang while passing between the tables occasion- ally snatching a glass of liquor from them. The advertisements for this dance stated that the democratic candidate for alderman of the ward was to be the floor manager and urged patrons of the dance to vote for him. The man to whom the bar permit was issued decamped with the funds of the dance. The treasurer was the head bell man at the hotel where it was announced good rooms could be procured. The Juvenile Protective Association regretfully feel that the police department is making no effort whatever to properly investigate the applicants for special bar permits ; that it is absolutely indifferent to the three o'clock closing ordinance; and that although policemen are present at dances the majority make no attempt to interfere even when they see the grossest indecencies and the most immoral actions. The guardians and parents of young people might have a right to suppose that our dance halls, licensed under the city administration and policed by city officials, would be a safe place for their wards. On the contrary, at many of the dances given in Chicago, liquor is sold so openly to minors — common decency is so frequently violated and immorality so condoned — that the dance halls positively push young people into and down the road to destruction. CABARETS. Many a young man who asks a girl to go to a movie with him of an evening, after they have seen the film feels that he has not been gallant unless he takes his girl to a cabaret, where if he buys a few drinks they can hear the singing, dance, and "get on" to the newest steps as demonstrated by professionals. The establishment of cabarets in Chicago saloons on a large scale is comparatively new — possibly not more than a year or two old — and has spread rapidly. The larger saloons, which had vacant space or a big room at the rear, started the custom by employing professional entertainers in order to attract patrons. The man across the street, running a smaller saloon, felt that he could not afford to do without this entertainment, and if he had a back room he put in a few tables, hired a waiter, and engaged a young woman to sing or dance. It has been estimated that more than half the saloons in Chicago — there are over 7,000 in all — have cabarets connected with them, and in most of these cabarets young women are employed to sing or dance, the number in each saloon varying from one to ten. This would mean that there are vast numbers of young girls in Chicago — probably thousands, of them — whose business it is to act as entertainers in the saloons with cabarets attached. It is not required of these girls that they should sing well or be especially proficient in dancing. They are put in the cabarets in order that they may drink with the patrons and the girl who is most valuable is the one who is able to induce a cus- tomer to order the largest number of drinks. In order to produce excessive thirst, salted nuts are distributed free or sold for a small sum by the management throughout the evening. These girl entertainers secure their positions from agents who are licensed by the State. One at least of these agents makes it clear to the girl he is engaging that he does not care whether she can sing or not, but that if she will comply with the demands he makes upon her he will get her a steady job. All agents who find positions for girls take anywhere from five to ten per cent a week off the salary earned, if a position is secured. The Association has knowledge of dishonesty among these agents ; one of them found a place for a young girl at $25.00 a week, claiming for himself $1.75 or 7% as commission. He always collected her wages and handed her each week $23.25. One week, however, when he was detained by a broken down automobile she insisted upon receiving her own salary less the 7% commission. Much to her surprise, she was given $32.55, her salary really having been $35.00, and the agent for a long time having illegally retained $11.75 each week for himself. The majority of girls who go into this kind of work are young girls from the country who feel that they are making "easy money" because the salaries range from $18 to $75 a week— a sum which seems very large to an unsophisticated girl. These girls, however, really make very little, as they are required to wear rather fashion- able and elaborate clothes, and their wardrobe costs so much that they are seldom able to save. A girl who sings in one of these cab- arets is also required to drink with the patrons. The majority of them drink whiskey; though occasionally one is found who will not drink; one such girl always called for gin and had a secret under- standing with the waiter that he was to bring her only cold water in a gin glass ; in this manner she pretended every evening to drink a dozen glasses of gin. When a girl applies for a position in a cabaret it is not uncom- mon for the manager to make improper proposals to her, and to refuse to give her a position if she will not accede to his demands. One decent young woman who sings well and has been employed in various cabarets, has given up her occupation, stating as her reason that no self-respecting woman could sing the songs or commit the acts now required of her by the management. In the majority of the cabarets the girl singer is used only as a lure for the men, and many of the establishments have rooming houses connected with them or in the immediate vicinity. It is commonly stated that the police, without whose connivance it would be impossible of course to carry on many of the features at present to be found in cabarets, not only exact the usual free drinks but insist upon "privileges" with the cabaret entertainers. These cabarets are now by city ordinance forbidden to sell drinks after one o'clock in the morning, a law which is interpreted as applying only to the bar, and cabaret singers are required to be on duty between one and five o'clock in the morning. In some of the larger places they run three shifts of girls, one from afternoon until about 9 o'clock; one from 9 until 2 o'clock, and the third until morning. The dancing floor in the cabaret is usually a small space, which is used by the entertainers and by the patrons themselves who dance. When the floor is very crowded, as is often the case, the couples are really unable to move, and they stand in one place going through the motions of dancing, sometimes in a vile manner. Many saloons have a small kitchen connected with them in order that they may keep open as restaurants on Sunday. From this kitchen is served beer in glasses, and in order to convince the observer that they are complying with the Sunday Closing state law, next to each glass so served is placed an, empty bottle of Alpha or "near-beer." In some of the saloons where they ostensibly do not sell liquor after one o'clock, it is sold by taking bottle from buckets which are placed at midnight under tables in a certain portion of the room. It is very usual, unfortunately, to see girls at these cabarets who have become intoxicated, and who are guilty of immodest actions of which they would be incapable were they not under the influence of liquor. Some of these cabarets have pictures of nude women on the walls. In one cabaret the investigator observed that a locked room at the rear was frequently resorted to by cabaret entertainers and their patrons. Many of the songs sung by the entertainers are obscene ; in fact, when a girl applies to an agent for a position he asks her what songs she knows, and often remarks after hearing them that they are not "tough enough," and urges her to think up something else, making it clear that he wishes to arouse the baser passions of the patrons. Kissing at the table is extremely common, men often cross- ing over to other tables and embracing women in the most open manner. At one cabaret the proprietor told a girl entertainer that he would give her and the other girl entertainers, rent free, rooms upstairs, and urged them to make "easy money." At another cabaret an investigator saw a girl under 19 years of age who was so intox- icated that she was carried out unconscious. Two of the men who were helping her seemed to be quarreling as to which should take care of her. She was finally put into a taxi-cab, both men accompany- ing her. It is in cabarets such as these that it was hoped the thirty women pohce recently appointed on the Chicago force could be oi value. Unfortunately, owing to lack of [)roper system, these police women are scattered over the city, duplicating the work of other agencies, while the cabarets and public dance halls are still unguarded. One of the worst features of this rapid development of the caba- rets is that the girl who becomes a professional entertainer faces three perils. First, she is interviewed by an agent — often disreputable — and although she may escape from his attentions, when she enters the cabaret she places herself in the power of the proprietor, who, in many cases, makes evil demands upon her. Lastly, she is an open prey for the disreputable patrons who, demoralized by drink, force their atten- tions upon her. There are a vast number of young girls who find this occupation a new opportunity for earning money, and there are many other young women who would not dream of accepting an invitation from an escort to enter an ordinary saloon and to drink over the bar, who are willing to attend a so-called entertainment even though it be held in a room back of a saloon. Literally thousands of young people — young boys as well as girls — thus make their first acquaint- ance not only with public drinking but with disreputable characters and become familiar with that sinister evil which apparently has a never-ending capacity for masquerading as recreation. This survey of the public sources of recreation available to Chicago young people reveals a situation in many respects worse than that ever before found by the Juvenile Protective Association. The conditions have never been good, and each year the reports of inves- tigators have been read with a sinking of the heart. Nevertheless, during this period there has been a gradual improvement, both in the laws and in their enforcement. At present, however, the laws and city ordinances regulating the various public amusements are fairly good, but unless they are enforced with a genuine desire on the part of the police for decency and good will, there is every opportunity that the immature and pleasure-seeking patrons of these places may be absolutely ruined. Conditions under the present administration in the dance halls and cabarets are worse than the Association has ever known them to be. They sound a ringing challenge to the moral energy, almost to the maternal -instinct, of the good women of Chicago, that they may rise to protect these young people through the only method possible, the purification of political life. April 20th, 1916. \0 Rf^ti' '\