Evil Not Necessary.
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.