The “cadet” system is highly valued by the Directorate of Ten because it is the human prod to vice, the medium of increasing infamous profits from day to day.
As an instance of this, here is a story from police circles which is confirmed by other corroboration.
Recently, a captain of police was transferred to the Twenty-second street police station. He was an unsophisticated police official, then. He was not well acquainted with the workings of the Vice Trust and he was determined to rid the districts of some of the evils which were more flagrant than others.
He determined to destroy the “cadet” system and to cast every “cadet” into jail on charges of vagrancy. He set about to do it and forty-eight hours later the district was seething with indignation, fear and anger.
A conference of the big resort keepers was held and the police captain invited to attend. He went prepared to deliver a staggering ultimatum that would wipe out the evil forever.
When he emerged he was a beaten, broken man, broken on the great, ever turning wheel of vice.
Those keepers told him in that conference that if he drove the “cadets” out, they might as well shut down their houses. He was willing that they should. But there was the rub. He was quietly shown that the graft lords wanted more money and would not stand for a decrease of profits.
They declared that women without “cadets” to urge them on, did not make half the money those did who were driven to death by these inhuman creatures in their exploitation of vice.
To back up their statements they showed him the records of their houses.
The great powers, he realized, were behind commercialized vice. To harm one member of that Directorate of Ten by shearing him of his profits meant ruin to himself. He gave up the battle.