Page:Wrong and Right Methods of Dealing with Social Evil - Elizabeth Blackwell (1883).djvu/24

14 girls about my division, in lodging-houses and other places; they get small wages; they come out on errands and see girls their equals in social standing dressed in silks and satins, while they are slaving; they talk to the girls and are influenced. I have watched the progress of some of these children; they appear with a colored handkerchief over their shoulders, they come two and two through the streets, and after a few days are dressed more elaborately, and at last launch out in silks and satins." "The facilities in the streets are so great that the gentlemen select for themselves" (743 to 46).

A superintendent of fifteen years' standing says: "There has been an increase during my time in the prostitution of very young children. It is a new thing to me. I can not form an opinion as to the cause. This morning, two lads were charged with attempting to steal. A child, not above thirteen, with very short petticoats, her fingers covered with rings, was waiting in the crowd to see 'her man' go down in the van. She found I was trying to get information. She laughed, ran down the passage, and hurried to the Police Court. Most likely she was assisting in keeping 'her man.'"

Says another: "I have been seven years in my district. There are more young prostitutes there than when I first went there. I have noticed during the last six months an increase that I attribute, in a great