Commercialized Vice and the Remedy

Commercialized Vice and the Remedy

BY GEORGE A. STARTUP

When Clifford G. Roe, the eminent Chicago attorney, in his

late speech in the Assembly Hall, said that if Illinois had a

law like the Utah Injunction and Abatement law that they would

clean up their vice joints in 48 hours, —

he aroused the interest of

many Utahns who have not become familiar with the theory and

povisions of this measure; and, as sponsor for the bill, I here-

with respond to many requests for a discussion of it.

Since the dawn of history the human race has grappled, in a

more or less desultory way, with the problems presented by the

weaknesses of mankind manifesting themselves in the various

vices. The evils attendant on the use of intoxicating beverages,

gambling, prostitution, etc., have presented problems to some

minds unsolvable. The main difficulties, I believe, encountered

in efforts to minimize these evils have been due mostly to the false

doctrine that they are "necessary evils." And on this false prem-

ise has arisen a creature of commercialism which has sunk its

fangs deep into the social and political affairs of nearly all races.

And the physical disasters wrought are incalculable.

If the public admits that there are "necessary evils" it must

not deny the logic that such necessities will be catered to. But

the advocates of the idea of "necessary evils," because of what

they call inherent weaknesses of mankind, forget that they never

permit this logic (?) to apply to affairs affecting property. That

is to say, so long as human weakness works moral injury only,

they excuse it on the ground of "necessary evils," but so soon as

other human frailties and evil tendencies, such as stealing, for in-

stance, manifest themselves, then these same defenders of "neces-

sary evils" are clamorous to have the other rule apply, that —

humans are to be restrained in expressing their weak and wicked

tendencies, and made to sense the wrong that they do society.

In consequence of this failure to conserve moral welfare while

giving property the full concern, our common and statute laws

have been made and used more to care for man's possessions than

for man himself. Thus the process of Injunction has served the

interests of property as long as jurisprudence has been known.

But it remained for a man in Iowa, of humble station, who has

devoted his life to help better the conditions of humankind, to

invent a measure that really gives to society the same safeguards

for its moral welfare that property has enjoyed so long. I re-

978 IMPROVEMENT ERA

fer to Hon. John B. Hammond, of Des Moines. Many years ago

he worked out an Injunction and Abatement Law that made it

possible to clean up the "blind pigs" and fake drug stores in "dry"

towns and counties of Iowa and then when the people of Iowa

;

became exasperated at the terrible consequences of the bawdy

houses that disgraced the many river towns in that and neighbor-

ing states, they turned instinctively to the injunctive method to

clean up those cesspools of vice. And this brought into existence

the now famous Red Light and Injunction Law.

In drawing up the Utah Injunction and Abatement Law we

used these Iowa measures as a basis, but made the one measure

cover all public nuisances growing out of the liquor and prosti-

tution evils. (See Chap. 99, Laws of Utah 1913.) Six states

passed this measure in various forms, and Congress has just re-

cently passed it for the District of Columbia. It is under this

measure that Gov. West of Oregon cleaned up several sore spots

in his state, coupled with the officers removal law, the companion

measure. On account of the rush of legislation in the last Utah

legislature, we could not get the attention of the committees on

the officers removal law; but it is equally important, — in fact is

the right hand of the Injunction measure. I desire to mention

here that there were only four votes cast against this Injunction

Law in our legislature, showing the high moral standard of our

legislature. In Tennessee, last summer, Gov. Ben Hooper had to

call the legislature into special sessionthree times before he suc-

ceeded in getting this bill passed, and the fight was so tremendous

that armed militiamen were kept on guard at the legislative halls.

Briefly summarized, the Utah Injunction Law defines all il-

licit traffics in liquors as common nuisances ; also defines as com-

mon nuisances any structure or place used for purposes of lewd-

ness, etc., also the ground upon which said buildings stand is

declared a nuisance together with all movable property connected

therewith. Whenever any nuisance as defined is found to exist,

the attorney or any citizen may maintain an action in equity in

the name of the state to perpetually enjoin and abate such nuis-

ance. In case of including the owner or agent of the real estate,

if he is not in the actual possession of the place,

a reasonable

notice in writing must be given, before an action against him

can

hold good. Of course, proceeding against the keepers of the

vice

ioint onlv requires no notice. When an injunction is granted it

shall be binding on the defendants in the whole

judicial district,

and any violations of the order of abatement snail be contempt

of court with heavy penalties, not less than two hundred

dollars.

Such actions must be tried at the first term of court; and

evidence of the general reputation of the place shall

be ad-

missible to prove the existence of such nuisance. If

the existence

of the nuisance is proven, part of the abatement

proceedings con-

COMMERCIALIZED VICE AND THE REMEDY 979

sists in selling all movable property used in maintaining such

nuisance, and the building closed for one year unless a bond to the

full value of the property is put up. If any one breaks into or

enters the building while closed by order of the court it is con-

tempt.

It will be observed that any citizen has authority to start pro-

ceedings and prosecute to action. This does not relieve the of-

ficers of responsibility, for their duty is specifically mentioned,

but in case they do not act, citizens of the county, singly or organ-

ized, can proceed. It is therefore plain that communities that

want to clean up their places of vice can now readily do so. It

is the only law that has been found easy of execution mainly be-

;

cause it evades the unsatisfactory jury system, which for this class

of cases is wholly unsuited, especially in large cities. The pro-

ceedings being cases in equity, the appeal is made to the District

Judge only, and experience is showing that they handle vice cases

to better advantage to the public than any other system. Great

latitude in presenting evidence is permitted in these kind of cases.

It is not necessary to prove specific acts to constitute the nuisance,

but simply the general reputation of the place, together with the

usual circumstantial evidence easily obtainable.

It is important to remember that the Injunction Law does

not replace the criminal procedure. Both equity and criminal

procedure may go on at the same time, or at different times,

proving both cases by the same evidence. The search and seizure

law of the 1911 statutes should always be invoked against liquor

nuisances to start the proceedings, and thus find valuable evidence

to add to the other evidence gathered to be used in the equity

trial. The search and seizure may be instituted by any officer of

city, town or county, on "information and belief," and any justice

of the peace of city, precinct or a district judge can issue *he

search warrant.

Those favoring reform legislation realize as fully as do the

scoffers that the enactment of laws can not directly change human

nature. But this fact is no excuse to continue to permit that all

too large minority of perverts to exploit their perversions. It is

one thing to admit that a certain amount of sin and weakness

must be endured until corrective measures and education reform

the individual members of society from within but it is quite

;

another thing to contend that the weaklings or vicious should be

permitted to make merchandise of their own or other immorality.

Those practices and substances that have been proven by the ex-

perience of the race to be injurious to the general welfare are held

by the courts of all lands to have no inherent rights, so it devolves

upon the citizenship of all communities to suppress them.

Several District Judges in Utah have already ruled that the

payment of membership fees to a club whose principal purpose is