The Peril of the Republic of the United States of America - Percy T. Magan

are practised. “Lashing to the floor, however, is not
the worst cruelty resorted to, according to the
evidence taken. It is said by eye-witnesses and
participants that girls confined in houses of refuge
are stripped of their clothing, and sometimes held
by some of the employees, and at other times
chained to the floor, and whipped with a heavy
leather strap several feet long.” Recently a young
mother with a babe only five months old was
treated in this manner. A man with plenty of
money divests his aged wife of her clothing,
fastens her under the bed, and leaves her to starve.
Yet to all others he is perfectly sane.
The reports from the largest city in the country
are as follows: “In several quarters of the city life
is no longer safe. The night streets of the district
lying between Union Square and Long Acre and
Seventh and Third avenues are in the possession of
the disorderly elements. The police force is already
demoralized, and the demoralization is progressing
rapidly toward chaos.... What shall be done? What
can be done to avert chaos, and restore order and
security? Is it impossible for a community as
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