The History of Prostitution Part 61

Again: on page 189, while speaking of the demoralizing effects of theatrical representations, Mr. Tait says:

"In the report of the House of Refuge in New York, it is stated that one hundred and fifty boys and girls, out of six hundred and ninety, are guilty of theft and impurity to get a seat in the theatre." He does not mark this as a quotation, nor does he state the report from which it was extracted. As he has printed it, it must be supposed correct, although we must confess we can not see very clearly what connection exists between the New York House of Refuge and prost.i.tution considering the ages of children generally admitted to that inst.i.tution; and while we have very little doubt that many of the inmates thereof have committed theft for the reason he a.s.signs, we are rather dubious as to the acts of impurity alluded to, except in a very few exceptional cases.

Farther: on page 194, Mr. Tait quotes "The address of the Rev. Mr.

M'Dowall on prost.i.tution in America" as follows:

"At the very hour in the morning, afternoon, and evening of every Lord's day when the people of G.o.d a.s.semble for religious wors.h.i.+p, then, in a special manner, do the children of the wicked one meet in troops at harlots' houses. On the Sabbath days the rooms are so filled with visitors that there is no place for them to sit down, and on that account many are refused admission at the doors." These palpable exaggerations require no contradiction. They show, however, the extremes of misrepresentation to which an enthusiastic and incompetent writer may be led.

Inclined to exaggeration as Mr. Tait has been proved to be, he yet protests (in page 251) against some opinions upon infanticide by prost.i.tutes in New York, advanced by his informant, the Rev. Mr. M'Dowall, and quotes the opinion of Parent-Duchatelet to prove that mothers are generally very fond of their children. This fact warrants the conclusion that his other opinions upon social morals in New York are entirely derived from Mr. M'Dowall, who is shown to be any thing but a credible witness. His reliance upon such a source is much to be regretted as materially impairing the value and truthfulness of his otherwise interesting and useful volume.

The following extracts from the "Compendium of the Seventh Census of the United States, 1850," will be interesting, from their relation to various points which have been discussed in the progress of this work. They have all a more or less direct bearing upon the subject of prost.i.tution, and the condensation of them here will give readers an opportunity of verifying many of the previous remarks.

The estimated population of the Union at the present time (1858) has been already given as 29,242,139 persons (including slaves). The proportion of females to males at each census from 1790 to 1850 is stated as follows:[402]

+-------------------------------------------------------+ 1790. 1800. 1810. 1820. 1830. 1840. 1850. ------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ----- Males 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Females 964 953 962 968 964 956 95 +-------------------------------------------------------+

This relates only to the free population. In enumerating slaves no distinction of s.e.x was made earlier than the year 1820. The ratio of male and female slaves since that date is as follows:[403]

+---------------------------------------+ 1820. 1830. 1840. 1850. ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Males 100 100 100 100 Females 9519 9836 9955 9995 +---------------------------------------+

From these tables it appears that the males in the free population and the females in the slave population have been steadily increasing, but with no determined ratio of progression.

Taking the total of free and slave population since the census of 1820, the excess of males is stated thus:[404]

+------------------------------------------------------------+ 1820. 1830. 1840. 1850. --------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------- Males 4,898,127 6,529,696 8,688,532 11,837,661 Females 4,740,004 6,336,324 8,380,921 11,354,215 ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------- Excess of males 158,123 193,372 307,611 483,446 +------------------------------------------------------------+

It will be seen from this that in 1850 the males were in excess at the rate of 2.08 per cent., and by applying the same rule to the population of 1858 a fair estimate of the relative number of each s.e.x at the present time may be made as follows:

Males (1858) 14,925,188 Females 14,316,951 Excess of males 608,237 ---------- Total estimated population 29,242,139

In the several geographical divisions of the Union the proportion of white males to white females is thus shown:[405]

_New England States_ (Maine, New Hamps.h.i.+re, Vermont, Ma.s.sachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut), 10087 females to 100 males.

_Middle States_ (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and District of Columbia), 9770 females to 100 males.

_Southern States_ (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida), 9854 females to 100 males.

_Southwestern States_ (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee), 9166 females to 100 males.

_Northwestern States_ (Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa), 9211 females to 100 males.

_California and Territories_, 3673 females to 100 males.

Two facts are developed in this statement. In the New England States females are in excess of males. From this district comes the majority of all the native-born prost.i.tutes who find their home in New York City. In the Northwestern States, to which it has been proposed to remove some of the surplus female labor of New York, the males are in excess, and any women sent there would aid in restoring the equilibrium of the s.e.xes.

The following table gives the relative percentage of each s.e.x at different ages, and also the number of females to each hundred males:[406]

+---------------------------------------------------------+ Percentage Percentage Females of of to each Ages. Males. Females. 100 Males. ------------------------ ---------- ---------- ---------- Under 5 years 1468 1495 9676 From 5 years to 10 years 1369 1398 9703 " 10 " 15 " 1223 1235 9600 " 15 " 20 " 1039 1142 10446 " 20 " 30 " 1864 1846 9408 " 30 " 40 " 1285 1184 8755 " 40 " 50 " 838 786 8909 " 50 " 60 " 497 483 9215 " 60 " 70 " 264 269 9688 " 70 " 80 " 111 118 10101 " 80 " 90 " 31 36 11011 " 90 " 100 " } 04 05 { 12316 " 100 years upward } { 12045 Ages unknown 07 03 4409 ---------- ---------- ---------- 100 100 95 +---------------------------------------------------------+

Experience has proved that the age at which female virtue is exposed to the most temptations, or at least the age at which the greater part of the prost.i.tutes in New York have embraced their wretched calling, is from fifteen to twenty years, and the table above shows that at those periods females are in excess over males nearly 4-1/2 per cent. Is it to be supposed that the numerical predominance is the cause of the temptations; or may it not rather be concluded that both are co-existent, and equally contribute to the sad result; or even would not temptation be more aggravated, because concentrated, if, at that critical period of life, males and females were in equal numbers?

The following table gives the relative ages of the whole population without distinction of s.e.x, but compares the white, free colored, and slave cla.s.ses:

+------------------------------------------------------------------+ Percentage of Percentage of Percentage of Ages. white free colored slave Population. Population. Population. [407] [408] [409] ------------------------ ------------- ------------- ------------- Under 5 years of age 1481 14.00 16.87 From 5 years to 10 years 1383 1386 1495 " 10 " " 15 " 1228 1204 1361 " 15 " " 20 " 1089 1008 1115 " 20 " " 30 " 1855 1785 1786 " 30 " " 40 " 1236 1271 1104 " 40 " " 50 " 813 873 686 " 50 " " 60 " 490 560 396 " 60 " and upward 420 556 368 Ages unknown 05 07 02 ------------- ------------- ------------- 100 100 100 +------------------------------------------------------------------+

BIRTHS.

The ratio of births is in the[410]

United States 1 birth to every 36 persons, or 275 per cent.

Great Britain 1 " " 31 " 322 "

France 1 " " 35 " 286 "

Russia 1 " " 36 " 275 "

Prussia and Austria 1 " " 26 " 387 "

EDUCATION.

The importance of education and its influence upon the social problem of prost.i.tution is a sufficient apology for the following extracts, in addition to what has been said already on the subject.

There are in the United States

239 colleges with an annual income of $1,964,428 80,978 public schools 9,529,542 6,085 academies and private schools 4,644,214 ------ ----------- 87,302 educational inst.i.tutions which cost $16,138,184

These inst.i.tutions are attended by 3,644,928 scholars.[411]

There are in the United States

Natives 858,306 Foreigners 195,114 --------- Total 1,053,420

persons above twenty years of age who can not read or write. This number is subdivided thus:[412]

+--------------------------------------------------------------+ White. Free colored. Total. +-------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- Males 389,664 40,722 430,386 Females 573,234 49,800 623,034 --------------- --------------- --------------- Total 962,894 90,522 1,053,420 +--------------------------------------------------------------+

This shows a remarkable preponderance of uneducated women. The percentage of children attending school in the United States, calculated on all between the ages of five and fifteen years is

Natives 8081 per cent.[413]

Foreigners 5173 "

a proof of the fact intimated already that foreign parents do not endeavor to avail themselves of the facilities provided for the education of their children.

The illiterate of the population are thus minutely a.n.a.lyzed:[414]

White illiterate to total white 492 per cent.

Free colored illiterate to total free colored 2083 "