A LETTER FROM LONDON.

NZ Truth, Issue 87, 16 February 1907, Page 8

A LETTER FROM LONDON.

LONDON'S LEPROUS LECHERY. " Tommy's " Torrid Turpitude. The Shameful Salacity of the Sly "Smiths"— A Modern Sodom and, Gomorrah— The "Hinfluence" of 4l|e i' Haristocracy"— Me Awful Abodes of Virulent Vice— The Corrosive Cunning of a Pornic Procuress— Wanton Women and Concupiscent Chauffeurs.

LONDON, Dec. 20, 1906. "Sodom," said an ex-army offuer, '"why I think London could take, . Sodom and Gomorrah into one ring and thrash them handsomely." At the present moment the. opinions of an army officer concerning sin should . carry weight,- as a commission is to te appointed to- inquire. INTO THE MORALS of Thomas Atkins, the nohle defender of our shores. - • ' ' • ■ • :. The character m the "Green Carnation" who expressed a- wish' to write of the sins that have never been sinnedi -so that he could dedi- ■ to the Society for the Promotion of Christian^ Knowledge, wouM rgguire the im;a^«va|js)n of a. Julius^eine,: to ltake-M<W& l ifi>s _. nowadays. -The back tracks m : the' meaddwlands -of vibe have been explored, and thirsty sin seekers still spur> forward m the hunt for new sensations— in the hunt, for purple patches that -might produce a thrill. ■This is the outposto camp ; here sin. .rules. '. '■/-. ■"■■ Jl #^' -'• ■'■ - ; - ..':. ". •••■ ■ :...:-■• -'^T.r ■■■■'": • -v ■ • " ; ! A' religious fanatk|S:.in..BatterseaJ &mks that" Kelson' ShOUltl be taken down from the m Trafalgar Square- and liis '. ,'Satajuc Majesty placed on ' higlr ;'-'an:d • the suggestion is good: Hell recruits; largely from London. In the Hbusfe of Lords, during the recent dispussiOftvOji the Education Bill, men' soaked' 1 m vice : pro-. : f Jessed to be much concerned about the religious instruction of the children, aWhou^h ■ „ -. i, V '. ■ .THE- |)EViL H$D;. RIDDEN w.ith a hand son their bridal rein since they were out .of -their teens. But the , crawling, servile -press .applauds tjie indignation, of the noble line,-' and the bob-a-day Bobadils the slippery embankment front vireue's path when a youngster, and fo&s never made an effort to climb feck. ,- i ■■. To return to Thomas lAtkins, Esq. Our hefoic defenders arc to. have secret doings inquired into, and general tumor prophesises a,, bad time for Thomas. There are big,'- hairraising tales abroad concerning the doings of the units m the -"thin, red Jine," and the bod-a-day Bobadils .have the cold eye of suspicion . turned m their direction. Atkins is said to be a person who runs an bdds-bri chance^' of taking • , / A BRIMSTONE BATH for all etiernity , and he dreads the •microscone. It is said that he picks up strange, tricks m out of the way places— of course he could not' learn them m; 1 this fog-smirched London— and he learns 1 so well that he'eonnot forget when he returns to headquarters,, Ojie is nqt surprised to Thomas clinging- to any habit he derives a little pleasure- fromyii^ Ms .lileiiis-tfira, dreary patch. ,;I,:sa^!?~h'im. daily at •Buckingham Palace" gates, his fingers "blue and bulgy with chilblains, his weak, stupid face hal'f#iidden beneath the- bearskin pyramid, and I pity Tammy. He is a poor animal, and now, if all the tales are true, the: nursemaids will not love him any . longer, and the foeman who runs a.«ray ; . . , h ' ' WHEN ATKINS PURSUES will have an .excuse for his cowardice. . It's Tommy ttiis, and Tommy that; We .wonder what they'll , tell ' Of Tommy's private character, \ That holy snifters smell. , ■'■ .■\ •• -•"V'p './"■'••' ■■ « • . ■-'.■ , If Atkins does run into the bypaths he goes sin-seeking ,m good company. .There are _=haunts m this great .fogenveloped burrow that would pro.yoke a quick-tempered providence to capsize the island into the German .Ocean.

■• What is to check vice? Not the church— thY parson is -but a parasite preaching" humility to the slaves—and .the' law' is handicapped. Father Vaughan, of East End fame, started but to castigate the smart set re--.cently ; but the/press Sneered at -ms rlanguage, and the set (.laughed at his ignorance. A - strong-luiiged Savonarola' -w«ho> knew things/ <and -had the ■pluck' to speak, would : provide a treat m the solemn, respectable city, and he - woukt rrieyer: run short of, material for his attacks.- Here the policeman .depends for promotion m a great measure on the .. ; • ; •IN.FLUENCE-OF (AN ARISTOCRAT invoked by father, sister, or brother; and 1 .the?-* "copper's" respect .for the gently 'Is m l igh"!y, He might lenow a. #|tle-^iust iittle rof the doings , m '^he^big, ; 'sjl^jit quarter^ where vi:he street :brieri|hd?the. organ, grinder a.re^ not allowed' to wake the' echoes- with their , noise^manuf acturing' machinery, but he is nothing. I watch the • pompous inspector walk into the road at Hyde Park'cbrner, and with uplifted hand, stop, the line of 'buses to- al- j low the carriage of my lady to pass I from the park, and I marvel, at his ! salute. The policeman here • /is- :■& State paid menial to guard ;th<? interests of' -the 1 .- upper classes, fahd the poverty-stricken-; ale liis eiiei^ies.;;-. I found two"' of them gnardihg' a gate near Buckingham Palace the other- \ day. "What is this show, oCicer ?" I asked..- ■ "The ; R-r-royal,-, Mews. J) he' 'replied; and he rolled, .^tlie..- word. ' 'royal "m liis xnouth for ten " seconds. He is an . extra * footman, slamming the carriage doors, etc., at: lit-, tie. social functions, and he takes penny tips. He starts,, on twenty-five sfhiU/ings a week, so" one cannot "blame him. ' • . •'.■■■•■ I spoke to a sergeant m confidence iho' other night— he lenew a little. iatlißred from personal experience and heresay ; but he had -scratched-, the words, "Let be" on his helmet band, - .and prjomotion. awaits him. There is a crust: of respectability Under which sin crouches^rsin. red aTs the flames of hell ;.- and the. guardians of. the law strike the pavement with their big feet and chase the Magda•jleias"' into the fog. ■'■,-.■ " In a recent case m which Miriam Warton, . a ""lodging-house . keeper, of Dafaiter-roadj Fulham, ' charged -with proburing; a girl named Maud Hilt, was . committed for trial, evidence given before the magistrate moved that %c girl was only fourteen yea? s of, age wh&i the procuress fust cm-, ployed her to. , ensare , senile old whoremongers m Piccadilly. The woman 'is' alleged to have decoyed the girl Hilt, and another named Sadie Hudson, from theip homes, and induced • them to visit West End.resorts .' Thd' 1 remarkable features of the case has been the revelations of THE DOUBLE LIFE led by the two girls, who changed theit-Tsehopl vclot^ whjen .they visited the. house, and after bes ing rigged out' by the woman Whartpn, were sent out to lassoo ancients.' For two years the mother of ,the girl Hilt was m total ignorance of the life led by her daughter, so, cunningly did the procuress work ; and the case has attracted much, attention. The procuress flourishes here, and now anxious mothers are keeping watchful eyes on their girls to see that they are not waylaid when attending music lessons or shorthand classes," and coaxed into the fashionable 'bro thels of- the West End. During the hearing of the Wharton case at the lower court a strohg detachment' of eminent lawyers watched the case on behalf of persons who thought their names might crop", out during the proceedings, but THET MONEYED RAKE covers his tracks well, and the magistrates are never too eager to find but -the names of "clients."

A mother and daughter, both undesirable aliens, were before the Court recently, but the name, of the) gentleman who took the daughter into his chambers m Piccadilly was suppressed by the magistrate's orders, and no one wondered. The police are dumb, and when they' do; -speak of i vice they tell of common sin,- rand speak of the lanes of Whitechapel and the purlieus ol Spitalfields. Bayswater and Belgravia, Kensington and May fair are spotless districts, and their inhabitants blush when they read of slum sinners . Now and then a raid is made on fashionable pleasure flats m the west, when the 'doings of a coterie of gay damsels have shocked the neighborhood,, but that is all, and when one understands the servile cringing police no more can be expected. During the hearing of a divorce case recently, it transpired that eighty different couples ALL NAMED SMITH had slept, at a fashionable hotel during the preceding quarter, ' and the remark of 'iToo much Smith' '/.tickled the' Court. The manager of- the fashionable hotel has few. .scruples, and m "the Draughn-Thysseh'-case— in, which the name of Phil May was bandied about m cbi*nectioh with his friendship for the lady— a few lessees shivered for . the reputations "of their houses. Miss Draiighn,-' the friend "of poor old Phil, for whose favors the fool Ger,man paid £15 per week, is now' engaged for the. Xmas pantomime at a salary, of £80. a month, but she intends to tackle, Thyss^n again, m the ■new -year. . ,; .'- '.^X'^.!^..,:., ■ „,. '■^y^Ketway^';''*-'-'^^;;^- 1 ■• ■■"- ' .TEHE GIDDY CHAUFFEUR ' is making' a reputation for himself m the> aristocratic quarters.; Better looking than the solemn faced- cbach- . nian * he ' has replaced,' /and with # not half the reverence that. John had for the property of '.his master , the gay motor-stcerer , is attracting 'attention as a home wrecker, and the ancients with young wives look with suspicion, on the wheel winders. In South Kensington,- the other .day, a handsome chauffeur was beaten- scientifically; by an infuriated husband, and many of the brigade' have left their positions without obtaining' the master's reference .about their ' straight-driving capabilities. A few West Enders have!) disposed of their. cats, and replaced 'the-igiddy Lotharios with solemn, respectable coachmen, and, if half the chauffeur tales one hears ;.. are true, the youthful sprigs, of the aristocracy .will' have motor mania m a violent/ form. Furthermore, the swaggering car-steerer is- inquisitive and ready to make use of any information that comes his way, J and, if he himself , ... - . . ■. ' . is ; NO*r --the oPAypß^^E.'- " he keeps, a keen eye on othei"s : ,"ahd puts ' his knowledge m the market when an opportunity arrives. Alas ,for John and. Jeames the faithful retainers, who could- boast 'of a hundred coachmen m their pedigrees ! The flat system here affords the gallant unequalled opportunities for carrying on secret liaisons. Cosy little cribs, m' which gay charmers may,fte"secreted, are 'not* to be had m every district, and there is littlechance of the flat doings being made public. The West is 'full of little dove-cots, the occupiers' of which in' hiany' instances hand m the names of celebrated persons as "references" when filling m the applications for tenancy, and the' agents know, that the rent, is always sure. When there are sixty or seventy suites of apartments m the one building, the visitor does not run much risk, and yia ....'. LONDON , -„ 6he never speaks ,to his or her neighbors. ' ;'-.. " , And the, Magdalens,— the. wrecks of love ! . God help us ! They /can be mustered m 'their tens of thousands beating up and down the . fasTiipnable thoroughfares— and still the missionary flits for foreign snores, ..and I whispers not for. the iniquities . of this jjlaoe. Here the brawling bound-, er bangs the pulpit, and cries for subscriptions for the heathen, while a Regiment of women, forced on the streets 'by.the cold and >. the dearth of employment, parade m the shadow of the church walls. As I sit and bake over a fierce, coal fire, >I PITY THE WOMAN who, starving and penniless, tries to cling to her virtue with Hyde Park three inches deep, m snow- If. virtue is judged by necessity her reward will be great. . It is a great pit of vice— vice that s cloaked and smothered— vice, that s spoken pi with . bated breath ; and

the very effort to hide it magnifies the immorality. There is nothing of the devil-may^care-arfig-who-knows attitude about .the sin of London that one' "finds on the -continent, and it is•ta%^^ul^y£Q^^ attempt ;to pose before the world as a goodv :> ' goody nation of spotless saints that 'strikes one. The,respectable Frenchman, shrugs his shoulders and admits, but the respectable Britisher—and by the tail of the great Kangaroo he is' j \.*A RESPECTABLE ANIMAL— rolls his eyes m pious horror, and indignantly, denies the insinuation. As- a Yankee in* a "Kensington boarding house remarked," "You'd darn well think they were trying to "bluff the Almighty^' and the American summed vp r , their endeavors. This is a nation of Pecksniffs who have an idea that God cannot see through the fog ; and that the -rps-t- of the 'world believe m their morality.. May the ,Lord give them sense ! "-">