Tokio, Jan. 11, 'The earthquake never did a greater service to the Japanese than when it wiped out of exis: tence the sinks of iniquity, the Yoshiwara in Tokio and Maganecho' in Yokohama—that, marred two of Japan's otherwise most charming cities, To conjure memories of the Yoshiwara an Magenecho that were is far from pleasant. Of the two, if any preference can be made, the "Red Light" district of Tokio was the less repulsive, Inxgely duo to the abolition of the Oiran Dochu, when new victim to the Moloch of prostitution was accorded "honours" that had all the sham and hypocrisy that one could lever think of and also due to the abolition of the practice whereby the unfortunate women were compelled to port themselves in m large, caged room, visitile to- passers-by, the majority of whom would' taunt the unfortunate girls, while others, on their way into' this den of shame, would first linger at the barred doors to, exchange un, savoury pleasantries and to. select ® woman with much lees eave than would be expended on the selection of n beast of draught. Tu Yokohama, however, up to the terrible catastrophe of' September 3, the system whereby women were confined to. a room sur rounded with harved doors and windows continued to exist, 'Than came the heaving of the so-called solid envth when houses, towns, dwellings were dragged down' more quickly and with greater facility than angry Waves suck down a frail sampan, With the general destruction wont also the licensed quarters, trid the slavery prostitution was though by many t¢ have been dealt. a death-blow.
Of, evtonts "mu apy voted wi quarters. proved tobe amonget the mont revolting Furthormor, the! Bee Ds con ind saddening of all the tragedies sy"
fat were born on the noon of September 1. In many of the houses belonging to. the. licensed quarter. the women perished by score. The mest deplorable thing was that, chained throug out life to & sordid caroer, several of these women did not bhava the least. chance to save themselves. Convicts were let out on. parole as the fires swept in the direction. of the penitent. tinnes, but for these imprisoned women in their Yoshiwava, "cages"" no such opportunity was offered. According to reports, the opposite rather was the case, and, their taskemasters, who have paid for the women body and soul for a certain period, did their utmost: to keep theee human goods and chattels who, from a strict legal point, wore really theirs, The Fosull! was the deaths by tens of these womon when the flames had reached a pitch that made escape fored with bamboo, tinder" wood it of a segregated region olut-
and paper buildings entirely im-
Following the cavthquake came the demand. from far and wide that this must not be again, that, the Yoshiwara system and all it stands for had better be eliminate ed from the land. The destruction of these quarters was regarded "as an. excellent op" fordid traffic. altewether; and portunity for doing away wit those who visioned a better and 'a purer Tokio looked with. the eyes of the spirit and, insisted that a system like, the Yoshiwara, should not re-arise, But the noble attempt has failed. rie, Rapacto's KEEPERS.
The agitation for the abolition of the brothels has fallen on dear ears—eo far as the authori ti are concerned. In fact, thera as much activity—if not more—th roconstinction of the des: troyed Jiconsed quarters as. anywhere else in the rained regions, Brothel-keepers not merely laugh at the idea of Virtue trying to. conquer Vice but are even grow: ing far more rapacious than of eld. Tt is no use mincing matters lid affecting a silly prudishness. The system has been established by the. brothel! keepers, in much the same way aaa chain of restaurants.under the same management might have meal-tickets,- and these tickets are good for' all the Hicensed houses. With chavactoristic brazenness, the brothel keepers declare that. this is in order to "cope with the trond of the times" and by. way of "putting the interests of customers before everything else!"
The system has proved immensely successful so far as the brothel-keepers are concerned.
also, of course, hastens the unfortunate girl victims to the grave quicker, spreads more disease, especially at a time like the present when there is in admitted dearth of discase proventive, and has tended to increase' libertinism and _profi-gay. The brothel-keepers are getting rich fattening fin Yack fon the women they hold in what is worse than prison,. and are quickly making up for the losses they have sustained,—including the "'loss'" caused by the deaths of the girls after the quake who remo not permitted to. escape when opportunity offered.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.