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76 THE WHITE SLAVE MARKET
off the refuse of the habitation, is there any
earthly reason why that drain should not he
kept from infecting the household ? Being
pestiferous does not add to its usefulness,
and it endangers the neighbourhood. We
shall offer our remedies, and the public must
judge as to their effectiveness. No useful
purpose would be achieved by the recital of
all the enormities of the " pimp " trade in the
East without some suggestions as to their
termination.
Now, in regard to what we shall propose,
we have as a pattern a miniature effort by the
French authorities in the great French colony
of Sigon. This is a thriving colony of vast
potentialities, and it is managed and controlled
in a manner that reflects the greatest credit
on La Belle France. In Sigon, licentiousness
is not let loose to devour the young to rot
and cripple youth, and send to their graves
those in the noon of life. At Sigon the traffic
is in a measure at least controlled : all houses
of infamy are licensed, all the women are
registered, and if they are found to be diseased
they are placed under restraint or deported.
Soliciting in the streets is forbidden and general
order in the traffic prevails. The Govern-
ment was forced to take the most stringent
steps to stop the riot of immorality, as the
army stationed in the colony was found to be
seething with disease. Men not only lost
their money but their health, and numbers
were returned to France with shattered con-
stitutions, and themselves a dreadful scourge