she is a white woman. "The
leading citizens" of Memphis are defending the "honor" of _all_ white
women, _demi-monde_ included.

Since the manager of the _Free Speech_ has been run away from Memphis by
the guardians of the honor of Southern white women, a young girl living on
Poplar St., who was discovered in intimate relations with a handsome
mulatto young colored man, Will Morgan by name, stole her father's money
to send the young fellow away from that father's wrath. She has since
joined him in Chicago.

The _Memphis Ledger_ for June 8 has the following:

If Lillie Bailey, a rather pretty white girl seventeen years of age, who
is now at the City Hospital, would be somewhat less reserved about her
disgrace there would be some very nauseating details in the story of her
life. She is the mother of a little coon. The truth might reveal fearful
depravity or it might reveal the evidence of a rank outrage. She will
not divulge the name of the man who has left such black evidence of her
disgrace, and, in fact, says it is a matter in which there can be no
interest to the outside world. She came to Memphis nearly three months
ago and was taken in at the Woman's Refuge in the southern part of the
city. She remained there until a few weeks ago, when the child was born.
The ladies in charge of the Refuge were horified. The girl was at once
sent to the City Hospital, where she has been since May 30. She is a
country girl. She came to Memphis from her fathers farm, a short
distance from Hernando, Miss. Just when she left there she would not
say. In fact she says she came to Memphis from Arkansas, and says her
home is in that State. She is rather good looking, has blue eyes, a low
forehead and dark red hair. The ladies at the Woman's Refuge do not know
anything about the girl further than what they learned when she was an
inmate of the institution; and she would not tell much. When the child
was born an attempt was made to get the girl to reveal the name of the
Negro who had disgraced her, she obstinately refused and it was
impossible to elicit any information from her on the subject.

Note the wording. "The truth might reveal fearful depravity or rank
outrage." If it had been a white child or Lillie Bailey had told a pitiful
story of Negro outrage, it would have been a case of woman's weakness or
assault and she could have remained at the Woman's Refuge. But a Negro
child and to withhol