and perversion, appears at every point of our inquiry for
the sources of the supply of the victims of vice, either as the cause
of the perversion of children and youth or as a complication of all
other causes."[6] Of course, we dare not dream that any sex-instruction
that now seems possible will completely eradicate prostitution; but we
do know of thousands of boys and girls who have been directed to safety
by knowledge of some fundamental sexual facts.

[Sidenote: Sex plays and novels.]

Concerning presentation of the social evil by fiction and the drama,
there is much honest disagreement. My personal opinion is that little
good is done by the theater or by such publications as Reginald
Kaufmann's "House of Bondage," and Elizabeth Robin's "My Little
Sister." They all leave the unsophisticated reader with an exaggerated
and even hysterical notion that white slavery is exceedingly common and
the main cause of prostitution. Certainly the great majority of the
army of prostitutes, both public and clandestine, in America, and a
still higher percentage on the continent of Europe, did not become
novitiates of vice in prisons of prostitution.

[Sidenote: Limited reading desirable.]

It seems to me that a very limited reading regarding the social evil is
sufficient for one who is not engaged in medical or social work that
requires scientific knowledge of this darkest side of human life.
Certainly, the indiscriminate reading of vice investigations is
dangerous for many young people,--for young men because some of them
are allured into personal investigations, and for young women because
they get an exaggerated and pessimistic view of all sexual problems.
For the intelligent reader who wants the general information that every
public-spirited citizen should have, the well-known book by Jane Addams
will serve both as an outline and an encyclopedia of the social evil.
Social workers and some educators will find use for the other books
mentioned below.

Jane Addams.--"A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil."
(Macmillan).

Seligman, E.R.A. (Editor).--"The Social Evil." (Putnam.) Contains
bibliography on the subject.

Sumner, Dean W.T., and others.--"The Social Evil in Chicago."
Vice-Commission Report, 1911. Now published by the American
Social Hygiene Association. The "introduction and summary" (pp.
25-47) deserves careful reading.

Cocks, O.G.--"The Social Evil" (Association Press).

"Vigilance