ey were escorted from the
court room, another man approached them and offered to pay their fines
if they would go with him. Frightened by their former experience, they
stoutly declined his help, but were over-persuaded by his graphic
portrayal of prison horrors and the disgrace that their imprisonment
would bring upon "the folks at home." He also made clear that when they
came out of prison, thirty days later, they would be no better off than
they were now, save that they would have the added stigma of being
jail-birds. The girls at last reluctantly consented to go with him, when
a representative of the Juvenile Protective Association, who had
followed them from the court room and had listened to the conversation,
insisted upon the prompt arrest of the white slave trader. When the
entire story, finally secured from the girls, was related to the judge,
he reversed his decision, fined the man $100.00, which he was abundantly
able to pay, and insisted that the girls be sent back to their mothers
in Virginia. They were farmers' daughters, strong and capable of taking
care of themselves in an environment that they understood, but in
constant danger because of their ignorance of city life.

The methods employed to secure city girls must be much more subtle and
complicated than those employed with the less sophisticated country
girl. Although the city girl, once procured, is later allowed more
freedom than is accorded either to a country girl or to an immigrant
girl, every effort is made to demoralize her completely before she
enters the life. Because she may, at any moment, escape into the city
which she knows so well, it is necessary to obtain her inner consent.
Those whose profession it is to procure girls for the white slave trade
apparently find it possible to decoy and demoralize most easily that
city girl whose need for recreation has led her to the disreputable
public dance hall or other questionable places of amusement.

Gradually those philanthropic agencies that are endeavoring to be of
service to the girls learn to know the dangers in these places. Many
parents are utterly indifferent or ignorant of the pleasures that their
children find for themselves. From the time these children were five
years old, such parents were accustomed to see them take care of
themselves on the street and at school, and it seems but natural that
when the children are old enough to earn money, they should be able to
find their own amuse