Saturday, 12th July 1913 Parents Are Blamed for ‘Slavery’

The Atlanta Georgian

Saturday, July 12, 1913

*Editor's Note: The second portion of this article is not available.

Acting Recorder Sends Girls to Reform School and Binds Two Men Over.

Probe into vice conditions resulted in a startling climax Saturday afternoon when Acting Recorder Preston sentenced two girls, Corinne Wilson and Dora Rothstein to the Cincinnati Reform School and bound over two men, W.W. Suttles and C.A. Dollar, under $200 bond each, making eight vice cases tried Saturday, with the prospect of five more trials for Monday.

The trial was featured by the statements of the Acting Recorder, who declared that the parents of the girls were largely responsible for the deplorable conditions which exist. This accusation followed a severe reprimand of the parents of the Rothstein girl, who were in court.

"If you had a dog in your home," said the Recorder to the two parents as they stood before the bar of justice, "you would not treat it as you have treated this girl. Just such action as this is resulting to-day in the ruin of hundreds of girls of this city."

Efforts to Convict Fail.

Suttles and Dollar were placed under $200 bonds on the charge of furnishing beer to the girls. Efforts to convict the men on other charges growing out of their relaitons [sic] with the girls failed because the alleged acts were committed in Campbell County.

As the result of the increased activity by the detective and police departments, following the grilling given the detectives Friday afternoon by Chief Beavers, five new arrests were made by a squad of officers shortly after noon Saturday, in a raid on a boarding house at No. 164 1-2 Peters Street.

The persons under arrest gave their names as Lulu Bell, Maud Wilson, Mrs. Lee Berkstein and L. W. Berkstein. Effie Drummond, a 22-year-old country girl, who has been in Atlanta only four weeks, is held as a material witness.

A man whose name is given as Joe North escaped through a back window while the police were raiding the place. A general order has been issued for his arrest. The raid was made by Officers Brannan, Moncrief and Baker.

More Arrests Probable.

Chief Beavers declares he has evidence that the boarding house, which was run by the Bell woman, is an immoral resort. The quintet probably will be tried in Police Court Monday. The Chief intimated after the arrest that other arrests are probable within 24 hours as a result of developments of the day's investigation, which have brought out the following:

Information has come to Chief Beavers of a house where young girls are taken by men and ruined, and then taken to hotels or immoral resorts.

The dragnet has been thrown out for the son of one of Atlanta's most prominent business men, named by Hattie Smith in her story of immorality at the Cumberland Hotel.

Four persons—Hattie Smith, Mrs. Lola White, Paul Estes and Hoyt Monroe—were held for the Grand Jury Saturday morning on new charges, following the Smith girl's story of a "joy ride." Estes has said that he will make a confession, in which he will involve men hitherto unsuspected.

Chief Beavers now has the names of between fifteen and twenty men.

Continued on Page Two, Column Four.

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The Atlanta Georgian, July 12th 1913, "Parents Are Blamed for ‘Slavery'," Leo Frank case newspaper article series