[Women]. [Prostitution]. [Washington State]

An Appeal to Mothers and Fathers. The Information on This and the Following Pages Was Prepared by Some of the Members of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, and the Mothers' Congress, and Every Parent is Requested to Read It [caption title]

Seattle: 1911. [4]pp., on a single folded sheet. Two old horizontal folds partially reinforced with cello tape. Very good. Item #3745

A stark and sobering illustrated leaflet calling to action the parents and citizens of Seattle to help close a house of prostitution in the city, and at the same time stop the construction of another across the street. Apparently a local businessman, former mayor, and current mayoral candidate named H.C. Gill allowed for the construction of a large dormitory-style building which housed 250 prostitutes; recently the foundation was laid for another building across the street, slightly larger, that would accommodate around 300 girls. The authors of the present leaflet implore the reader to vote against Gill, the candidate who would "ratify the construction and operation of these buildings and the placing of 500 young girls inside as white slaves under the plea that such a thing is necessary for the Alaskans and the men of this city." The authors ask, "Do the women of this city want 500 girls to be compelled to ply a shameful avocation in little cells 8x12 all night?" And they beg voters to reject the candidacy of H.C. Gill as mayor in order to stop the construction and operation of these house of ill repute. The final sentence pleads: "Let every mother and home-loving woman go to the polls on March 5 and vote for Mr. Cotterill, so that these buildings may remain uninhabited; that our homes may remain unpolluted, and that the shame of Seattle may not be advertised to the world." A photograph of the exterior of the brothel already built covers page two of the work, while a floor plan of the second and larger proposed building occupies page three. The printed caption for the former reads, "The Largest House of Prostitution in the World, Constructed in a Public Street, Under the Sanction and Approval of H.C. Gill, when Mayor, and now Ready for Occupancy." The last page excerpts relevant unsavory passages from a Grand Jury Report on the subject. OCLC records just a single institutional copy, at the Seattle Public Library.

Price: $450.00