Commercialized prostitution in New York City / by George J. Kneeland ; with a supplementary chapter by Katharine Bement Davis ; introduction by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

  • Kneeland, George J. (George Jackson), 1872-1923
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Commercialized prostitution in New York City / by George J. Kneeland ; with a supplementary chapter by Katharine Bement Davis ; introduction by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    frequently in the perverse practices to which they re- sort. The manner of carrying on the business has been somewhat modified in recent years. Formerly, the ma- dame gave the girl a brass check for each customer. After business hours she cashed in her checks, receiv- ing her share of the proceeds, usually fifty cents on the dollar. Nowadays, madames or housekeepers have a punch similar to those used by railroad conductors. When a customer is secured, the inmate hands the madame a square piece of cardboard, in which she punches a hole. Among the exhibits obtained during this investigation is a series of sixteen such cards with the names of sixteen inmates written upon them. They are literally filled with holes, all representing the busi- ness done on July 9, 1912, in a notorious one-dollar house on West 28th Street. The largest number of holes punched on a single card that day was thirty.® The madames are alive to the importance of assuring their customers that every precaution is taken to guard the health of their inmates. Hence, in practically all the houses here referred to the investigators were as- sured that the girls have in their possession medical cer- tificates signed by physicians, certifying that the bearer has been examined and is free from venereal disease.'^ In many houses the “ doctor ” is said to come every week; he makes a hasty and superficial examination, for which he is paid one dollar, one-half of which sum he turns “For additional samples, see Chapter VI. Among our exhibits are several business cards belonging to the physicians here alluded to.
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