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Show HID CITY OF VICE. BAKER TELLS POLICE Leon Bone Transmits Im- perative Order From the Secretary of War. LAW LONG ON BOOKS Enacted in May to Banish Resorts; Officials Derelict, Is Intimation. Under an order received yesterday, again directing: that the presidential proclamation prohibiting the operation of houses of ill fame, or the maintenance of anv house or building for immoral purposes pur-poses within five miles of an army post, must he enforced, the Salt Iake police department has been instructed by Leon Bone of the department of justice to investigate in-vestigate all lodging houses and other : places where women of questionable character may occupy quarters and to j prosecute those responsible for the viola- j tion of the law. I That the war department at Washington Washing-ton is checking up local representatives of the department of justice and the police po-lice throughout the country In regard to the moral conditions existing in cities where army posts are located Is indicated indi-cated in the supplementary order. Although Al-though the law making governors, police po-lice chiefs and department of Justice representatives responsible for the moral conditions near army posts has been in effect since May IS. 1917. and the order was emphatically stressed in a communication which went out from the war office on May 25 and printed exclusively in The Tribune on May 26, it lias evidently again become necessary for Secretary Baker to give warning that the original 'instructions are not being carried car-ried out Under the regulations issued hy authority au-thority of the president and approved by him on May IS, it became the duty of the federal authorities to close up all rooming room-ing houses known to be operated for the purpose of luring men along immoral lines. The law is as follows: Letter of the Law. That the secretary of war is hereby here-by authorized, empowered and directed direct-ed during th6 present war to do everything by him deemed necessary to suppress and prevent the keeping or setting up of houses of ill fame, brothels, or bawdy houses within such distance as he may deem needful need-ful of any military camp, station, fort, post, cantonment, training or mobilization place, and any person, corporation, partnership or association associa-tion receiving or permitting to be received re-ceived for immoral purposes any person per-son into any place, structure or building used for the purpose of lewdness, assignation or prostitution within such distance of such places as may be designated or shall permit per-mit any such person to remain for immoral purposes in such place, structure or building as aforesaid, or who shall violate any order, rule or regulation issued to carry out the object ob-ject or purpose of this section, shall, , unless otherwise punishable under : the articles of war, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and be punished by a fine of not more than $1000, or imprisonment im-prisonment for not more than twelve months, or both. j The president's proclamation, which i also made it unlawful for any per- son to furnish intoxicating liquors to United States soldiers in uniform, wag I called to the attention of municipal and i federal authorities by The Tribune on j May 25. Officials Profess Ignorance. j Complete ignorance of the law was admitted ad-mitted at that time by Mayor W. Mont Ferry, the city attorney, Chief of Police White and Mr. Bone, all of whom declared de-clared they did not know such proclama- , tion had been issued by the president. Upon being advised that the president , had issued an order making it unlawful : to furnish liquors to United States soldiers sol-diers in uniform, or permit houses of 111 fame to operate. Mayor Ferry Instructed the chief of police to enforce the law, but later in the night, after having consulted con-sulted the city attorney, who advised him that no such law existed, rescinded tbe order. The attention of Mr. Bone also was called to the president's order, but having hav-ing had no official notification concerning concern-ing it, he declared he did not know of such law. When it became manifest, a few days later, according to an announcement made by Secretary of War Baker that unless determined effort was made to keep the city in a clean condition morally, moral-ly, in connection with the establishment of a mobilization camp, Salt Lake might lose its military post, the liquor order was sent forth to the police department by Mayor Ferry. |