TO FOURTH EDITION

This volume, first issued by the Bureau of Social Hy¬
giene in 1913, aims to describe in detail the situation as
respects the practice of prostitution in New York City
at that time. In 1915 the Bureau issued a pamphlet
which endeavored to contrast conditions in that year with
the conditions previously reported. In igi6 the Bureau
again presented in pamphlet form a concrete statement
of existing conditions as compared with those described in
its two previous accounts. In the present edition a chap¬
ter has been added for the purpose of contrasting condi¬
tions found in 1915 and 1916 with the conditions as re¬
ported in 1912.

The contrast is in the highest degree striking and en¬
couraging. Vice still exists; but its amount has been
greatly reduced, and the damage caused has been im¬
mensely lessened. In 1912, prostitution was open, organ¬
ized, aggressive, and prosperous; in 1916 it was furtive,
disorganized, precarious, unsuccessful. This improve¬
ment is shown in the statistics in Chapter VIII; but, as
a matter of fact, the real improvement is far greater than
the statistics show. A single example will make this
point clear. There were 142 parlor houses in 1912; in
1916 there were 22. On the face of the figures, the par¬
lor houses have been cut down to one-seventh of what
they were in 1912. But this understates the achievement.
For the 142 houses in 1912 harbored over 1600 inmates;

xi