#leonard a. watson

[handeaux]

Cincinnati’s White-Slavery Crusader Couldn’t Resist Forbidden Sweets

When Leonard A. Watson, officer of the court, was discovered naked in the bed of a known prostitute, he uttered a most unusual statement.

Watson was the Secretary – essentially the executive director – of Cincinnati’s Vigilance Society. The society was devoted to ending white slavery, the seduction of young women into prostitution. According to a report Watson compiled for national distribution, prostitution in Cincinnati was worse than anywhere in the United States.

“When Detective Sergeant Bowler of Chicago was in Cincinnati, early in the month of February, 1911, and walking through the outskirts of the ‘red light’ district with me, between eight and nine o 'clock one evening, he was aghast at what he saw, and stated that never at any time, would such things have been tolerated in Chicago, as were transpiring openly in Cincinnati. This was but another way of saying, what we, who have been waging a war against the ‘white slave’ traffic and its kindred vices, have realized for a long time, namely, that Cincinnati is perhaps the most depraved city, from the view point of public immorality, in the country.”

Cincinnati’s red-light district, from around 1880 to 1918, occupied a large swath of the West End, from Plum Street westward to Mound Street between Fifth Street and Seventh Street. On George Street, which ran between Sixth and Seventh, there were 45 brothels between Plum and Mound. Just one block of Longworth Street, which ran between Fifth and Sixth, offered 18 “bagnios.”

As the designated agent of the Vigilance Society, L.A. Watson was deputized as an officer of the Juvenile Court and given free rein to investigate wayward women in Cincinnati’s brothels, particularly to search for underage girls brought to Cincinnati across state lines in violation of the new 1910 anti-white slavery law known as the Mann Act. In fact, Watson proudly included in his national report the details of his most successful case, arresting a prostitute and her madam, both of whom were convicted of Mann Act violations.

“Emma Harris, who for twenty-three years has kept one of the largest and most lavishly equipped houses in the city, which she owns, was sentenced to four years at hard labor, in the federal penitentiary, at Leavenworth, together with the costs of prosecution.

“Bessie Green, twenty-six years old, who for several years had been an inmate of the Harris house, and who acted as the emissary of Emma Harris in bringing two girls from Charleston, W. Va., was sentenced to one year at hard labor in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, together with the costs of prosecution.”

So, imagine the surprise of Frank Kuhn, juvenile court probation officer, when he discovered Watson in flagrante delicto with, of all people, Bessie Green, in the brothel owned by the notorious Emma Harris. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer [28 December 1911], when Officer Kuhn, accompanied by Cincinnati Police Sergeant John F. Ringer, pulled the blankets off Watson’s unclothed form, the Vigilance Society Secretary said:

“The jig is up, Kuhn. But don’t say anything for God’s sake. I can do you a great deal of good. I’m done and will quit. Everyone is liable to fall sometime. Don’t be too hard on me.”

To Sergeant Ringer, assigned to patrol the red-light district, Watson said something even more peculiar, suggesting that his behavior was not a one-time event:

“You’ve been trying to get me long enough.”

Publicly, Watson claimed he was framed. The nefarious white-slave ring, he asserted, had drugged him and led him into Bessie Green’s bed. He told the Cincinnati Post [28 December 1911]:

“I merely have been a fool. To think of a man of the world and sophisticated, allowing myself to be the victim of a conspiracy like this.”

There were forces at work, Watson told reporters, that implicated powerful people in Cincinnati and would shock the populace once the facts came out.

He may have been correct. Watson arrived in Cincinnati a few years before his embarrassing downfall and immediately accused the Cincinnati Police Department of lax enforcement of the vice laws, which was certainly the case. In January of 1911, Watson presented a list of people who owned property in the red-light district to a meeting of ministers. Allegedly, some of the most prominent names in Cincinnati society appeared on that list. Not surprisingly, none of the city’s newspapers would print the roll of shame.

On the other hand, Watson had a habit over several months of bouncing checks all over the red-light district. The night before he was exposed, witnesses saw Watson and a companion enter the Diamond Saloon, directly across the street from Emma Harris’ brothel. The proprietor there, J.L. Franks, told police that Watson asked to see the saloon’s girls. When Frank informed him that there were no women on the premises, Watson and his companion walked over to the Harris place.

The only outcome from any investigation were two lawsuits. Watson sued the Vigilance Society to recover back pay and the Vigilance Society sued Watson claiming he owed them money. A few members of the Vigilance Society believed Watson’s conspiracy theory and backed him in organizing a new anti-white slavery organization, but nothing came of it. The original Vigilance Society continued its work but agreed that sending male agents into the red-light district might not be the optimum approach. They advertised to recruit women agents.

Neither of the lawsuits went anywhere, both Watson and the Vigilance Society agreeing that discretion was called for as they settled privately. Emma Harris and Bessie Green both went to prison in 1913 after their appeals failed.

One footnote to Leonard A. Watson’s legacy in Cincinnati might be mentioned. Watson was among the few men who openly supported women’s suffrage. In August 1911, Watson announced a meeting to organize a Men for Woman Suffrage organization to support women’s right to vote. No one showed up.

[null-doesnothing]

quite possibly the best trope in the world is literally any doctor character getting called "the good doctor". instantly endearing, keep it up

[fleursfairies]

ok after three seconds of looking into it im convinced the dead poets society and the perks of being a wallflower are connected

[minor-major]

These two are just the same you can't deny it

[pleading-the5th]

HE’S SO PRETTY💕💕💕💕💕💕

LOOK AT THOSE DIMPLES 💞💞

[sarcasstic-jpmvr]

Y‘all my account has lost all of it‘s activity like where are my people who loved me when I had the secondary blog 🥲

[jtexplorer]

[emmawatsonupdates]

All of Emma Watson's parts on 'Pickled'

Almost 8 minutes.Watch at the source

[dalesramblingsblog]

Lemon Jelly. Creationism. Fight Club. The cinema of Hal Hartley. All this and more will be touched upon in the Dale's Ramblings Sixth AnniVARsary Spectacular, as we look at the last of Virgin's Decalogs.

[justablix]

Robert Sean Leonard is the most beautiful man in existence. I can't look straight at him because he's too pretty to comprehend

[martinacollenderplaywrightblog]

The day Leonard Cohen died even the sky wept for him. I woke to texts from my friends at the time trying to protect my broken heart from grieving but as much as we want to protect our loved one's hearts from grieving it's a form of magic not accessible to us mere mortals. I died a thousand times missing Leonard and I know some people will call me silly for grieving for someone I didn't know but what you must understand, I spent so many lonely nights comforted by his words and his words alone, so how could I not know him?

I went to see the Elvis film with my sister, and as I walked into the cinema, I KNEW he died at 42, I know he suffered drug and alcohol abuse, I KNEW this but still the knowledge didn't protect me from breaking down in the cinema when they showed his last performance singing "Unchained Melody" and when he sang "I'll be coming home, wait for me" I disvoled into a grief of such intensity I was sure I was simply going to die. There's a moment in the film where his ex wife is telling him I can get you help, I can bring you to Rehab and there's a deep sadness in him and he just says no. That's all he says is no. Two letters. But those two tiny letters held this pain that he was beyond help.

I'm poor and a nobody. Somedays I fantasise about being famous and rich but most days I'm grateful for being a nobody. I think it's a terrible infliction to be famous. Your worst days, the times your on your knees are splashed across the front pages of newspapers and people talk about you as if your absent of feelings. The world watched Amy Whinehouse, Elvis, Whitney Houston, Leonard Cohen and many many more being really sick and suffering. There pain was splashed across newspapers and people on radio and TV debated there sickness and addictions as if it was entertainment.

I'm a huge fan of Harry Potter; it was my childhood and I'm grieving because JK Rowling has come out with such hate for trans people who I adore, I'm heartbroken that my childhood hero has turned to hate against the very people she gave hope to. Daniel Radcliffe suffered an alcohol problem, he said he turned 18 and was handed millions of pounds and was surrounded by people who never said no to him and he began drinking a lot. I don't judge him for a second as I often to turned to seeking answers at an end of a bottle but it upset that pictures of him drunk and in an awful state where splashed across the papers, imagine being on your knees in pain and photos of your agony being so public, it's horrible and cruel. Emma Watson said in a interview the day the she turned 18 she went for dinner with her family and when she can out of the restaurant, the photographers were lying on the ground trying to get photos of her underwear up her dressed because she was now 18. To be victimised at such a young and venerable age was deeply distressing to me particularly Emma who is a fierce warrior for equality for women. These are just two examples of how vicious the media can be with no regard for human emotions and feelings.

I'm from Waterford, Ireland and I joined Waterford Youth Arts when I was 15 years old because I was interested in theatre. I hated it. There was far too much hugging and screaming from the other members and I found the games stupid and embrassing. I was all set to leave the world behind me after a month or two when I made my way to Garter Lane Theatre to see a production of To Leap From Paradise by the late, great Jim Daly. I was captivated and fell in love with the words and life's on stage I recognised as my own. I found out about Red Kettle Theatre Company and fell in love with the idea that a group of people from my home, from Waterford, got together and created magic. I loved that they put on plays with a beginning, a middle and an end with sets and costumes. I was far more interested in this than playing silly games. In my investigation of this group of people I discovered Ben Hennessy, a wonderful artist and set designer, my now favourite ever Playwright Jim Nolan and an extraordinary actress Jenni Ledwell. They were so talented, nationally known and famous artists, and they were from my hometown. I adored them and they became my hero's, by absolute stroke of luck they became my friends I'm so grateful to be able to say. I remember seeing Jenni Ledwell in Eden in The Theatre Royal and I fell head over heels in love with her. She was amazing and stole my heart. I waited for her afterwards with the intention of asking for her autograph, but when she came out from backstage in whirl of energy and light with a radiant smile I was too shy to go up to her, this was THE Jenni Ledwell like. I told her years later when we became friends and she laughed and said "Yea fecking eejit Teeny!" We lost Jenni recently and I've never been as affected by death as I was by hers, the grieve of losing someone famous, someone I adored and someone who is my friend is unbearable on the worst days, heartwrenching on the somewhat better days.

I find it very distressing to watch these famous people suffering because in my mind I simply can't separate the fact that they have feelings and are in pain with that there famous.

When I told my pyschratist I was grieving them, a look of utter confusion came across his face and he said "I'm sorry Martina we don't have a tablet for that" he simply didn't know what to do with such an intense grief on a daily bases.

I'm a mess, I cry when I'm sad, I cry when I'm happy, I'm always crying. I can't separate loving someone and being in pain for their pain, I'm constantly and forever more overcome with emotions on a daily bases, either overcome with love and drowned in grief. I'm mental and I don't know if it's because I'm mental or if it's just the way I am but everything is very intense. It's a price I pay for being able to love and if that's the cost I don't mind paying it.

I'm obsessed with famous people, the talented who rise to the top, sometimes I feel like I have no right to know these initmate details of their lives but I only want to know to understand their lives and hearts.

I was going through a really hard time, was hidden in lies and secrets. Jim Nolan, my favourite Playwright knew me briefly at the time, he could see I was in pain and reached out to meet me for a coffee. I couldn't tell him what was troubling me. The coffee was brief because I didn't have the words to explain my pain but at the end Jim peered at me with concerned eyes and said "Martina someone told me on my dark days, no matter how bad things seem, it WILL pass, try and remember that" I didn't believe him at the time, I couldn't ever imagine that pain leaving but I'm grateful to say Jim WAS right. It passed. It was such a gift to know my hero, someone famous, had dark days too and survived. It gave me hope that not only could I survive but I might be able to be talented too despite my faults.

Right now, I'm exhausted with emotion, nothing bad happened! In fact quiet the opposite I had a great week but I'm just drained for feeling so happy and love for my friends and family. I do become so overwhelmed with love for the people in my life I have to cry to release the emotions. Its funny and I'm used to it and I know I need to rest for a time now. I wonder if their is a heaven, and I highly doubt I'd be allowed in for my sins but if I am I wonder will I get to meet these famous people and thank them for the profound impact they've had in my life. Because really amongst the love is a deep gratitude to them. What can I say, I love the bones off them!

[oldshowbiz]

1969.

Godfrey Cambridge, Irwin C. Watson, and George Kirby appeared at the Roast of Jack E. Leonard.

[sarcasstic-jpmvr]

boop!

You can spam boop me!

reblog if you let people spam boop you

[esonetwork]

'The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes' Book Review By Ron Fortier

New Post has been published on http://esonetwork.com/the-daughter-of-sherlock-holmes-book-review-by-ron-fortier/

'The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes' Book Review By Ron Fortier

THE DAUGHTER OF SHERLOCK HOLMES By Leonard Goldberg Minotaur Books 303 pgs

When we breeze through a book of 300 pages swiftly, it is a sign that it is not only well written, but that the story itself is totally captivating. And both those elements are clearly present in this wonderful book. Of course it helps if you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan as we are. 

The plot opens quickly in 1914. Sherlock Holmes has been dead for several years. His companion, widower Dr. John Watson, has made 221 B Baker St. his permanent resident and often enjoys the company of his son, Dr. John Watson the second. Watson senior occasionally sees people seeking assistance based on his time with the Great Detective. Such is the case when Miss Mary Harrelston arrives seeking their help in proving her older brother, Charles, did not commit suicide by hurling himself out of a two story downtown office building. The father and son amateur detectives soon learn that there were three eye witnesses to the man’s tragic demise; a Gardner working across the street at the time and a young widow taking a stroll with her ten year old son. They begin their investigation by interviewing the woman, a Mrs. Joanna Blalock and her son John.

Young Dr. Watson is taken not only by Mrs. Blalock’s beauty but also by her keen intellect. The attractive widow is immediately intrigued by their inquiries and begins to express her own misgivings as to the police’s verdict and what she witnessed. She volunteers to assist the two doctors in their quest for the truth and proves herself most adept in the role. Whereas Watson senior is already familiar with the woman and her lineage and when he reveals it in confidence to his son, the story’s narrative shifts into high gear.

“The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes” is a pure delight and Joanna Blalock is one of the most endearing detectives to inherit the legacy of Sherlock Holmes. Oh, that someone in Hollywood would latch on to this book. We can always dream.

[femslashspuffy]

Martin Freeman IS giving it his all which is why it pains me to say this but bbc Watson really has nothing going for him. Not a thing. He could never fucking stand up to my best friend James Wilson 🫡🫡🫡

[mannytoodope]