Notes:

[S&M.FTW]

[Sam & Martha Benn.FTW]

[Benn1.FTW]

[BENN.ged]

Chasing the wolves of sin and into Seattle's notorious red-light
district, the Tenderloin.
Accompanied by a Salvation Army band, the earnest crusaders sang
hymns as they paced past saloons, brothels, gambling parlors and dance
halls south of Yesler Way. Here, according to one newspaper account,
"sin, vice and crime sneak forth like human wolves only after the sun
goes down." On this April 1905 evening, city clergy along with
"white-haired grandmothers and middle-aged matrons with their
children" had left their comfortable homes to bring a message of
salvation to those who frequented Seattle's "bottomless cauldron of
sin."
Even before the heady Gold Rush days, when boomtown Seattle had
realized that Klondike vice was every bit as profitable as Klondike
outfitting, the city had gained a reputation as a "hot town," where
good times could be had 24 hours a day. Yet as soon as Seattle found
prosperity, respectable citizenry wanted to change its image to a
family town.
Using city hall, churches and courtrooms as their battleground,
the forces of virtue competed with the purveyors of vice for moral
authority over Seattle's soul. It took a decade before a new city
emerged, changed but not entirely converted.

Joining the march in the Tenderloin in 1905
was a man who became one of the most outspoken leaders of social
reform, the Rev. Mark Matthews of Seattle's First Presbyterian Church.
The lanky parson, a striking figure with his 6-foot-5-inch frame and
mane of black hair, preached the gospel of urban righteousness.
Matthews believed that Seattle churches should lead the reform by
influencing public policy to cleanse the city. Matthews launched his
first campaign against sin by exposing what he termed the "symptoms of
graftitis" among local officials. Charging City Council members with
unethical, if not criminal, behavior, Matthews particularly targeted
Council President Hiram Gill, a lawyer who defended the interests of
Tenderloin saloonkeepers and brothel owners. In a packed public
meeting, Matthews dramatically accused Gill of condoning vice, even
leaving a city meeting to bail a notorious gambling operator out of
jail. Despite extensive publicity from The Times and other
newspapers, Matthews' charges had limited impact, and in 1906 Gill
handily won re-election. But Matthews did spearhead the passage of a
City Charter amendment allowing citizens to recall

In 1910 Gill ran for Mayor on a platforn calling for
a district that confined vice to one section of the city. Urged on by
progressive reformers, previous mayors had tried to tame the
Tenderloin by degrees, first outlawing gambling, then imposing strict
tavern hours, and finally shutting down the district altogether. But
their efforts had merely diffused the problem, driving illicit
activities undercover and the city's 400-plus prostitutes to boarding
houses and hotels all over town. Gill argued that vice was a natural
-- and lucrative -- part of the human condition. His strategy for
regulation gained him enough support for election.

Yet horrified reformers soon found that the restricted district
kept expanding. Many blamed Gill's police chief, Charles Wappenstein,
who claimed to be tough on crime but was rumored to overlook illegal
activities in return for kickbacks. Cynics dubbed the Tenderloin
"Wappyville." When Gill refused to fire the chief, moral reformers
joined with good-government advocates to recall the mayor. A Public
Welfare League formed in October 1910 circulated petitions, collecting
enough signatures to force a recall election the following February.
Bolstered by the votes of more than 22,000 women just granted
suffrage, the forces of virtue threw Gill out of office and launched
new efforts to stamp out vice and corruption. Matthews again led the
charge, secretly hiring the renowned William Burns Detective Agency
for an undercover investigation. Burns found enough evidence to
convict Seattle's police chief of bribery and extortion, and send him
to prison. Others who supported Wappy, including outspoken Times
publisher Alden Blethen, also became targets of investigation,
indicted by the grand jury but never convicted.
Reformers took other extreme measures to clean up the city. Most
outrageous was the Purity Squad, a Police Department unit that
patrolled the city looking for illicit activity. Critics charged
overzealous officers with rousting innocent single women from their
hotel rooms or arresting married couples found downtown after dark.
By 1914, reformers believed they were well on their way to making
Seattle a virtuous family town. They declared Seattle had changed.
Perhaps so; but in that same year the resilient Gill ran once more for
mayor. Penitent, Gill claimed he now supported temperance and honest
government. He won election, and soon the Tenderloin was running full
tilt again.

Charles married BENN, Minnie Elizabeth in 1891. Minnie (daughter of BENN, Samuel and REDMAN, Martha) was born on 18 Feb 1871 in Aberdeen, Grays Harbor, Washington, USA; died on 16 Mar 1965 in Aberdeen, Grays Harbor, Washington, USA; was buried about Mar 1965 in Seattle, King, Washington, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]