PROTECTION FOR JAPANESE WOMEN

Puget Sound District of Home Missionary Society to Assist Girls Shipped Into This Country.

WILL RAISE MONEY FOR RESCUE HOME

Vigorous Effort to Be Made by Seattle Women to Prevent Importation of Slaves From Land of Mikado.

For the purpose of assisting and rescuing the scores of Japanese women whom it is said are shipped into Seattle and sold into slavery, the Puget Sound district of the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Epicsopal Church at its annual meeting yesterday in the Queen Anne M.E. Church voted to make an appropriation for the establishment of an immigrant station in this city. The matter will be taken up at the meeting of the executive committee of the Woman's Home Missionary Society in Philadelphia in October in the hope that the national body will also give its assistance.

The society already has such immigrant stations in San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia, where they do a great amount of good. It is believed that it is due to the efforts of the society at San Francisco in stopping improper immigration there that there has been so much activity in bringing Japanese women through this port.

Missionary to Be in Charge.

"Immigrant stations such as we intend to establish here," said Mrs. Blanche Benedict, the newly elected president of the conference this morning, "are generally put in charge of a missionary who has had experience in such work and is qualified to go aboard a ship and pick out the women who seem to require assistance. The missionary is provided with an interpreter. Our purpose is at first to carry on the work through Rev. Semai Yoshioki, pastor of the local Japanese Methodist Church, and later to erect a building in which to take care of the women until we can find a permanent home for them.

"Hundreds of Japanese women are sent to this country after having been told that there are men here desirous of marrying them. When they arrive they go through a perfunctory marriage ceremony to circumvent the immigration laws, and are then sold into slavery. I read recently of a case where several were shipped to Tacoma in boxes. They were sent back and then the missionaries on the other side were notified to see that they were not reshipped.

Busy in San Francisco.

"Our society in San Francisco rescued a Chinese girl who had been sold on the other side to be sent here, after a hard fight to get possession of her. Later she married a Chinese Christian minister there."

At the meeting last night the conference agreed to raise $2,400 for the coming year, and reports were heard from the twelve circles of the Queen Esthers, the young ladies' auxiliary. Miss Helena Williett, conference secretary of the auxiliary, made an interesting address. The following officers of the Puget Sound district of the society were elected.

President, Mrs. Blanche Benedict, wife of Rev. E.L. Benedict, pastor of the Green Lake M.E. Church; vice-president, Mrs. C.E. Todd, Tacoma; corresponding secretary, Mrs. Wilbur Adams, Tacoma, treasurer. Mrs. E.L. Blaine, Seattle, recording secretary, Mrs. E.F. Erickson, Tacoma.