It has gone from a profoundly serious crime for women to commit, to being referred to as sex work, attempting to make the job legitimate. Some prostitutes have made a good living for themselves while some those who have a pimp must give all their wages to him. Prostitutes face many types of men in their sex trade. To some it is merely a business transaction while some treat it to abuse, denigrate, beat, and kill them. Wives and Christians have always put the woman to blame for having somehow fooled their men into something unhealthy, immoral, or illegal.
In the Old West, these prostitutes were shunned in civilized society and shamed in front of others. The most interesting part of all of this was that it was the women who were shunned, arrested, and fined. Rarely did the man involved get into any trouble. If his friends knew about it, they might make a joke about it or just not mention it at all.
This started changing in the late s when the prostitutes in San Diego started asking the law why men were not prosecuted for this crime.
If it was illegal for women, it had to be illegal for men. This is when the law started being enforced for both genders. No one ever knew why the hotel burned down; they only knew about the elite men who came running out. The list included: Mayor Willis who ran out wearing nothing but a silk hat; the chief of police; the banker with the red-haired girl he always said was his niece; Judge McEntire, the county physician and a congressman. The reason for the blaze was never found.
But it will long be remembered in our local history, as the fire that fairly scandalized the town. The Raton City Counsel tolerated prostitution if the women paid their monthly fines.
