Saving women from a life of vice

Dec. 15, 1907: Los Angeles had seen the last of a nasty gang whose members “frequent dance halls to entice weak maidens from virtue’s path,” The Times reported under the headline “Devil Checkmated.”

“A gang of vicious young sports -- known among criminals as ‘cadets,’ and whose trade is selling young girls to dance halls -- has been driven from Los Angeles by the police,” The Times said.

“Evidence in the hands of the city prosecutor shows that they secured their victims at the ‘public dances’ of this city and shipped them to Bakersfield and coast points. For a girl considered a ‘good looker,’ and of sufficient fascination, the ‘cadets’ received about $25.”

One gang member, James Claudius, had just been sentenced to five years in state prison, the newspaper said.

The name “cadet” came from New York, where such gangs got their start, The Times said, adding:

“As Los Angeles is well known for the beauty of its women, it is looked upon as a fine hunting ground.”