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White Slaves and Mistresses. The Mann ("White-Slave Traffic") Act, introduced by the late, bearded Representative James R. Mann of Illinois, was passed by Congress in 1910. It was aimed at traffickers in commercial prostitution. But many a U.S. philanderer has discovered to his unhappy surprise that, amateur though he be, the law makes him a criminal. The Act applies to travel not only between states and into foreign countries but also within Federal territories. Legally, any would-be seducer—or seductee—who so much as pays the woman's streetcar or taxi fare in Washington, D.C. is liable to five years in jail and $5,000 fine. The Act is a wide-open invitation to blackmail and feminine revenge.
Some examples of Mann Act miscarriages :
¶ U.S. v. Hart. One Hart and a woman lived together for three years, traveling considerably the while. When Hart decided to marry somebody else, he was promptly booked on Mann Act charges.
¶ U.S. v. Athanasaw. The girl who traveled from state to state with Athanasaw testified that he took "philosophically" her constant refusal to yield. But the court, finding Athanasaw's intentions evil, judged him guilty just the same.
¶ U.S. v. Christian. A woman after three marriages intended to make Christian her fourth, but unfortunately crossed the Mississippi-Arkansas line with him before the ceremony. Christian got 18 months.
¶ U.S. v. Alpin. One Alpin lived scatheless with a girl in Salem, Ore. for four months, then took her on a trip to Las Vegas, Nev. Sentence: two and a half years.
Reviewing these cases in the American Mercury some years ago, Lawyer Anthony M. Turano observed of the Mann Act: "For the first time adultery is treated as a geographical offense; there is no crime unless the gentle passion combines with wanderlust."