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1 - THE WASHINGTON TIU“ES HERALD ~ MAY 16, 1944 High Court OKs ; Denactitis ri ostitutes’ Vacation Trip By TED LEWIS The WSepreme | Court yesterday ruled that the dpérators of a house of prostitution have a per- i fect right to take the girls on “in- nocent’? vacation trips across |State lines, such pleasure jaunts ‘not constituting vidlation of the L Mann Act, ; The fiveto-four decision Was *~ delivered by the court's only bach- ~* elor, Associate Justice Frank , ~\ Murphy. The ruling reversed the __|Mann Act victions of Hans and Lorraine Ygortensen, a couple 4 who ran a house of prostitution in’ in Grand Island, Nebr., and took two | of the girls on an automobile trip = ta Salt Take City and return, CO Ail LARS WY BO Poul lls “Innocent Recreation” ! “The sole purpose of the trip,” ‘the decision said, ‘‘was to provide - . innocent recreation and a holiday | for the girls.” Therefore, the court held “we * refuse to sanction such an unfair ~ application of the Mann Act” as embodied in the convictions. More- over, the decision attacking the lower court action said “an inter- ~ state trip undertaken for an in- : nocent vacation purpose consti- 7.) tutes the use of interstate com- merce for that Innocent purpose.” Murphy detailed the trip in question, explaining that the Mor- tensens had decided to drive to Salt Lake City in 1940 to see Mrs. Mortensen's parents. The girls ~ asked that they be taken along for a vacation, The girls stayed |at a tourist camp in Salt Lake ity and spent their time ‘at | ows &hd around the parks.” hen the group’ returned to Grand Island the girls “returned their respective rooms.” | A —x Rissenter Gives View OT “There was no bet of prostitu- tion on the trip and no discussion of such acts -during the course of the journey,” the opinion said, holding that to violate the Mann Act “it is essential that the in- terstate transportation have for its object or be the means of facilitating” immoral practices, | Agreeing with Murphy were Justices Frankfurter, Jackson, Roberts and Rutledge. Chief Jus! . tice Stone and Justices Black, | a Reed and Douglas dissented on” ’ SEs grounds that the girls were re-: _ { turned to Grand Island for im-: oe moral purposes. To this the mg-! fo jogty replied “we do not thi ; 5 it fair or permissible to inf . : that this interstate vacation tr | a offany part of it was undertakenf | fo such purposes, SO AS eK DED ae 87 JUN 30 1944 . ——! i