The San Francisco call., 1899-04-02
CLOSELY WATCH RECEIPTS
IN ORDER TO GAIN PERCENTAGE
FOR THE GANG. !, .~.:.
Reign of Lawlessness and Corruption:
viii Continue in Chicago Until :.
After the Election on s. s..
Monday. Il: ~ ..s"
Special Dispatch to The Can.

80
CHICAGO, April 2,-The Inter ocean
this morning displays under ffaring
headlines the following: -.
+ Six hundred city policemen, under
the auspices of Mayor Carter H. HaT-
rison. yesterday doffed uniforms, and,
clad in citizens clothes, started In to
assist the panel house Democracy. in
collecting blackmail from gambling re-
sorts. houses of i'll fame. opium joints
and confidence gangs and. in doing po-
litical work for the Mayor among the
criminals of the city. Dens of vice in
all parts Of the city were oYerrun with
these policemen last night and every
dollar that could be wrung from. vicious
and protected criminals was eXtorted
for the benefit of the Mayors CAM
paign. fund. officers watched cashiers
in the 500 wide-open gambling houses
now operating under Harrison,s protec-
tion and in the big poolrooms central
station detectives stood among the
players to. see. that the agreed proper
ton of the receipts was credited to the
panel house Democracy.
"Au gambling resorts and houses of
ill-fame We're as well supplied with
policemen as with CapperS and. barkerS.
The duties of the. capper. and barker
were to entice players into, games and
resorts Of vice, and policemen were at
the cashiers elbows.to. see that keepers
paid certain percentage of the profits
into the corruption fund, which is to be
used in bribing YagabOnds. and Grim
inals to vote for Harrison and reform
on April I. -
while the police. were thus engaged
citizens were left without protection
from gangs OF thieves, thugs and rob-
bers in the slums, who have been at
tracted to Chicago. by offers of protec-
tion in return for a portion of the
plunder. No city in. the world: of Chi
CO COS size ever witnessed such a COM
plete reign of depraNity as that on the
levee last night. And it went on un-
checked, While lawful guardians of the
law, order and decency went unconcern-
edly about getting together the last
$3.50. 600 blackmail and giving warnings
of final instaEments due this evening
and tomorrow night.
Vicious men, -Strong-ar women and
panel house operators thronged the
slum districts, and scattered about for
their harvest of robbery and theft even
into nearby residence districts. In the
dives which have opened their doors
in every. ward in the city policemen
Joined in the ribald songs and acts of
debauchery with the inmates and keep
ers. The only purpose of the policemen
was to watch the profits.
The Mayor yesterday sent his con-
fidential agents among the city's civil
service employees with instructions to
force every man to contribute from his
wages TO the. campaign fund. Fred E.
EIdred, City Sealer and member of
the Mayors cabinet, looked after a
portion of the eXtortion work, while
city officials of the police and other de-
partments, acting under the Mayor s
Instructions, forced civil service en-
plOyes to give them a part of their
March wages which they received yes
terday. .+:',=>
More than. $27, 900 was extorted from
members of thepolice department alone
by the Harrison +eXtortionists. City
employees were forced to disgorge the
following sums: