Los Angeles herald., 1905-09-24
ORGANIZE TO ROB,
SAY THE POLICE
DEFECTIVE LAW PERMITS
EXISTENCE
Certain Messenger Companies Formed
as Shield for Criminals, and
Officers Assert They Are
PoWerIess

Existing in Los Angeles are certain
messenger companies. publicly branded
by the police as the worst criminal Or
ganizations known, used expressly as
blind" to shield criminals and hop
fiends, but against whom the police
find themselves powerless to cope, ac-
cording to their statements.
Efforts of the heads of the DEPART
ments In the police service to have the
licenses of such companies revoked or
stop the issuance Of licenses to unre-
liable messenger companies have failed
1t Is said. Attempts also have been
made, the police say, toward securing
the passage of an ordinance whereby
messenger companies would be forced
to apply to the police commission for
permits before securing licenses.
City Attorney Mathews says: "It is
impossible to refuse any messenger
company a license regardless of who or
what they are. AS to putting them un-
der control of the police commission,
that would be just as impossible. A
remedy must be found in some other
way"
1.-TWO messenger companies operating
in Los Angeles at the present time are
causing the police much trouble" said
an officer. although it is positively
known that not a day passes that some
crime is not committed by the mes
sengers, we are powerless to act in pre-
venting these crimes.
ut is for the purpose of robbing,
stealing and working all kinds of games
that some of these messenger COM
panies are organized" says Captain
Bradish of the detective force. I'm
der the present regime, although we
know that each individual of such COM
panies is a criminal, we are utterly
powerless. They have their licenses and
what can we do?"
Within the past six months two or
ganizations have been broken up by
the police. These companies were
known as the Oriental and the Pacific
Messenger companies. From the time
they commenced to do business they
were marked by the officers, but moth
ing could be done until each individual
was connected with some specific
crime.
Every messenger in the service of the
Oriental and the Pacific companies
either occupies a cell in the state or
county prisons or is a fugitive from
justice, according to the police.
Among the crimes of which the mes
sengers are accused are bicycle steal
ing, robbing the pockets of "drunks"
or helpless men, snatching pocketbooks,
sneak thieves work, pickpockets' work
and other offenses.
One of the favorite crimes of late
among these messengers has been the
telephone trick. A messenger would
call up a merchant and tell him to send
a boy to certain place with an article
and change for a certain amount. The
delivery boy would arrive and the mes
senger would either rob him of the
change or obtain 1t by some sort of
trick.
In explaining how these criminals
work Capt. Bradish said: "A gang of
these messengers comes to the city,
rents room, secures a license, instalis
a telephone, then they are ready for
business. They stand in with the worst
class of men and women of the city and
of course get some business from them
as messengers.
Under the guise of messengers they
naturally have access to all sorts of
When the opportunity presents they
rob and steal. In the meantime they
wait for a chance to turn a big trick.
When they succeed in making haul
many times they are off to another city