Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-12-09
Indictments Against Vile and
Kramer Are Dismissed
in Local Court.
PULL OFF FAKE MATCHES
Ed Ward, Moline, Loses His All in
One Game-Men Are Most Dam
gerous I'm Line in Country.


the dismissals and nolle presses al
lowed by the court on the
recommendation of L. NJ. Magill, the
states attorney:
Joseph E. Kramer and George A.
Bradley, conspiracy and confidence
game (separate counts), stricken on
motion Of the states attorney.
Joseph Vile and William Hayes,
conspiracy and confidence game (sep-
/ arate counts), dismissed on motion of
states attorney.
Ordinarily little interest on the part
of the public attaches to the DISPOSE
! ton Of criminal cases that come be-
fore the court in the course of term
of it's sitting But when characters of
the dangerous type of Kramer and
| Vile are permitted to slide through
without prosecution, society naturally
and of right expects an explanation.
This doubtless will be forthcoming on
the return to the city of Mr.. Magill,
who at present is in California.
Engineers Fake Prize Fight.
Vile. who had as his allies, so it is
! charged, Hayes and other gamblers,
engineered the fake prize fight pulled
off about two years ago in a barn just
west of the Watch Tower, and in
which w. F. Goodman, a Chicago
curb broker, was swindled out of ST.
| 500. Goodman was told by Vile that
| he had a sure thing for him; that the
scrapper who was to go against his
man was angry with his hackers and
! had agreed to ditch them by permit
ting himself to be bested in the fight.
| The go was to be private. The date
was set and Goodman. The lamb,
| came to the city with his bank roll.
| Quietly the little crowd made its way
/ to the barn on the Tower hill. The
/ fight had proceeded only few min
utes when tie sure-thing scrapper fell
under a blow in the jaw, and blood
| gushed from his mouth and nose.
Calves Gore Spilled.
! Apparently he was unconscious
Several OF the spectators were hur
ried to telephones to summon physt
! clans. Goodman, Vile and the stake
holder disapP cared in different direc-
/ tons. The victim" had carried a
rubber pouch filled with calves gore
in his mouth, and at the proper time
bit the pouch, and the blood flowed.
! Goodman awakened to the deception
when he cooled down after his rush
/ from the scene Of the supposed muir
/ der" Vile and the stakeholder were
not to be found They had thor
meeting for the cutting Of the melon
at some point arranged before the
/ fight"
| Goodman engaged an attorney. The
/ latter took the matter directly before
/ Judge T. D. Ramsay, proceeding I'M
/ precedented in the annals of local leg
! al procedure 1t Yves related to the
! Judge that if the case were permitted
| to take the usual course, justice might
| be defeated, and under the stated cir
/ cunstances he issued a warrant for
Vile and Hayes.
| Arrested In Chicago.
Both were arrested in Chicago.
| Vile had his hearing in the circuit
court, was held to the grand jury, by
which he was indicted subsequently,
together with Hayes. and both gave
! $4,000 bond for an appearance for
| trial when wanted. Neither has ever
| been tried. The dismissal order of
the states attorney at this time re-
! leases their bondsmen and they are
free to return here and pull off anoth-
err of their crooked games whenever
they see fit to do so.
! Vile is known to the police OF Chi
cago and other large cities as one Of
the most dosing and dangerous conf
dence men in the Enited States. He
| is a member of yang that has ample
! finances for defense when the occa-
sion arises. It would not have been
| difficult matter to have brought Vile
to this city and to have convicted him
! of the crime he engineered here. Hayes
! for several years conducted a gam
| bling house in Rock Island, but so
far as A4nown here, Is not to be class
ed with Vile and his gang, although
! he was charged with having a hand
! in the fake fight, as was Gully Elan
nigan and others of the tri-city gam
bling fraternity.
Ed Ward Taken In.
| Ed Ward of Moline was reduced
from horse owner, property holder
and saloon proprietor to a bartender
by the operation performed on his
| bank account by Kramer, Bradley and
several others of the gang with which
tSey work Wards loss was between
$4,000 and $4,000. Kramer was the
chief conspirator. He is not stran-
ger to these parts. His home is said
to be in Brooklyn, Iowa., and that he
has accumulated fortune of close to
$4,000 by his confidence games. He
was periodical visitor here up to the
time of the Ward deal, but since then
he has kept clear Of the city. How
ever. now he may return, as his slate
is clean so far as this locality is con-
cerned, and lay his wires for new
lambs. Kramer is an alias. This