Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-11-03

No one has accused Sheriff Kittil-
sen of receiving graft or of giving
protection" The only people that
worth of protection" are the gam
blers. They have claimed, as has been
repeatedly published, that they had
paid a license" and proposed to get
the benefit of it. Since the law does
not license gambling, the only word
that can be. construed as having the
same meaning is protection" and
protection" in the ordinary adaptation
of the term is graft" And right here
The Argus does not hesitate to say
that, regardless of the scTeed to which
Sheriff Kittilsen has lent his sigma
ture pertaining to The Argus. this paper
does not believe Kittilsen ever received
one cent of graft or of protection"
Furthermore, on the occasion of former
raid, when a gambler sent up wall
about his protection" Sheriff Kittil-
sen asked The Argus to say that he
would pay a reward to find out who
was getting the protection" in Rock
Island, and The Argus published then
Just WnaJ ne wanted II 10.
Raids Only on warrants.
In the matter of the pretense about
not policing the city and making raids
only when warrants were sworn out,
the sheriff's position is hardly con-
sistent with the facts. The very first
raid he made was, as he explained at
the time, his voluntary act, intended
TO serve as a warning that gamblers and
their ilk would have no harbor in Rock
Island while he held the office of
sheriff In the same connection he de-
clared that gamblers had not lit in
Moline while he was chief of police
there, and that if the police would not
keep them out of Rock Island, he
would For this statement he was ap-
plauded by The Argus and the other
reputable papers here The statement
that he would not pull any gambling
house without warrant. that he would
not accept the information of The Ar
gus that this form of crime existed
unmolested, carries its own condemna-
ton, especially when it is recalled how
many times he invited The Argus to
publicly point out the places of gam
bling, saying that he would act wher-
ever his attention was called to the
matter.
If a sheriff Will not act on information
that a form of crime is being committed,
without a warrant being sworn Out-es-
pecially when that sheriff has arrest
ed a complainant before him for the
very crime of which that complainant
lodged informatiOn-What proof do the
people have that he would act in the
case of any other crime until a war
rant had been secured?
The Kind of Sheriff.
For Sheriff Kittilsen's information it
may be said that the very thing the
people of Rock Island county want just
now is a sheriff who will act of his
own initiative where crime is so ram
pant that even the boys on the street
know about it. The people want Il
sheriff who will not wait for war
rant to clean out the robbers rOosts
that have existed in this city and which
are only waiting for the returns of the
election TO determine whether they
shall cart their crooked devices back
from Davenport and resume opera
lions. The people want sheriff who
will act upon the warrant of the cir
cumstanCe, as well as the warrant
of law. and thus remove the quib
bling as to the mode of procedure in
getting rid OF evil effectively and per
instead of facing the humili-
ating spectacle Of justice courts and
constables with concurrent jurisdiction.
the acts of each other. with
q deputy sheriff al the top of The heap
fighting for the gamblers. The people
want a sheriff who will act and not
wait until somebody tells him to act.
They do not believe in the indisCrim
mate arrest of people without warrant
where there is no Justification, but
they do believe that where notorious
conditions exist and the duty is plain
the sheriff should act, especially where
he has promised to do so. They
want and are determined TO have
a man with such firmness of character
as will prevent as well as stop crime.
Isn't :, Bad Fellow, After All.
The Argus does not regard the senti-
ments expressed in the communication,
to which the sheriff has appended his
as entirely his own. The ear
marks are too plainly stamped for that.
And. furthermore, the sheriff's declara-
ton over the phone to The Argus that
II am not going after you" in the com
he was offering. does not
the most conclusive evidence
in the world that the sheriff knew just
what his communication contained. or
at least all that it contained. 1t is in
this charitable opinion that The Argus
does not take to heart all the mean
things that have been said about it in
Mr.. Kittilsens name, nor does it hold
him as having in his heart the horrid
thoughts about The Argus that he has
been made to say.
It was. Of course. the most natural
thing for Mr.. Kittilsen TO undertake a
defense of his deputies. even if they
rave gotten his office in bad. but never
hoI he &c l.;