The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1911-03-14

and roulette were operated in one |
house the toll was $3.50 a month
An instance OF Friedman's power was
related under oath. A gambler who
was down and out asked the chief of
police for permission to run a game. |
The chief, according to the testimony,
said the gambler had bad reputation.
and good many knocks were coming
In against him. The gambler pleaded
SO hard that finally the chief. so 1t was
sworn to. said he would see about it
that If the chief did not know about a
game there would be no interference.
short time after that Friedman call
ed the gambler by telephone.
There is nothing doing" Friedman
is said to have rema rked.
But the chief said 1 could open up"
protested the gambler.
oh. he was just kidding you" came
| back the answer over the telephone. II
tell you there is nothing doing
! And the testimony was that the
game. did not start.
The indictment. against Sheetz and
| Hyams is that they collected the pro-
lection money and because several wit
nesses testified that Friedman had said
frequently that he was interested in
the Metropole game he was also in
|
This, in substance is the shake
DOWN story as told in the grand jury
room 1t is impossible to get the de-
tails of the evidence against city Clerk
Spencer, but one of the charges is for
acknowledging fraudulent claims, for
Isgning claims he never saw and Iof
Overlooking padded pay rolls. but there
is charge that Spencer padded the
pay rolls himself. He seems to be a
victim of circumstances.
For instance: Mayor Schlieker is
kbresident of the Lake County Ice and
Nold Storage Company. The pay roll
of the city showed that two of the
teams of that company worked for the
city, and they were paid out of city
funds But the drivers testified that
they had done no cityswork. There are
several instances of a similar nature.
tFOrmer street COmmissiOner Accused.
William Harding. who is now in
South Dakota, was street commissioner
and owned coal yard. The charge Is
that he sold coal to the city at higher
prices than the contract called for, that
he used city teams to do private work
for corporations, that he did a number
of other things that a street commits
sioner should not do under the law and
hold his job.
Mayor SchHeke5 does not sem to be
worried about the indictments. but does
show considerable annoyance
The only thing 1 dislike about the
whole affair" said the mayor, bitirg
through a cigar with considera BILE EN- :
phasis, is the stigma 1t cast on our
city. Personally I do not care. / have
: lived here twenty-one years and my
friends know that the charges made
against me are not true. I do not care
: whether my enemies believe it or not
In shall ask for speedy trial and
{ have not the slightest doubt that vii
come clean. / have not done thing
as mayor Of this city of which l an
, ashamed or for which I can be justly
criticised"
How did this thing start-what Is
the origin of it ALL the mayor was
: asked.
TT had It's origin in politics" replied
? Mayor Schlieker. You understand
had hard fight for the nomination
} Indiana Harbor. though a part of Eas
Z Chicago. has a very bitter feeling
against the rest of the city, and par.
ticuarly this part OF 1t. and there wa.
a very strong opposition to me in til;
, Harbor. We have a Hebrew vote o
= about seventy -five--and these Hebrew.
lare among our best citizens. This He
: brew vote all stood for me and 1t has
more to do with nominating and elect
, ing me than any other element. Afte
n l. the election a delegation of Hebrew
h came to me and demanded four ap
i pointments on the ground that as the,
HAD elected me they had a right t.
dictate my appointments. Now. ] an
not a man to be driven, even though
. | try to please every one VINO should b,
, pleased. I made two appointments a
the suggestion of this committee. blu
I 1 did not think the names offered TO
, the other two places were the prope
ones. and 1 declined to make the ap
pointments. The result is that two .
my Hebrew friends got angry at m,
and they have been the cause of all tn,
trouble telling these stories. and tn
stories grew in the telling until a.
agitation started that ended in tn,
|, grand jury indictments. And I am sar
s isfied that neither my Hebrew friend
q who started this agitation nor the wit
= | nesses before the grand jury can pro
I duce one iota of testimony to shov
:. whereby / have violated the law II
d any way"
The common report is that Julfu
Friedman was your g-o-between-tha
every one was sent to him and that h
did the work for yot.
That is just as far from the trutl
as the other stories" replied the mayor
Mr.. Friedman is my friend. 1 was TIL
physician of his fathers family and
am his physician. and we close as
sociates. But / never asked him to d
lanything wrong and he never did any
Thing wrong However. / think he
p
for these stories himself Julius ~
great kidder. He will bawl any on
out. Before the election the fellow
over in Indiana Harbor used to tel
him what they would do to us after
was defeated, and when 1 was electe
= Julius kidded right back at them an
q told them that now we were in powe
N and they would have to come across. an
Ill suppose from that the rumor
se started
y Then if Julius ever suggested tina