The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1912-09-11

TRIAL TO-
MORROW

New York, Sept. 11.-Ten O'Clock
tomorrow morning, before Justice
John w. Golf presiding over an ex-
traordinary term of the criminal
branch Of the supreme court, is the
time fixed for Police Lieutenant
Charles A. Becker to face the bar on
a charge of numbering Gambler Her
man Rosenthal The general belief
is that the trial will proceed without
further delay, though it is certain
ty that Becker's counsel will fight to
the limit for postponement. Fail
ing in an attempt to delay the trial,
counsel for the accused will ask for a
change of venue.
The trial of Becker, which is ex-
rected to unfold tales of the New
York underworld hitherto undreamed
of by the general public, though fam
iliar enough, perhaps, to the Tender
loin habitues, has put every resident
of the metropolis on the tiptoe of ex-
recitation. The Molineaux case, the
Nan Patterson case, even the Thaw
case might be recalled in vain to find
anything approaching a parallel to
the amount and depth of the public
interest that now centers in the case
of The accused police lieutenant.
The cause for this extraordinary
display of public interest is not diff
cult to find. Back of the murder are
believed to lie crimes of an even more
serious character, crimes that affect
directly or indirectly every citizen of
New York. It is in this phase of the
case that public interest centers-
the possibility, or probability, that
the trial of Rosenthal's alleged mur-
derers will reveal the secrets of po-
lice extortion and lead to more COM
plete exposure of the so-called "sys-
tenn than ever before could have
been brought about by the testimony
that Rosenthal threatened to lay be-
fore the grand jury.
Events have moved swiftly since
Herman Rosenthal, one of the best
known of New York gamblers, was
riddled with bullets and left to die on
sidewalk in front of the Metropole
hotel in the early morning hours of
July Is. Within five hours after the
murder the grand jury began an in
vestigation of charges that Police
Lieutenant Becker was a partner of
Rosenthal in the gambling business.
Two days after the killing of Ros-
enthal Becker was relieved from &C.
tive duty and on July 20 he was ar
rested on charge of murder. Mean
while the detectives from the district
attorneys Office had been busy I'M
earthing the details of the murder
conspiracy. With little difficulty they
succeeded in finding the murder
car" the big gray automobile in
which the "gunmen" had gone to the
Metropole and in which they fed af-
ter the murder.
One of the first men to be taken
into custody in connection with the
crime was "Bald jack Rose, noted
New York gambler and a former
partner of Rosenthal. Rose, in the
language of the Tenderloin, lost no
time in "getting from under" He
was promptly taken before the grand
Jury and is said to have made a con-
fession duplicating Becker in the
murder plot and also revealing details
that indicated appalling corruption
in the police department. According
to his reported utterances, Rose act
ed as a "collector" for Becker, whom
he accused of being one of a small
ring of high police officials who d.
vided among themselves the enorm-
GUS sum of 100000 as annual trib-
ute for the "protection" of gambling
and disorderly resorts. To-
With the information supplied by
Rose the district attorney was enabl-
ed to lay hands on nearly all of the
"gunmen" accused of the murder of
Rosenthal. Several were found in
hiding in this city. After their ar
rest they are said to have made con-
LESSONS that supported the main
facts as told by Rose. Another of
the gang was captured in the Adiron-
dacks and still another was found in
Hot Springs, Ark, and returned to
New York. 1t is believed that the
two men who did the actual shooting
are still at large. These are "Lefty
Louie' and "Gyp, the Blood Dis
trict Attorney Whitman believes that
these two will be taken into custody
sooner or later, though the general
belief is that they were we'll supplied
with funds with which they were en-
abled to get out of the country.
When Lieutenant Becker comes to
trial he will be confronted with the
alleged confessions of Rose, "Bridgie"
Weber and Harry WALTON, the self
accused accomplices of the police lieu
tenant. 1t is believed also that the
prosecution has several witnesses of
good character who will give testi-
mOnv in S1,nnort of tho c+or;o. 4o1a