Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-07-25
Underworld Loses
Fight Against Law
When Becker Dies
Richard Harding Dauis
Tells Graphic Story Of
Murder of Roscnthal
and Slayers' Con-
Dicfion.
Br RICHARD HARDING DAVIS.


and blue who murdered the gambler
who spun the wheel and raided the
house that Jack built. OF the lobby
gov who hired the gunner to croak
the gambler who threatened to saueaI
and who lived in the house that Jack
built. And of the attorney and jury
and Judge who sent tho lieutenant in
gold and blue who murdered the gam
bier who threatened to squeaI. TO die in
the chair at Sing Sing.
The house that Jack built stands in
Forty-ffth Street. in the lungs of the
new Tenderloin, in a block so short
that 1t can breathe the air both OF
Sixth Avenue and Broadway.
The house is of brown sandstone 1t
is relic of the early eighties. Then
IL stood shoulder to shoulder with other
fronts" of brown sandstone. each an
ugly counterpart Of its brother. each
giving TO the neighborhood visible
proof of respectability. Now. New
York. sweeping north. has engulfed it
IL. a rising tide of chop suey restau-
rants. theatrical costumers, delicatcssen
shops, and the parlors of the beauty
doctor
But still. until August of 1912 the
house Of SNUG sandstone maintained
its outward appearance OF inward rec
titude. and with closed window blinds
shut Its eyes to the doings Of it's dis
reputable neighhors.
ROSENTHAL'S GAMBLING HOUSE
RAIDED BY SUPPOSED FRIEND
Then. one warm day in that August
lieutenant Of police and his men
leaped up it's high, old ia hioned stoop
a., .-l,<,
it to New York for what il was-a
Mrs. Herman Rosenthal. the wife of
the man who ran the gambling hell,
came face to face with the Law.
Why. Charley, cried the wife Of
the gambler. what are YOU doing
here?'
Hush" begged the preserver OF
public morals: "tcll Herman 1t had to
be him or me-
AS IT turned out, ii had to be both.
They put policeman inside the
house and one in uniform outside on
the old fashioned stoop to warn citi-
zens that the place was Il gambling
house. and at the open window. for II
WAS summertime, Mrs. Rosenthal. in
lace wrapper. used TO sit scowling at
the. man on post.
1t was the SILLY" season for the
newspapers. and of the policemen and
Mrs Rosenthars refusaIs to admit
them. when one came TO relieve an
other, the papers printed amusing
stories. Meanwhile. Herman her hus-
band. wandered from Forty-second
street to Forty nth Street. which was
the limit OF his world, complaining
bitterly.
This was no ordinary raid" he cx-
planned. Charley Becker, the maEnif-
cent" the commander of the Strong
Arm Squad, whose special duty. it was
TO suppress gambling, who, out of a
salary of sl3S n month, had managed
TO save $4,000. who was his friend
and who had promised him protection,
had given him the double-cross. It
was not the raid that hurt. Herman
protested. To satisfy the commits
sioner, older gamblers than himself
had had TO pay the price for protec-
ton and had had to stand for n raid
He knew that. He admitted that even
the most well-meaning police Official
in order to hold his Job. must occa-
sionally do his duty But. as Rosenthal
announced 70 all men, his case was
Il raw deal" his case was different
In his gambling-hou:H Becker. the man
assigned to suppress gambling, was
a silent partner. Toward his bank roll
l;ecker had subscribed $500. and to
see that he got his rake-off OF 25 per
cent, had installed in the house his
jackal. lobbygow and collector-Jack
Rose
BROODiNG OVER HIS WRONGS,
ROSENTIAL PLOTS VENGEANCE
Was it right. Herman demanded. that
your own partner should be the one to
put you, out of business? His friends
heard him uneasily. with avertad eyes.
With the philosophy of their world,
they advised him to. forget it" But
Herman could not forget. His eriev-
ance grew, his wrongs obsessed him.
and soon his complainings and whin-
ings turned to snarls and threats. He
would, he declared. defy the rules OF
the brotherhood, with the police who
ruled and fattened on the underwor Id
he would get cven--he would turn
informer. He would break" the mag.
niticent Becker. The one and only
commandment of the underworld Isl:
Thou shalt not squeal' And in alarm
and disgust his friends deserted him.
Those who still cared to save him from
of all who had detied the police. who
had dared TO tell the. truth concerning
them. They reminded him of MacCau-
ley bounded into exile. of McAuliffe
trapped In police station and beaten
to death with night sticks. But Her
mans WRONGS cried for revenge. and to
lay his evidence against Becker he
called upon the commissioner Of po-
lice. That gentleman was busy. The
Mayor, In whom the pushcart peddIer
and the Long Island truck gardener can
always find sympathetic listener,
turned him out OF the City Hall. Two
city magistrates refused to hear him.
SO he took his story to the newspapers
and to the district attorney.
Until then TO the. magnificent police
1$(Contlnued on Eighth Page.)