East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1915-04-02

CHICAGO, April 2.-Chicago is the
"meanest city in the world" accord
Ing to figures being compiled BY a
municipal crime commission. More
than ten persons are held up or rob-
bed by plckpoekets daily Burglaries
occur in a larger number. Police
records show that there are nearly
70 cases Of pocket picking. robbery,
burglary and larceny reported every
day to the Chicago police. Only one
tenth Of the offenders are ever arrest
ed. A much smaller per cent of those
arrested are ever convicted. There
Is an average OF 20 burglaries per
day
Alderman C. f. Merrlem is a school
teacher in politics. For years he
has taught political economics in the
University OF Chicago. He has been
alderman three terms, twice chair
man of probing bodies and once re-
publican candidate for mayor of
Chicago. Alderman Merriam is
chairman Of the Merriam crime com
mission, investigating conditions in
Chicago. He promises that his re-
port soon TO be made to the city
council will prove Chicago Is the
"meanest city in the world" that life. J
property and money are unsafe in
the lakeside metropolis.
During the fall the multiplicity of
hold-ups and pickpoekets astounded
the crime investigators. On October
10 he passed through the city coun-
ell an ordinance requiring Superin-
tendent Of Police James Gleason to /
make weekly reports of robberies,
contra distinguished from burglaries.
The first two weeks showed there
had been 37S cases reported. Since
October 10 there have been, accord |
ing to the reports, 1892 robberies, 33
attempted robberies and 33 purses
snatched from loop shoppers. Ac-
cording to the superintendent re-
ports 276 arrests and indentlfications
were made. Two of this number
were sentenced to Imprisonment
Crime Commissioner Merriam has
figures of the convictions in 1912 and
1918. In the former year 1879 per
cent of those arrested for robbery and
burglary were convicted. In 1913
the percentage rose to 29.S.
Only small portion of stolen
property is recovered, police records
show. Last year the pawn shop de-
partment recovered from pawn shops
and second hand stores $1,SS4, 1884
worth of stolen property, In the pre-
ceding year $1,6s7.754.S0 worth of
property was recovered.
Sergeant Annas, in charge of the
pawn shops department, believes Chi
eago is headquarters for the best or
ganized fence syndicates in the world
because its centrality makes it ideal
for such place. A kodak once
stolen by a window smasher from a
Loop kodak dealer was brought three1
days later in Galveston, Texas, by a
circus cook. Two weeks later it was
stolen from him, sold to a Chicago
pawn shop and positively identified
by the cook.
Smaller in population than either
New York or London. Chicago has
more crime. In 1918 there were more
murders in Chicago than in both of
the other cities combined. and police
records for the same year show 1929 |
arrests for robbery and assault Lon
don's 1918 robbery and assault rec
ord was rs, Gotham's 92s.
Captain Of Detectives O'Brien de- !
fends Chicago police on the ground |
that they have more square miles to
cover than the New York police |
Gotham police he points out, also out
number them almost four to one.