Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-02-16
Worlds Greatest CRATER Tells
Ho1u Police Are Fixed
From Autobiography Of "earney

From Autobiography Of "6arne,
The first thing a police captain gets
when he arrives in Il new district is i
list of places thai are paying for protec-
ton. That personally important informa-
ton takes precedence over everything.
Usually it is left by the outgoing captain
In the hands of some trusted ofllcef. ~
shows what places are settling and how
much each one pays and the total gives
an indication what the district Is worth
to the captain. Ii seems a matter of Wei
established custom that the information
should he passed along from one com
mandins officer to another.
In one of the recent shakcups in The
detective bureau in Chicago the outgoing
captain was so sore that he did not OK
tend the usual courtesy. His successor
cried "Murder.' and those who heard hun
talk might have thought somebody had
stolen his monthly pay check. Two of
his trusted men We're sent ont to make
up a new list. and for a couple OF weeks
they jimmied up the district trying on II
bluff to find out Who would settle.
Soon the lollers became So loud thai the
captain had to stop. He WAS at his wits
ends He called in various old timers and
wanted them to go out and do his col
Letting for him. He had made such a
fuss, however. that he was transferred.
and never did find out what the district
was worth.
Those who are not familiar with police
graft will be surprised to know with what
system it is carried out. A copper canno
rush into every place that is straining the
law a little and call on the proprietor to
settle. Some are so strong with the higher
up officials that they do not have TO pay
to anybody. When some new detective
drops in such Il place and pulls a lot Of
strong talk about what is going TO happen
l ~ tho -, D,,1. r.~ne 1Arn
is action right away. 1t doesn't a
many minutes for the captain TO find out
that his man has been i'm the wrong
place.
Must Have List Of Subscribers.
Some places fatty refuse to pay while Il
place next door, which is doing the same
thing. pays willingly. That is why the
captain in u district is in hot water all
the time unless his predecessor is coul-
teous enough to furnish him with Il list
of the Subscribers on the police snake
down route.
A police district like the downtown sec
ton of Chicago is worth 5000 a month
at its poorest. That is the income with
out any gambling running to speak OF and
aside from big touches and in and out
stuff, which pay according to the job.
What the police get from them cannot be
counted as part of the regular income.
The police share from one big touch may
be more than all the collections from
the regular places for several months.
All Kinds Of Places Pay.
Shady hotels. a few handbook makers.
clairvoyant parlors. cabaret saloons. mu-
scum. clubs where drinks can be bought at
any hour and such places make up most
of the names on the list of places that pay
regularly to those of the downtown police
| who take graft. The police income in 9TH
er districts varies. In some 1T is practi-
cally nothing. In others it runs almost as
high as i'll the downtown district. In the
downtown district some OF the places are
controlled by the detective bureau and 9TH
ers by the central detail or the uniformed
officers.
Protection Money Like Rent.
AS a general rule everything which is
inside or operated under a roof i'm a per-
manent place pays to the office. What
ever is outside, liable to be picked up on
the street by a copper. belongs to the out
side man that can find it. The individual
gunman or pickpocket or other persons
known to the police who are stopped on
the street by a copper must settle for that
copper alone. The copper does not turn
in any of that TO the officer. That is his
graft for permitting crime and the rob-
berry of honest citizens.
The collection Of the dough which goes
to the office is more systematic. A place
which is paying for protection figures on
paying just as regularly as it would figure
on paying the rent. 1t is part of the
monthly expense. In most cases it has to
be paid even more promptly than the rent.
When it is a few days overdue the place
Is inviting a raid at any time.