Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-08-16
d ,nTHS IN BATTLING
SEARCH AFTER ELUSIVE
TRANSCRIPT MEN
e. Weeks Detectives Vainly
Trail Editor and Publisher,
Both Visible to
Others
opAy SAYS "CATCH THEM"

-. ryeelSs now city detectives have
Foi .,.,n, for j. Stewart Knight owner
sunday Transcript, and Samuel A.
o. y" sr,v. its editor and publisher, both
pousl were accused of criminally libel
dFm1,,oo CAPTAIN Nicholas Kenny and
lns u,oroan John Bigger, attached to the
lo"sb .n,b and Winter streets station. The
bls'. .a ,,bel was published after the big
vice raid. ans, oro around
fet t,Iau about these men the answer Is
Ciy - invariable loud laugh and SOFT
'nv and once in while you meet poilti-
winh tbe Rialto who'll say In surprise:
can COW them-or hm-less than an
hour ago. lheh '0
too, - -, - -t.,s
one o, ,he two newspaper men was Jake
,.saau a member of the police bureau Tor
sso than 40 years and reputed to nave
nlyl n.y. knowledge of identity among poli-
Na, WIZ and men known to politicians than
uclano .san in philadelphia. But he has been
s.g sn.,y on a vacation since August g.
,,rNNy DENIES GRATING.
r,o case was begun July "a, when the
..rrants we're sworn out before magistrate
pennock That uaS N"p'''i' '' was
quoted as saying
o,,,. record Is spotless. defy any man,
hs,.n ms or n citizen not connected with
~ recruitment of Public Safety to come
tne opd nroye l ever took graft from dive
owners 80, ,,o,,,od In a. storv nub
u.bsd in the Transcript OF oeing collector
". Maintain Kenny, and the two men In
~ wrHJ 10 prosecute jointly, retaining for.
IeA Aseis,ant District Attorney Gray.
me- hearing was set for p. m. July "a
"a the accused men did not appear, IL
~. 81 ,hen set for the next morning, ana
ssaIn the men did not appear. Inen tne
hssrarta we're handed to Detective Captain
at. 20 ssrye He assigned Detective
,arsiass and Jake Plateau to the job
p,.,saus experience qualifying him es-
rsclally II was supposed
The warrants have not been executed, and
,ns general belief and report Is that poll
.isjans don't want them executed; that they
ssn,t want the trial which might bring
ssr,h a lot of information that would hurt
...nv more persons than those accused in
the warrants
sLEUTHs' VAIN SEARCH
nouq,ass. who has had the warrants ever
.,rco plateau went on his vacation, said
today he has been working hard to tnd
the men named.
when Captain Tate assigned Douglass
and Plateau to the task theye were about
ID other detectives and many special po-
j,cemen who heard the assignment given,
ana with all the publicity incidental there
10 there are hardly any policemen in the
eItv who haven't known that the warrants
were out.
The Department of Public Safety hasn't
sven learned knights Philadelphia address.
Al Doughertys home, 1928 South Ring
gold streets, today, 1t was said he was out
Of town ION a vacation" He might not be
AY. for.
CoNGDoN DOESN'T KNOW.
Al clem Congdon's office in the Real Es-
tate Trust Building--he writes in the Tran
script under the pen name OF Mark Mason
1T was said Knight had the grip" and
Dougherty was away ION vacation" This
Information came from a stenographer, who
didn't know where Mr.. Congdon was
During all these weeks, however. rep
resentative of the Transcript has been
Brushing shoulders with reporters from
other Philadelphia papers outside lhe Grand
Jury room while the probe was being con-
ducted and when he was asked where the
men were his answer was that they were
travelling"
incidentally, the address of the Transcript
has been changed. on its editorial page
one now learns 1t is published in the Ran
doph Building. Real estate men say there
Is no such building.
both Knight and Dougherty say they can
be seen around the downtown section nearly
every night in the week. The whole thing
Is funny to most of them, and they are
confident the prosecutions will never be
pressed,
GRAY WANTS THEM CAUGHT.
But Mr.. Gray said today:
you can quote Captain Kenny and me
that the charges of criminal libel have
not been dropped. II you will point out
where these men are 1 will personally get
detective and have them arrested There
will be no compromise; we are determined
10 prosecute"
Lieutenant Theodore Wood said that the
report Of political influence was wrong
mat the Detective Bureau was still on the
hunt for the men, and that he and Captain
Tate had personally hunted for the men
one night
There is no denying the emphasis of the
ratements of intentions by the men who
say they have been libeled and their legal
representative and the detectives.
II Is also true that warrants have been
out for three weeks for two men very we'll
Known along the Rialto. men declared by
Others ito be downtown nearly every night"
or seen Tess than an hour ago."