Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-05-04
FOURIH
WARD HVIQUTTIES
ocond Police District Re-
ported Honeycombed With
Il Illegal Resorts
70 SPEAKEASIES THERE
Half as Many Disorderly Houses
81 Said to Be Flourishing
Under Protection

There are 15o speakeasies and more than
ueventy-five disorderly houses running full
blast in the Second Police District which
2 Includes the Third and Fourth Wards ac-
oprding to oscar Low and Constable Louis
q ~ Downey, investigators for the Citizens
Committee who appealed to Mayor Smith
y and Director Wilson last Wednesday to
eolean up the wards.
q Low and Downey were engaged by Select
q councilman Harry J. Trainer to aid the
4 scommittee in listing the dives which are
said 60 be in operation right under the
noses of the police In all parts or the ward.
~ Downcy says sthat gambling dens are
reapng a harvest. and he charges that
special policeman attached - the Second
and Christian streets station recently lost
&s0o in game OF stud poker in dive on
seventh street near FIt2water some pa
trolmen attached TO tho station are friend
with the crooks, 'cordinC 10 nowney. lie
says that these policemen are frequently
entertained at 'bauduets' in the back rooms
OF saloons by groups Of pckpochets' gun
men and disorderly house proprletors
These propretors, according to Low ana
Downey, feel certain Of protection and have
defied all agencies of law and order.
Downey says that two or three OF these
houses make practice every saturday
night of distributing cards openly ON ;he
streets and in the nlovng-pictUre houses OF
the district These cards bear the address
of the dsorderly resorts and the words
"Please Call
'Under the direction Of Nh Trainer"
said Low, we made a thorough lnFestga-
tion of conditions in tho wasI. listing all
places of IN reputc. including disordolE
houses, speakeasies piCSnocNe, hangottS
and gambling joints We lined up a lot of
evidence ard oDt ined many aihdaNiis. We
conducted sevorp' "a y and succeeded IN
putting few of tn. 'isorderlE house pro-
prietors out OF business.
KING" FLEES. But RETURNS
"A certain disorder.y house proprietor
who operates a place in the vicinity e the
Catholic Church Of our Lad. Of Good
Counsel Eighth and Catharine streets, IS
known as the King He was in the tol'a
of the police several months ago, nut
Jumped his bail and went to McLigaN
When things had quiete1 down ana po-
litical connections had smO5thed the way
for him he returned and set up in business
again near the Church Of our Lady "t
Good Counsel He is the man who entered
the sanctuary of the church rccoutly and
threatened the Rev r. -. Terli2zie. the
rector, with a knife This man boasts of
police pull; he is often seen 'lt The
office of certain police official with his
coat off. being apparently welcome and
quite at home.
.'It was the original intention Of Mr
Trainer to apply the Swift act 70 some of
the houses. Under the Swif, act 1t a pro.
prietor does not move after he has been
ordered to do so, the case c.u be taken
TO Common Pleas Court Through the Of,
ffce of the Recorder of Deeds we traced
the ownership Of three houses used for i'm
moral purposes on Seventh street below
Catherine. We discovered the owners Of
these places who are maiden sisters Of
great responsibility. They We're unaware
that their properties were being used as
they were but when they learned the truth
they instructed thcir agents 70 have the
proprietors Vacate the premises. THAI was
on March s. The pruprietors are Ctill there,
running full blast. and they defy the own
ers to put them out Last week the police
raided one of these places, throwing a man
out of the house into the street They
did not bother TO arrest the man or any
of the inmates, The place opened up the
& next day again as usual
HONEYCOMBED WITH SP rAtEASlES.
THE third ward is honey ycombed with
Epealleasies and fake literary and social
clubs, which are only open on Sunday for
the sale of booze. Some of these alleged
clubs only occupy one room, and we have
seen as many as forty cases of beer car
ried into these places on a Saturday, tor
the Sunday guzzling rush.
Mr.. Trainer has refrained from cou-
ducting a wholesale cleanup Of the ward
himself, because he did not wish II to ap-
pear that he was playing politics for the
purpose Of casting a stigma on the sd-
mnistraton He told the Mayor that he
before him, and that this committee would
tell him of the conditions existing in the
ward The Mayor told Mr.. Trainer that he
would be glad to receive the committee"
Because If abs s.s II e. .p..atlgl be-
tween the police and 1n office If Magistrate
Imber." said Constable Downey. very little
has been done to clean up the district,
Crooks brought before Magistrate lmber
are frequently held for further hearing.
That is the last you hear of the case and
soon the crooks are back at the o!d stand