New-York tribune., 1918-04-17
Swami to Proceed
Against Owners of
Chop Suey Places
He Will Continue Cam.
paign, "Suits or No Suits"
He Declares

cHop Suey restaurants and billiard
parlors which were visited early last
Sunday morning by Assistant District
Attorney Smith. inspector DominicA
Henry and Captain Richard McKenna,
of the Fourth Branch Detective Bu-
reau. The charge in each case, Mr..
Swami says, will be maintaining
public nuisance
Mr.. Swami said he was finding it 80
difficult to learn the identity of the
.proprletors of these restaurants that
he was obliged to get their names
through the owners of the premises.
This, he said. necessitated going t.
gardng the possibility of suits for
damages. he said:
: 81 would regard them as desirable.
They would enable us to determine
exactly VINO the owners are"
Asked about the inconvenience that
the raids might cause to innocent per-
sons caught in the restaurants, he
said:
"Thc detention of all persons found
inside such places was necessary be-
cause, we couldn't allow any chances Of
flashing word from one place to another
about what was going on. If it is dis
covered that serious inconvenience has
been caused to any innocent person we
will see to it that it does not occur
again"
The District Attorney reiterated yes
terday that the raids developed natu
rally out Of his inquiry into gambling.
In seeking for witnesses in the case of
Harry Cohen, the gambler who was
shot on the eve of making statements
TO him, Mr. Swami said he found that
many of these all-night cafes were
harboring women with vicious records,
and even young girls He said he also
found that soldiers and sailors were to
be found there at all hours of the
night and in some cases complaints
have come to him that they have been
robbed there.
an the first place." said Mr.. Swami,
with the nation at war, there is no
necessity for such an extraordinary
number of all-night restaurants. am
satisfied that the majority Of them
that keep open after / o'clock in the
morning are but the resorts Of disor
derlv women. gunmen, gamblers and
men that exist by means of women of
the underworld We had complaints
against all the places visited last Sun
day morning. The presence of the
Young girls found in them after 2
o'clock | consider ample justification
for the action we took. Is there any
healthy or legitimate reason why they
should be found there as such hours
or that men of the underworld, and
even soldiers and sailors should be
found escorting them there?
"All the places that were visited were
on the list which was in the possession
of Inspector Henry and myself. Each
of us had received independent COM
plaints because OF the presence of girls
in them, and Of alleged dsorderly acts
committed there. We checked up our
list with his, and took only those which
appeared on both We took certain
men and women to the police station
because they were needed as witnesses
when we proceed against the owners of
tho places"
Mr. Swami was asked TO reveal what
connection, if any, his Tenderloin cru
Federal authorities may have been max
ing regarding the presence of soldiers
and sailors IN the restaurants.
"All can say is that we are co.
operating, ard | believe am not doing
anything that does not have the ap-
proval of the government" he said.
Mr.. Swami said last night he be-
lievcs that few more disclosures Of
all-night life in Manhattan will awaken
the public to the need for licensing all
restaurants, and issuing permits to GER
tain restaurants to do business after
l o'clock.
"No one" he said, "denes the ne
ccssity for all-night eating places in
sections where the legitimate night life
OF the city converges. No respectable
person is going to be inconvenenced by
me. | am interested in driving out of
business the places that cater only tc
the idlers, the vicious and the crimina
population which shuns daylight. II
proprietors of all-night restaurants
cater almost entirely to this class, they
are maintaining a public nuisance, ant
as soon as we can marshal the lega
evidence VIC arc going to proceed
against them. / expect to be opposed
by the underworld and those who arc
profiting from the underworld, but
Shall continue the drive, suits or nc
! suits"
Places Remain Open
The chop suey parlors raided by di
! TCCtIOu OIL MT. tOWdIu were uOlIlS UuSl'
ness as usual" last night, proprietors
and walters assuring patrons that they
will continue despite the threats te
close them as nuisances. Beneath this
air of assurance, however, it is clear
that they expect to have their activi-
ties limited somewhat by some system
Of early closing.
Assistant District Attorney Smith
when asked yesterday if the discovery
that these places are nuisances was not
rather sudden, said they had been un- m
der more or less close investigation
for some time past.
at must be remembered that ordi-
narily place does not become a
nuisance the moment it opens," said
he. at is one thing to believe that a
place is nuisance, and oftentimes an
other to prove it by legal evidence.
Whether or not the courts are too
strict in the matter Of proof is imma-
terial; it is fact that you cannot
close a place without certain proofs
the layman might consider unreason-
able and without due process of law.