The Duluth rip-saw. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1917-19??, 1918-12-14

policeman came strolling across
the street from the Phoenix
block corner. He, said that he
had been patrolling the alley
above when called by citizen
who heard the cry for the police.
It would have been easy to have
caught the thug but the police
man evidently knew that he
would get in disfavor with his
chief if he took any serious or
active steps to apprehend the
newspaper mans assailant.
The thug wore a cap, macki-
nav and coarse trousers. He
was tall, rather spare but very
raw-boned. There were no street
lights and, in the darkness of
early morn, outlines of the fell
lows features and color Of his
clothing could not be determined.
He had seams and deep lines in
his face and carried every evil
dence that he was a hard citizen.
That the plug-ugly was in
, spired by some one was shown
by the fact that he tried to tear
open and destroy the bundle of
Rip-saws that was dropped to
the pavement in the fracas.
Since that assault, a prominent
: business man has informed the
editor of the Rip-saw that plot
recently was laid to import a
professional thug from st. Paul
to beat up the man responsible
for writing and publishing this
great family journal. 1t was
limited that a certain prominent
politician had subscribed to the
fund. A man friendly to the
Rip-saw told one of the leaders
in the plot to lay off and he did
so, effectualy spelling the devil
ish scheme.
If these assaults and plots to
assault continue, the head-sawyer
will be compelled to buy a sec
ond-hand sword and grid it on
every publication day. 1t would
be entirely in keeping with the
, McKercher methods to hire some
thug to do for him what he lacks
quits to do himself. McKercher
is credited with being yellow to
the very bottom Of that big
paunch of his.
; Perhaps McKercher's Scotch
blood is responsible for his thrift
} and greed for gold but, more
: Likely, it is due to his perverted,
, degenerate moral sense.
It is we'll understood and es'
tablished that the McKerche1
. safety deposit box has profited
from contributions by all sorts
of underworld folk. Nothing was
too small for the McKerche1
palm and the longer he fingered
in Duluth the itchier it got.
A certain owner Of an auto
truck cleaned up better thar
, $1,000 in hauling beer from Du.
luth. to Superior. He did it openly
, and, as he believed, legally. He
, took one case to the supreme
court and won it. Another is
, said to be pending in district
| court.
One day, it is alleged, Nc.
Kercher went to that trucker
and said:
,, "Some of my men are com
planning now and then about
you and your transportation
business. Now if you would
shell out a bit, those complaints
could be stopped. Come across
with about $25 a week and I'll
guarantee you that no trouble
will come to YOU" }
eco to H." replied the
sturdy transfer man. II don't
need to pay for your protec-
tion."
It is alleged that one profita-
BILE stunt played by McKercher
was to put some one with a
faulty record under arrest and
then demand a substantial sum
of bail. Once the coin was
handed over, the man would be
released, no charge booked up
and the bail money showed into
a deep pocket in a very capa-
cious pair Of trousers.
A tale is told Of how a rail
road brakeman who had drank
too well but not wisely, was
dumped off a street car at West
Duluth. Some boys leased the
intoxicated man and he flour
ished a revolver at them. Arrest
c1,l Wbon tho hrakoman