The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-04-04
POLICE CATCH
ONLY SNALLFRY
IN THEIR RAIDS
Great Cry, But Little Booze
Net Result of Activities Of
Department in Recent
Raids.
B%00TLEGGERS STEAL
FROM EACH OTHER NOW
Fake "OffiCers" Visit Men
Known to Have Bought
Liquor and Hold Them Up
for Price of Silence.

lnese are Happy Gays lot the IeStlNe
bootlegger in Memphis, for in spite of
thunders Of official denunciation from
the police commissioners office to the
men serving under HAN, the net result
of recent orders is only the occasional
capture of a half pint or so and the
arrest of a few 'loiterers' who are US
ually turned loose for lack of evidence
again when their cases reach the city
court.
Recent evidence given in open court
at a police trial brought to light the
fact that two bands of bootleggers en-
gagged in the game of robbing each other
a few days ago, n that they took not
only five cases of liquor, but all the
money one of the men attacked had,
The present grand jury is sad to be
delving into the problem which was left
unsolved by two former inquisitoria!
bodies. What the result of their in
vestigation will be may be made public
soon.
Perry Wants More Men.
o. II. Perry, the sheriff, asserts that
If he had 10 more deputies he could
stop a few of the whisky runners as
they bring their stock into Memphis in
automobiles, He has closed most of
the suburban resorts where liquor was
openly sold in the past, but some of
the proprietors have again moved back
into the city, If reports are true, and
again are in their old trade.
The sheriff's office is supposed to po-
lice the county. Perry says every dep
uty he employs is busy with court work
during the sessions of court, then they
serve papers during the rest of the day
and that he can not work his men
both day and night.
The marshal's office has six extra
deputies, who are supposed to be look
ing particularly after the illegal liquor
traffic or the river within the juris-
diction Of the local federal officials,
Three boats were captured at intervals
a few weeks ago by some of the mar
shal's deputies.
The arrest of the men higher up in
the combination which two grand juries
have said exists, either by the police,
the sheriff or the federal officers. would
get results quite speedily, Some OF
the men who are known to be In the
combination, have in fact been tried
in the United States court, and have
been convicted. A number of them
have gone to the federal penitentiary,
others have cases still pending eithel
in the district court, or on appeal. But
these prosecutions seemingly have not
in the slightest degree decreased the
! amount of liquor peddled in Memphis
\ either by open solicitation in the big
downtown office buildings, or in the
alleys and byways in the suburban
sections.
Another plan for getting easy money
worked on several recent occasions, was
for n to sell some thirsty citizen sew
| eral quarts of good quality of red LID.
uor. That night two other men, dis.
playing the glittering badges of Off.
GERS, appear at said citizens home
with a demand that he produce thu
liquor he had in his possession. Failure
to produce 1t results in a search of thu
house. The liquor being found, Is con
fiscated by the Officers" and the citi
zen ~cheerfully intrusts to their carr
a 10 or 20 as a guarantee of their 81
lence.
Perry is on the trail of two such fax
| officers. Who represented themselves al
his deputies. His information is tina.
they have been operating rather ex
tensively. They are not, of course
either police, in-clothes men or dep.
uties, but merely wore silver stars
similar to those worn by detectives
! Thus they can slip the liquor back tc
their copfederates after capturing it anC
get away with another sale, and per
haps another holdup for hush money
Easy money indeed.
Commissioner Miller in his most re.
cent letter to the police department, tolc
the men under him that he had seer
them in close conversation with well,
known ~bootleggers, and that these liz
uor sellers were well known. He or,
dered their arrest daily on lettering
charges.
A number Of good citizens, who wan
to see the laws enforced, wonder VIII!
such orders were issued, when 1t woult
have been just as easy to order tn,
entire department to busy themselves
with an effort to find out where tn,
bootleg liquor comes from, and VIII
is at the head of the syndicate whicl
brings it in fleets Of gasoline Launches
! and flocks of h~igh-powered automobiles