The Washington herald., 1920-10-30
GOTHAM HAVEN
OF SUPER-THUG
Smoothest Detectives Find
Hard Shedding on Trail
Of Law Breakers.
BY o. o. MCINTYRE.
ciai Correspondent Of Tho Washing

est detectives are in constant bat
ties of wit-fiint against flint.
There are some who have never been
finger-printed or put behind barred
doors. The nearest touch they have
had with the law is a visit to police
Headquarters upon special invitation
There is a notorious gambler,
whose name bobs up in every big
swindle. Yet he goes serenely op
his way, indeed. he hobnobs at times
with men of more or less promi-
nenee. The police have been trying
to fasten him in the laws clutch for
a good many years, but he is either
innocent or entirely too shrewd.
Certainly he has never been in the
Tombs
In a very exclusive section of
New York two sisters live in spien-
dor. They are beautiful and cuI-
tured. Once or twice a year their
names flare forth in the public
prints in some devious transaction,
but not once have they been arrest
ed. They are to be seen in the gay
est cafes, in the best Fifth avenue
shops, and their income is a matter
of mystery, but not enough evidence
has ever been produced to arrest
! them.
There is another man who at one
time owned a chain of restaurants.
He began his career conducting a
fence for stolen clothing on Baxter
street. Many trails of queer trans
actions have led to his door, but
when the police got there they
found an impenetrable wall and an
amused smile of contempt from
their quarry. Perhaps he is entire
ly innocent, but the police cannot
account for the manner in which
all trails lead to him.
Broadway has a barber who is a
character known by all the habit
ues of that street. Sinister stories
reach headquarters about him ever
so often but when he is reached
the trails grow cold. The whole
thing vanishes in thin air.
There is a ghost-lilIe figure who
picks pockets in the subway. He
always leaves a mark, a pocket slit
in certain fashion. Scores of rob-
berries have been committed by this
crook and he is known to the police
as The Subway Ghost" But he
has never been caught.
There are a dozen or more other
rebulous characters who fit from
the underworld to the upper. leave
a score of victims and a baffed po-
lice. Perhaps they belong to one
super band. There is one crime in
New York that took place ten years
ago. Six shrewd detectives are still
working on this case and will con-
tinue until absolute failure is as
sured.
Busy Trade Mart Again.
Automobile Row is becoming a
busy trade mart again. The slump
in the auto market was followed by
an almost complete trade desertion.
but the readjustment was handled
quickly. Nearly every agency is
holding a sale at which rare bar
gains are offered. and the public is
buying. The tire shops also are
doing a good business, following
the temporary slump. The small
tire companies, which were not
overstocked, are reported to be
working at factory capacity, and
on top of this many of them have
made important European distribu-
tion connections. A few weeks ago
the automobile and tire industry
did not appear to have promising
prospects, but when the actual
slump came conditions were found
not so bad. Indeed. automobile men
and manufacturers of tires are
more optimistic than they have
been for a number of months. New
York suffers from an auto slump.
Automobile Row is an important
artery of trade. When it becomes
clogged the reaction is felt all over
the city. Consequently New York
ers are glad to see the row resume
it's brisk manner, its statesmen their
happy smiles.
Believes in Another World.
The field of literature has many
sCoffers and many adherents of
spiritism. There is one middle-aged
novelist who has always been an
agnostic and who has at times en-
Eloyed his pen to ridicule the ouija
craze. He still believes the latter
foolish. but in his Investigations he
ran into some curious things. The
other day among a group of his
fellows, he made this rather start
ling statement: 81 am not convinced
that We can communicate with the
other world. l doubt it very much.
But let me tell you fellows that my
views have undergone a great
change. / do believe in another
world. l believe in a higher power,
something l have never believed be-
fore, and oddly enough my views
changed in some Investigations 1
was making to ridicule the very
things in which 1 now believe"
Over Critics Heads.
George NJ. Cohan says his play,
The Tavern" was over the heads of
the critics. 1t might be so, for the
critics did not like it very well and
said so. His next production. The
Meanest Man in the World" was
evidently written down to the dra-
matte writer's for it was not up to
the Cohan standard. But his third
production. Mary" which opened
this week, has won the town. The
music has been popular here for
months but the play was having
such success on the road it was not
thought necessary to bring it in.
When it arrived it was all the ad-
vance reports said.
S75 u Week in Tips.
a waitress testified in a court
case here that she made S75 a week
in tips. She further stated that If
she worked IL hours a day she
could make $3.50 a week. Her place
of employment is one of the cheapest
restaurants where tips are not
more than a quarter. In contrast
to this the walters in the large ho-