Republican farmer., 1920-04-23

this morning was that of a State street house which was visited Sat- urday night. It is alleged that this establishment has not had a shady reputation for over year, and that innocent persons were taken into cl1s- tody when the place was raided- It is understood that policemen may be called upon to testify regarding the character of several houses which were raided, if the cases of the aI- leged proprietors are ever brought to trial.
 Another question which was the subject of much conversation today, is where the Burns detectives secured their authority to conduct the raids and make arrests which they did Sat urday night. Although they are re- ported as having worn badges of Dep uty Sheriffs of Fairfield county, Sheriff Simon Pease has declared that he did not swear the men in Neither were any of the raiders residents of the state of Connecticut, as near as could be determined today. Had they been residents of the city of Bridgeport they might have been sworn in as special policemen, but inasnuch as most of the detectives were imported from outside it is difficult for many
 
 their authority. Charges that the New Workers were merely using steam roller tactics were freely made in some circles
 The conducting of raids without war rants was another legal phase of the situation which was discussed to-day. The Burns men claim that they have been collecting evidence in Bridgeport for three months, yet the raids were made before the men wre armed with 1 warrants. According to law, it seems | that actions such as occurred Satur- day night could only be accomplished through Section 2zs of the Connect cut Statutes, which provides for the seizures being made as the result of ] speedy information Three months of Investigating does not look like speedy information'' to some off, lcials-
 1 It has been brought out that Bridge port, in a Federal report has been | rated as the cleanest city for enc of it's size in the entire country. During 1 the war Federal men visited this city and conducted an investigation of vice conditions here The report which they sent to Washington, D. C., rated Bridgeport so highly, that another group of investigators was dispatched here for another look around. The re- bort of this second investigation com mittee rated Bridgeport even higher l than the first.
 It was learned today that during
 their three months investigation of vice conditions in Bridgeport, the | Burns men used almost every sort of 1 a contrivance known to the detetctive | business. Dictaphones were installed wherever necessary and telephone l conversations were overheard Scores | of male detectives and even a few female sleuths were imported into the city and mixed with underworld
 characters in an effort to determine the extent of the alleged vice ring. Secrecy as deep as the proverbIa1 pit surrounded all movements of off, cials connected with the case today. Nothing was heard in the City Court,
 and all officers when asked for stats
 ments replied that they had nothing
 to say. It is believed that the Burns men are griI1ing their prisoners pri-
 vately and individually in an att
 tempt to make them "come across"
 It is reported that the detectives have one s'squeaF' already. What will happen if other persons turn states 1 evidence can only be conjectured-