The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-10-21

Suspended the city Is virtually clean Of houses
II prostitution. gambling and boothgsfns.
The peopls OF Rock Island waat-to ind out.
n possible, The connection between lawlessness
and oficisldom. THs people want 70 know the
nanss e IL No Via rode IN the. CAbel muf-
Ass or. vAo paA them for their work. how
saossly tAsy were aGIiatsd with persons IN
authortty At the city hall and with Others hoil-
ing spscial dictatoFial privileges II he Rock
Island underworld. The pscpis vast The Gassl
murder mystery solved because theJ have .
suspicion that 1t was committed to prevent e.
posure Of grating in onleiai places n the city.
The people want to know how It was possible
for prostitution and gambling and bootieegihe
to - conducted ON . Wholesale and defiant
scale while onicials locked on acquiescentiy,
refustne even partial suppression When aD-
esalsd - by the decent citisenship. The people
vast to kno1 whether or not these -sicioas
conditions we're permitted through protection
payments me people want 10 know whether
Or not violators OF the prohibition law were
EtAranfeed protection from city. county. state
aal f5dssal Droaecution through stated pay
ments 70 IN immunity ring. The psople want
to how how II was possible to organize n
Rock Island IN underworld government small
in nuiaerical strength, but powerful enough to
ignore and aeey onicials and courts and TO defy
public sentimsnt and intsfterence By displays
Of officially permitted police authority and uu-
restfained ostlswry, demonstration that in
ally had its climax in the Market square riot
between underworld factions few weeks ago.
The people want the truth about that Market
square hattie and exposure Of the aggravA-
lions that brought it about The people want
to know by what authority scores Of whisky
stills wefeI1berated in the city, manufacturing
poison that was distributed over officially pro-
tected lawless bars in the city. The people
want to know the persons among whom the
thousands of dollars Of hooch profits and other
graft was divided in Rock Island. The people
want to have exposed and punished the men
who had the power to turn the city from . de-
cent and peaceful community into one that was
dominated and ruled and terrorized by the
gunman.
The people Of Rock Island believe they
have been betrayed by men whom they en-
trusted with the reins Of government. The
Dsople believe there has been onicial corrdp-
ton in Rock Island, condition that made pos
sib1e the building Of an underworld govern
usht that successfully resisted disturbance
until the head of the police department was re-
lieUed of his command and public protest had
become SO crystalized that the city hall was
compelled to inaugurate q campaign against
lawlessness
The people want to know who among them
have been guilty of using their official power to
assist in the promotion of condition that has
disgraced and Inundated the good name Of
Rock Island before the world The people
want those men exposed and punished and the
way cleared for men of honor and with the
welfare Of their home city at heart to enter
the field and rescue the community, onhcially
and judisially, from the control of individuals
who Rave been supinely serving and cat6fOg
to the very elements that have blackensd
the fame of Rock Island, betraying and isnor-
ing the wishes Of IS per cent of the
people of the city II there are men who
have been unjustly placed under cloud In
connection with recent events In Rock Island
the people want to see them given clean bill
Of health. But the people don't want to see any
criminals Or traitors escape.
Attorney General Brundage has the men
and the means to do thorough job. The Argus
| is confident that he will fulfill his promise to
the law-abiding people of Rock Island. The
people are asking only that Justice bs done, and
that Rock Island be afforded the relief that will
enable the city to rise from the mife into which
1t has been dragged; that the results Of the
investigation will be such as to preclude the
possibility Of recurrence Of the civic tragedy.