The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-09-25

handle q keeper Of house OF PROS
when she refused to meet
her assessment levied by the graft
combine l. don't say that thing
have reached that stage in Rock Is
land, but I'll not say that they
wouldn't have if halt had MT:
been called on the brazenness OF
your underworld kings. They have
been clothed with authority to COM
mand policemen on their beats to
raid establishments whose keepers
they were seeking to whip into
line, and if an officer refused TO
take orders from them he was
threatened with dismissal from his
Job. You can appreciate where
such a position places an officer
when he is passing every hour
houses of prostitution and hooch
bars running openly, none of which
he dares modest, when suddenly he
is ordered by some one having no
connection with the department to
arrest the keeper of resort where
the same traffic is being carried on
as is taking place in the establish
ments where he is supposed to keep
hands of.
Do you suppose a Rock Island
policeman would give any heed to
you if you stopped him on his beat
and told him you wanted him to ar
rest the occupants OF disorderly
house? If you think he would l
suggest that you experiment with
this little sidelight on good citizen
ship. If the policeman is honest
with you he will tell you that he is
not supposed to know that there
is anything wrong going on in the
place, and that before he can act
you will have to swear out a war
rant in police court. The truth is
that the policeman knows all about
the place, the number of women
that are employed, what kind OF
/, liquor is being sold over the bar
and in the woman department, but
he'll tell you, if he is honest with
you, that the place is protected, and
is not supposed to be disturbed. If
you did decide to swear warrant
against the, place before the war
| rant was served the women would
be gone and the whisky would be
/ removed from the bar, so that when
the policeman called to serve the
warrant he wouldn't find any of the
! things there against which you had
| complained. So you see, Mr.. Citi-
zen, you don't have much chance
when the system is working as
smoothly as it has been working
! in Rock Island. You may wonder
why l have not been naming the
addresses and owners Of the places
l have been visiting in the under
world. / don't do it for the very
reason l have just referred to.
might right now write the name OF
a man who is the head of one OF
the biggest establishments of its
kind in Rock Island. l couldn't say
positively whether he is open Of
closed as l write this. But I dt
4 know he was running full blast the
night l called at his resort.
might print his name and number
here, and tell the number Of WON
en- he has working for him, Of thu
amount of whisky and beer he SELL
. in his establishment, Of the open
, ness with which he carries on hi
. business. Tomorrow he could brint
suit against the newspaper TO-
which l am employed to conduc
this investigation for 100000 dam
ages, and summon the police au
J thorities to defend him against tn,
, printed charges to which l CAV,
| utterance. This has been done il
t other cities, Of course not with tn
idea Of recovering actual damages
} but for the purpose of discouragin,
/ newspapers from taking up warfar
against underworld operations. Tn
> Argus expected to be sued befor
J 1t finished its present campaign. /
, knew that it would be impossible
: to escape such an action, consider
I ing the despicable characters DOS
/ ing as good citizens with who's
| tainted income it is obliged to inter
fere in attacking conditions preva
lent in Rock Island.
Vice in the Outskirts.
One night, shortly after 1
o'clock. accompanied by my wife,
hailed a taxi and asked the pilot i
there wasn't some resort beyon
the confines of the city where som
real fun was to be had. He sal
that II were willing to trust to hi
judgment he would steer me to
place where he knew that / woul,
be fully satisfied. When we arriy
ed at the resort there were eigh
couples there. Some were DANCING
All had been drinking. A dissipat
ed youth posing as an entertainer
was articulating with boresom
nasal effect. He was tottering be
fore table at which two couple
: OF young people, all somewha
worse for overindulgence in liouo,
were seated. One of the girls wa
putting away at a cigaret. The sing
: er was telling about how the moon
hight makes you funny when your
with your honey, or somethins
One OF the girls suddenly was tax
en- sick-perhaps the singing al
: Iected her-and her escort led he
into side room. After a time sh
returned and ordered . whisk,
, After she got 1t down she said sh
never felt finer in her life, grabbe
: her escort and deshed out on tn
floor and began a dance that voul
make Bee Palmer look like a pike
ii Some kind of food was seryef
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