The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-12-11
JURORS PAUSE
IN vIcE: PROBE;
OTHER CASESUP
But Investigaters Continae Their
Check1p 81 Police Court
Activities.

Inc MOCK 1Sl1uo C0Q0Iy &I1u0
Jury paused today In its task Of
hearing witnesses, produced by the
state Investigators to consider mat
tiers having no bearing upon the
vice Investigation but which have
arisen since the direction OF the
jury was assumed by Attorney Gen.
eral Edward J. Brundage.
States Attorney Ben 8. Bell, who
was given the opportunity today to
present the ordinary run Of crimi-
nal matters, announced that the
work would be completed before the
finish Of the afternoon session. He
said that he had seven or eight mat
tiers to offer for indictments. The
states attorney however, was un-
certain whether the jury would re-
port its findings in these cases this
afternoon.
Checking Police Court
As previously indicated, the
grand jury proposes to declare a
recess this afternoon until We'd
4esday morning on account of the
election tomorrow on the question
of the new state constitution.
Thomas Marshall Of Chicago, rep
resenting the, attorney general in
directing the grand jury vice probe,
and Assistant Attorney General
George C. Dixon, will return to
Rock Island Wednesday morning.
In the meantime the state investi-
gators under the direction Of Chief
Investigator H. s. Mosher are roun-
ing up new witnesses who will be
taken before the grand jury
Wednesday. It is understood that
the trend of the investigation now
is pointed almost exclusively toward
inquiry into alleged shakedown
practices in Rock Island police
court. Many witnesses on this mat
ter have already been heard and
others are to come. In most cases
these are persons who tell of be-
ing arrested, chiefly for liquor vio-
lations, and of being arraigned and
fined by Police Magistrate d. ].
Cleland. The state Investigators
have discovered great many dis
crepancies in police court records,
it is said, when compared with
,, money turned into the city treasury
! The Investigation now seeks to de-
termine what became of the differ
ence between the amounts wit
nesses say they paid as fines and
/ the sums which were given to the
city treasurer.
Guard Police Blotter.
The police blotter is coming in
for its share of close scrutiny these
days. Numerous instances of wit
nesses being arrested are said moi
to show on the police blotter
where it is customary for records
/, of all arrests to be shown. However
| this fact is said not to have handi-
capped the police court in exactine
fines"
| Having in mind the unexplained
! disappearance and the equally un.
! explained temperance of police
court docket No. 10 recently from
i the grand jury room, the investiga-
tors are saking extra precautions
to guard against the police blotteI
| turning up a. ". o. ! some day. Po-
liceman Bill Epperson, who has
! been assigned to the direction OF
Chief Investigator Mosher since the
active grand jury probe was begun
has been charged with the respon-
sibility of keeping the. blotter safe
at hand. EppersOn personally sees
i the blotter safely with the investi-
gators each morning, and when the
days investigation is finished con-
ducts 1t back to the station where
it is held in the station safe.