The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1922-06-06
''WE7"RE|GN
EXTENDS TO
HAMMOND
State Line Cities of Hammond
and West Hammond Flag
rantIy Violate the Law


The reign of lawlessness in Gary
which is being exposed by The
Times and about which the Gary
Post-Tribune has been strangely
silent, is reflected to a lesser de-
gree III Hammond and West Ham
mond
Prohibition enforcement in these
shine is sold in certain grocery stores
IN East Hammond. Whiskey is SOLD
openly over the bar in saloons at
the lake front. all along West State
street. State Line street, and in other
sections of Hammond and West
Hammond.
1t is an open and notorious fact
that during the convention OF the
republican precinct committeeman
at Carl Lundgrens fish restaurant
this spring. leading politicians of the
county made many trips from the
dining room to a little cottage at
the rear of the main building where
whiskey was being sold. One of the
guests at the convention dinner was
a newly appointed prohibition en-
forcement officer from Gary. name
ly. George Weeks
Only a short time after that a
Times reporter visiting the bar OF
the Point Cafe at he Lake front
found a group of prominent poll
ticians plainly intoxicated and buy
ing whiskey.
There is a saloon on State Line
street a few doors from the corner
OF Rimbach avenue where whiskey
and beer is sold openly. The place
is largely patronized BY Hammond
men. many of them professional and
business men.
The saloons on West State street
that sell both whiskey and beer are
almost too numerous to mention.
Recently, it was rumored. 500 bar
rels of high percentage beer was
distributed among the West Ham
mond and Burnham saloons.
The resorts on Gostlin street at
the State Line, including the in
famous Speedway Inn, are operating
again. There are approximately
fifty women in these places over the
weekend. The Lodge at Burnham
is another fragrant violator of the
prohibition law. The Arrowhead Inn
and the Burnham Bay are closed, it
is reported, but Coney Island is do
ing a big business in strong drinks.
Law enforcement as regards the
Volstead and state liquor laws is a
joke. and the prosecution OF keepers
of houses of prostitution is farci-
cal. An example of the laxity in the
latter II is only necessary to cite
the case OF the proprietor OF the
Rex Hotel in Hammond, who was
found guilty of keeping a house of
prostitution and fined 500 by CITY
Judge Cleveland with a six months
jail sentence. Inmates OF the Rex
Hotel testified that they paid the
proprietor a portion of their earn
ings.
An appeal from the city court was
taken TO the criminal court at Crown
Point where the prosecutor and the
attorney for the defense agreed M
on a suspended sentence and s25 fine
The prosecutors excuase was that
tHe dlitodNil WAS faulty. Repu-
table attorneys say that he could
have filed a new affidavit and it is
declared that he could have taken
the liberty of correcting the affidavit
At any rate, the proprietor of the
Rex Hotel got off with a s25 fine
and no jail sentence.
The debacle of prohibition enforce
ment dates back to the time when
politicians began an effort to remove
Gus Simons and Edward Berwanrer
from tha prohibition enforcement
office. Defeated in their attempt to
replace these two efficient officers
with Leo Bonaventura, the politici-
ans finally succeeded in putting into
office GeorSo Weeks and Harvey
Rhed. The new enforcement officers
have not been successful. to say the
least, in the enforcement of prohibit
tion in Hammond especially at the
politically favored lake front re-
sorts. and the East Hammond moon
shine parlors.