The Union daily times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1918-current, 1922-02-02


ed Long Charlie and his gang run
over" about $4,000 worth of Scotch
whiskey. 1t was easy.
Long Charlie disposed of II in ten
days, Then, grown suddenly wise, he
settled down in the little border viii
'lnge and became the source Of supply
for hundred bootleggers. Chatfe
went into business with him. SO did
one Of the revenue men, who resigned
from his service because OF the chance
tc make big money.
To Long Charlie one Of the oldest
things about his new source Of income
was its rcspectability. He found HIM
self invited out, entering comfortable
homes, and being treated as respect
able member of society. The summer
visitors more than welcomed him be-
cause his contribution to their parties
vas bottle Of "hooch."
In less than e year he married
Chaffe's daughter-and she knew how
o whisper to rich city women that she
might fix it up for their husbands to
huy some private stock" Now, when
Long Charlie visits Boston, New York
rr other cities his wife accompanies
him. She is not bad looking, dresses
very we'll, and has an "atmosphere"
about her. At the hotels she meets
the nicer people,--and tells them how
they can buy "a little something"
She is the new woman Of the criminal
world
Long Charlie is just one Of thous-
onds, for the crimianl world has quite
forgotten its petty thieving for boot
'egging. When the criminal robs g
house or picks pocket, he takes a
chance--but bootiegging is an easy
game with big financial returns.
It is also comparatively safe--fo,
few respectable" men vii! betrav the
boctleggcrs whom they aid in break
ing the law. And these bootleggers
do something the cracksmen never did
associate with the men they intend
% rob. Many men have unsuspecting
" given n new friend" who told
hem where they could purchase some
"old stock" information that enabled
| the friend" to hold up their banks
| nr places Of business later.
| This gives an idea Of what prohibi,
| ton has done for the criminal. Pro.
hibition has also had the unexpected
| result Of bringing men and women
honest until the passage of the 18th
amendment, into the criminal world.
The anti-gambling law is another
drastic reform that has had decided
effect on the crime epidemic. This
law threw the gamblers out Of theil
routine business--and turned them
into hold-up men. Not long ago
might say, even now-Wall Street
was in state Of terror because OF
! enormous bond thefts.. Millions Of
dollars worth Of bonds were taken
from bank messengers-often.f fought
On the streets. Many of these hold-ur
| men are ex-gamblers-men of rea'
brains-whose intelligence has en-.
abled them to 60 on making q living
syen- if the. anIi-sapbAns lays ar
| against them,
Y pointed out in my article last
month, how the bank burglars, the
real "aristocrats" of the Underworld
pitted their brains against the brains
If the safe builders, and conquered
the old key-lock, the front-lock, anC
the automatic time-lock safes.
Then, the safe builders baffled then,
Temporarily, at least) by perfectine
the Gibraltar-like screw-door safel
So far, this impenetrable chunk o
steel" has resisted all attempts Of the
cracksmen to force 1t open In the few
hours of darkness in which they cal
operate.
A gang went into bank down ir
Jersey and tried to blow open the
safe. They made botch of the deal
and barely got away with skins whole
But two days later one Of the gang
returned to the bank a little afte,
noon, while business was slack and
most Of the clerks away at luncheon.
He pushed his gun through the cage,
forced the paying-teller to give him
I'll the cash, turned, walked out Of the
bank, and easily made his getaway!
For several years suburban
freight yard Of big railroad had been
Systematically looted. Detectives could
get no clue. The losses were contin-
uous and startling, though they
amounted TO only few hundred dol
lars at time.
a railway detective on his vacation
overheard a man selling automobile
tubes at ridiculously low figure. Be
cause he was detective he asked
about the man, and found that the
fellow worked on that railroad, and
often had articles to sell cheap. In
Cd hours, the detective, trailing his
man. rounded up the gang-all men
employed by the railroad. What they
had done was to pilfer the drawers
where freight-car seals were kept, and
after they had robbed car, seal it
with 81 freah qenl