Evening star., 1923-03-21
NATIONWIDE PLOT
TO ObLACKMA|L SEEN
Dorothy keenan'S Death
May Prove KneII of Sus-
pected Organization.
MANY ARTIFICES USED
Slain Woman Believed Custodian
of Jewels and Cash Extorted
From Rich.
MANY ARTIFICES USED
Specis Dlsnatch to Tie Star.

Specisi Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, March 21.-The pow
ers that prey" whose blackmail ma
machination have made New York :
underworld notorious throughout the
entire world, are worried today. Reve-
latiors impending through the inves-
tigation of the mysterious murder of
Dorothy keenan-or King as she pre-
ferred to be known-may reveal an
organized blackmailing conspiracy
which will shock the nation. The mur-
der. at first considered more or less
ordinary in character, is taking on
aspects which threaten to become
far reaching in their effect
Some of the more experienced in
veStigatorS at work on the case as
Sert that threads from many of the
sensational murders. jewel robberies.
blackmail cases and liberty bond
gled up in the killing OF this girl,
whose blonde beauty was familiar in
the shadowy night life of the city.
Trace Source of Jewels.
Where, these investigators are en-
dsavoring to ascertain, did Dorothy
keenan, obtain the sapphire and dia-
mond bracelet. the platinum and dia-
mond pins and cavaliers which she
has Haunted these last few months
in Broadway cabarets? Where are
the bills of sale of these magnificent
jewels? Exactly where did the lib
erty Bonds come from which she
boasted about to her friends? What
jeweler sold the gems to Dorothy or
her friend, who, according to her
story, gave them to her on such a
lavish scale?
Above all. the independent investi-
gators demand, whose are the finger
prints with which the girls body, the
chloroform bottle and the whole room
must have been. and probably still
are, covered? And why, the friends
of the dead girl ask, have the police
failed to have their expert take i'm
pressionS of them? Because of this
situation they suggest that the evil
dent muddling of the case since the
discovery of the murder would indi-
cate there is no real desire that it
should be taken from the list of
unsolved mysteries of underworld
crime.
Public Reacts UnfavOrably.
The general public is reacting un-
favorably from the careful mystery
with which the police have surround
ed the identity of the Boston million
aire." partly because it is certain his
identity is withheld simply because
he Is a millionaire, and also because
there have been too many unsolved
murder mysteries here in which rich
men were declared to have been con-
cerned
Whatever the replies to these peril
nent questions, the keenan, case has
directed attention to another under
world conspiracy of extraordinary di-
mensions, whether the young and
fair-to-look-upon model was directly
connected Herewith or not. Her death
has lifted the curtain from the opera
tions Of a gang who baited their traps
with good-looking young girls, hun
dreds of them, and ensnared rich men
sojourning in New York. These girls
never were allowed to keep tenth
to give up. in order to prevent expo
sure to their families and friends.
Dorothy had at least $4,000 in
cash, jewels and negotiable paper
worth very much more. Just why
she should have received sums large
even for world famed courtesan,
such as seven caret diamonds which
would have graced the hand of a
multi ti-millionairess, although she was
only ordinarily beautiful and had
neither grace or culture is something
those trying to solve the mystery of
her death would like to know.
May Have Been Custodian.
The suggestion is made that she
merely was custodian of much of this
property. This follows the sugges-
ton she tipped" off the mysterious
millionaire of a plot to blackmail
him and received the penalty of the
gang, death, as a result.
Her case, however. also has called
CONTINUED on Page 2. Column 81