Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-02-17
CHICAGO NOW
EXPERIENCING
DRY CLEANING
Clamp On Lid or Go
To JAIL Is Order Is
sued to City Police
Force

CHICAGO, Feb. 16.5(PlEAs n re-
suit of the st. Nalentin's Day mas
sacre of seven gangsters, Chicago
tonight was on the verge Of perhaps
the greatest dry cleaning and gen
eral crime purging since prohibition.
The drive by federal, state and
city officials against crime. vice,
gambling-and particularly liquor
almost overshadowed the manhunt
for the murdersrs of the seven Mo-
ran gangsters executed in their
headquarters Thursday.
Spurred on by criticisms and the
states attorneys admonition TO the
police TO "clanip on the lid or 20
TO JAIL" Commissioner Of Police
Russell today told his captains and
deputies booze selling and booze
running must be wiped out"
He blamed prohibition and booze"
for the wholesale slayings and or
dered $500 policemen whom he said
had been Battling crime, vice and
gambling 20 be thrown into the fight
to make Chicago dry-something the
police heretofore have considered a
duty Of federal authorities.
Meanwhile search for the four or
five men who almost eliminated the
Moran gang with their machine guns
extended along two lines-neither of
which had been productive. Police
were searching here and elsewhere
for three members OF the Purple
gang" Of Detroit, identified from
photographs by rooming house own
ers across the street from the Moran
headquarters as having rented rooms
there shortly before the killings.
10 Wnu tina nnlarn thnnrF that
those sought spied on the Moran
gang, awaiting an auspitious moment
TO order u the firing squad.
The other line Of inquiry lay in
tracing trucks found in the garage,
where the gang was killed and in an
effort to trace old police squad cars
after reports that such a a was
used by the killers to escape.
A theory expressed yesterday by
Major +. ID. S~illoway, assistant pro-
hibition administrator that police
men and not gangsters wearing po-
lice uniforms, were the killers re-
manned without substantiation today.
Police Under Fire
His theorizing drew a rebuke from
Prohibition Commissioner Doran in
Washington.
Police also were under fire from
other quarters Alderman John Mas
sen said he expected to present to
the city council next week a bill
providing for reorganization Of the
police department under n non-po-
litical civilian board of control.
The association of m took
a hand by demanding grand jury
investigation of imputations cast on
the police department with a view to
clearing the department or Kidding
it Of those found guilty.
The bodies Of the victims of the
gang slaughter have been claimed
by relatives. Funeral services will
be held Monday. For Peter and
Frank Gutenberg. principal lieuten-
ants Of George Bugs" Moran, ex-
pensive caskets have been bought
with indications they would be bur-
led with some of the lavish display
and pomp affected by relatives of
slain gangsters a few years ago.
For the other five, however, simple
services were planned.
The Daily News today printed what
IL terms the "inside story" of the
gang killings unearthed after an in
vestigation by the newspaper here
and in Detroit.
Moran's followers, the newspaper
faid, were killed as the result Of a
war between Canadian distillers, the