Imperial Valley press., 1929-02-19
CHICAGO
TRIES TO
CLEAN Up
Authorities At Sea In An
Effort to Solve Recent
Massacre.
JRONICAL ID r A NJ A
Police Protect Known
Gangster On Release
From Jail Cell.
BY EARL L. JOHNSON
United Press Staff Correspondent

(ONlted PreSS Sta1t CorreSponQent)
CHICAGO, Feb. l9.-Crimc rid
den Chicago today was staging an.
other one of those intensely ironieal
dramas that have become common
here since the profits of beer touch
ed off the bloodiest gang war in the
history of any American city.
New material for a Maurine Wat
kns or Bartlett Cormack, authors
of plays dealing with tho law $
failure to cope with the Chicago
underworld, was being produced by
Il series of events affecting the po-
lice department, the city council and
the "big shots' of gangland.
Probably the most ironical of the
developments was the police depart
mcnt's search within its own ranks
for the firing squad which moved
down seven members of the bugs
Moran beer running gang with ma
chine guns last week against the
brick wall Of northsidc garage.
Police Commissioner william
Russell called for all detectives and
their squad ears to question the
former and examine the latter on
the theory that policemen them
Mlvcs may have taken part in the
lrimc. One report Of the massacre
laid that two of the killers were in
9olicc uniform and that they rode in
4 detective bureau squad ear equip
ped with a gong.
The scene shifts now TO the Bride
4. a.
cock of the southside beer walk and
TO whom some of the city's most
brutal gang murders are attributed,
is ius' completing 60 day sentence
for carrying a concealed weapon.
At 7:30 Il. M. two squad ears drive
up in front OF the prison. Joe, oc-
cupying front cell in an upper
story window, spies the car. He
throws open the window and calls
out in his robust way:
Hey, youl What do you want
me for now 90
I'VE don't want You, Joe. We're
here TO protect you, calls back the
driver of the first car. And 50 they
are.
A few minutes later 'Polatk Joe
walks out of the door. He il met by
two Of his hcuchmen, surrounded by
policemen and escorted to his home.
"Me for Florida,' Joe tells the
ncwspapermcn who push their way
through the ring of blue coats.
"rhc beer business ain't worth
while anymore.
Groo+
Scene number three is the cham
Der of the city council. The alder
men are meeting to act on a sug-
gcsion by States Attorney John
A. Swanson that they set up Il re-
ward of 1000 for the capture of
the latest gang killers. Several of
the aldermen walk over and shake
hands with dark eyed, carefully
dressed, alderman sitting in cen
ter row.
Welcome back" says one.
"Glad to see you,' says another.
The dark eyed alderman is Titus
Haffa, from the 43rd ward. lie was
convicted in federal court recently
as the head of $5,000,000 liquor
illS, StHlCHttu " TWO NtdTS III
Lcavenworth and fined $1,000. He
has decided not to resign and not
to have his name taken off the ballot
for reelection until the appeal court
has decided whether his conviction
was valid.
While those scenes are passing
across the Chicago Sage, an under
manned police force spares two
squads and sends them to the west
side to hunt for two men in blue
sedan who pointed a machine gun
at a traffic policeman yesterday
afternoon. The excitement attend
ing the gang massacre seems not to
have discouraged the class of citi-
zens who cruise along the city
streets armed with machine guns.