The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-07-14
LAFAYETTE IS
NEST OF VICE.
SAY CITIZENS
Machine Gun Kept in Home
of County Official,
Ogden Informed.
PAYOFF ALLEGED
investigator Told $1,000 a
Month Is Protection
Rate at Resort.
BY DANIEL M. KIDNEY

Charges that a former Tippecanoe
county official has a machine gun
range in the basement of his home
at Lafayette and that protected vice,
gambling, and bootlegging are ram
pant there were made to Attorney
General James M. Ogden in a letter
from a Lafayette business man, re-
ceived at the statehouse today.
Without the machine gun, these
charges are similar to those made
by Ogden in his state bar address
at Bloomington. He has refused to
name the city, but Roy West, Negro
investigator for the attorney
general, upon whose report the al
legations were based, today con-
firmed The Times announcement
of Friday that the city was La
fayette.
Ogden was deluged with letters
and c%ongratulatory kilograms upon
his expose. Many contained infor-
nation regarding vice conditions in
other cities, including Indianapolis.
Letter Text Given
Without names, which are in
Guided in the original, here is the
text of the Lafayette business mans
letter:
THE law-abiding citizens over
here know that the shoe fits and
are glad some one has the cour-
age to put the facts before the
public.
"We have a dirty mess here and
it is no use to deny it.
I'm my opinion, a cleanup in the
persons holding some positions
would straighten matters out very
quickly. A better place to start
could not be found than that Of our
circuit court, where the ex-sherif
pulls down 500 a month perform
ing duties that We pay our sheriff
to look after.
1.-THE Office of this ex-sherif is
the hangout for a number Of per-
sons; among them are two state Of
tlcers-a state policeman and game
warden.
Regarding another ex-public Of
fetal named, 1 wish to say that,
from very reliable sources, I have
been informed that in the basement
of this mans home a machine gun is
kept and a target is set up, along
with other guns and a workbench
where are small pieces of pipe, with
caps screwed on ends.
Didn't Kn0V Law
IT gave this information to our
present prosecutor, but he did not
know if the law forbids possession Of
a machine gun.
81 can furnish the names Of two
persons who saw these things in
this mans home"
Another Lafayette letter received
by Ogden today asserted that condi-
tions there were worse than pic
tured in the Bloomington speech,
but the writer was afraid to say too
much about them because zone
get hurt or worse, for the
bootleggers have a union here"
The writer continues:
81 do not know who is president
of the union, but I wouldn't Won
der that he is (naming an ex-
officiaD. About all the po-
lice do here is go around with a
piece of chalk and keep tab on car
that park overtime.
IT am living in half Of a double
house and it is nothing but a boot
Logging and gambling joint and
they have a lunchroom for a bluff.
1T would not be so bad if there
were only a few Of these places, but
they are as thick as business places
and they get molested only when
federal men do it, and they get
tipped off when they are coming"
City Resort Named
An Indianapolis letter gave the
name and address of a north side
apartment here which "has been
running an open saloon for three
years." 1t also charged that young
girls are harbored there"
Admitting to The Times that the
Ogden speech was based on his La
fayette report, West today declared:
Lafayette is worse than the re-
port states. We can prove all
points cited. But at the same time
conditions there are no different
from those in Indianapolis. Indian
apolis is worse than Terre Haute."
II was down there with a white
investigator for the attorney gen.
erals office" West told The indian
apolis Times. we found gambling,
of prostitution, and bootleg
ging a-plenty, but couldn't get any
cooperation in making arrests.
"Why, we went into a great big
brick house there that was especial
ly fitted for these purposes. They
even had peepholes in the floor.
'"Then we went to find the sheriff
and was told he vas out playing
poker, or maybe it was rhum.
Followed by Police
INSTEAD Of helping us, the police
got into a car and began following
us about when they learned we were
in the city.
In that big brick house they told
us they we're paying of about
81 900 a month.
It saw a Negro carry a jug OF
liquor, a glass jug, right by the cops
and they merely waved to him."
West was waiting to see Ogden
and to accept any new assignment
the encouragement might have.
Asked If he would like to return
to Lafayette, West said: I'm ready
to go any place that Ogden wants
to send me. He is fearless Mo 50
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