The Washington times., 1931-03-04
DRIPPING WET,' >
BOARD CALLS
ILLINOIS
|WlCkers ham Investigators
Find New York Leads All
States In Dry Violations

uIO NS" lOIN @SONS nv
States In Dry Violations
widespread corruption among
public officials in Illinois was
found by the Wickersham COM
mission investigators sent to that
state, according to the additional
data covering five States sent
the Senate in the closing hours
Of the session.
In New York they found three
times as many Volstead law vio-
lationS as, in any other State in
the Union.
The States covered in the
additional evidence were, besides
Illinois and New York, New
jersey, Louisiana and Colorado.
Prohibition was declared to be
satisfactorily enforced in Colorado,
but New Jersey was found to be
very wet.
Crime Is Menacing
Declaring Illinois dripping
wet" Guy L. Nichols (an assumed
name) the commissions expert
found, however, a more menacing
aspect Of the situation was the
crime and corruption in Chicago.
He said:
"A more menacing problem is
that Of clearing the city of
graft, political intrigue, boot
Logging and last but not least
BY any means, raCketeering
and bOOtlegging are so inter.
woven in organized crime that
one is inseparable from the
other.
'Racketeering in the metro
politan area Of Chicago today
is affecting the citizens in a
new way-thrOugh the pocket
book. During the last six years,
o system of criminal explOita-
tiOn, founded on extOrtiOn and
dominated by gangsters, has
thrived with the aid of the il
IiCit alcohol industry, until its
properties are almost unbeliev-
able. This system Of criminal
exploitation exactS a high tri-
butte. It costs the ordinary Citi.
ZEN money and few realize how
or where the system works"
Confessions are Cited
The report cited confessions Of
police officials and criminals to
support its conclusion, and de-
clared the only hope for the fu-
ture lay in education and per
Suasion.
'cNichols" listed $50 names Of
Cangsters, among them Al Ca
pone. referred to as "Alphonse
Capone, alias AL Brown, alias
Ecarface, vice, gambling, booze
and beer" j.,
Capone's activities were not
gone into at length, but consider
able attention was paid to those
described as members Of "tbe Ca
pone outfit"
CapOne Has so Rooms
The Investigator found that an
sentire second floor (of an un-
named building) of some fifty
rooms is occupied by the Capone
outfit" adding that guards are
stationed on this floor and no one
has access thereto unless his
identity is satisfactory" The re-
port then said:
Dali - &HNA
State Attorneys office, in April,
1880, your investigator is reli-
ably informed, made q raid and
discovered on the second floor
q large conference room, No.
h $50, with q long table, chairs
REINFORCED with armcr plated
backs.
Large quantities Of poison
dipped bullets, but no guns nor
records were found. Neither
were any Of the CapOne outfit
about. There was strong indi-
cation Of q 'tip-Off.'"
Rum Cases Predominate
In and around New York city
prohibition violations were found
by the Investigator sent there
to be so flagrant that SO per
cent Of all criminal prosecutions
were for offenses involving pro-
hibition.
Palmer Garfield, former legal
supervisor Of the prohibition bu-
Teau, prepared the New York re-
port. He said the Federal judi
cial m achinery was nearly
swamped in New York city by
"hartenders in speakeasies, walters
In night clubs, cabarets and So
called restaurants" adding that
30 per cent of those arrested
were allowed to plead guilty and
pay fines.