Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-26

Investigation files the reopened prohibition re-
ports and the indexes of the Bureau Of Immi-
grafton, the Government agents assigned to
the field in Chicago had before them the most
complete who's who in crime for the Chicago
region that ever has been compiled for any
region of the United States.
Some 200 names were at hand. They were
the starting point for the inquiry.
At this point the Prohibition Bureau swung
It's special agents into the Chicago sector along
side of the Internal Revenue Intelligence Unit,
but each group was assigned to its own par
ticular job. There was as yet no coordination.
The only uniform rule under which they
operated in this early phase Of the case was
that no member of the Chicago police force was
to be informed of the project under way. Under
no circumstances were the Federal agents to
seek out the aid of the Chicago police force.
There should be no leak" on this job
Prohibition Administrator j. F. j. Herbert
at Chicago directed by long distance tele-
phone from Washington to assign three men to
reporting every fact which had come to light
about AL Capone and his widespread operations
during the last five years.
There was of course, great deal known by
the men in the field from the gossip of the
underworld. No matter, ran the order from
Washington. Get it all into shape. The check
ing and sitting will come later. For the i'm
mediate present the task is to put down on
paper every name, every address, every inside
fact reported or rumored about every job. The
significance can be deduced afterward.
TIVE weeks later report of some 200 pages
was sent to Washington. 1t contained
the names of more than / 500 runners, agents,
collectors sluggers and share operators of
Capone establishments. from dog tracks to
speakeasies and brothelS. It listed by street
numbers more than 30 operating points OF
Capone and his henchmen. 1t mentioned
many specific occasions on which Capone was
known to have spent huge sums.
Capone was generally known for example,
to have lost 500 900 the Dempsey Tunney
fight in Chicago. but how he had got the
$4,000 in the first place could not be eStab-
lished. Capone entertained lavishly at his
South Side hotel for three days before the
fight A Thousand bottles of champagne were
part Of the stimulation provided for this gay
occasion.
It was the knowledge of the tangled inter-
meshing of ward politics and racketeering In
Chicago gained from this report which die
tated a vital change in the master plan in
Washington. Uncle Sans men were to work
independently at their own assignments, but
the Secret Service was to supervise cover
ing protection" for the entire operation.
The general scheme was to assure that If
gangsterS gun at any instant blazed at
Federal operative, from whatever department,
Government witnesses and an answering VOL
ley were to be on the spot.
1t was at this point, late in 1880, that the
concerted field operations actually began IN
Chicago Internal Revenue men, prohibition
agents, immigration inspectors, postal investi-
gators, Secret Service operatives and narcotic
agents move to Chicago to get AL Capone:
Always guarded by secret operatives OF their
own force, two Internal Revenue men were
assigned the task of muScing into the Capone
organization.
They were to work their way up az close
to the throne as possible. All along The line
they were to watch for the disgruntsed or
doubae-crossed hireling who might wish to
talk.