Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-31
W|LKERSON
NEMESIS OF GANGS
Capone, Facing Him Twice,
Gets Contempt Term and
Upset on Leniency.
BY OWEN L. SCOTT.

Special Dispatch TO The Star.
CHICAGO, July 3l.-Federal Judge
James Fl. wilkerson, one important
governmental oficial who refuses to
bargain with Alphonse Capone, the
country's leading gangster. has a rec
ord Of harshness In dealing with crimi-
mails Of this type.
Twice he has caused Capone to bite
his tongue as he clamped together
those heavy jowls in surprise at pro-
nouncements Of the court. The first
time was last February, when Judge
Wilkerson Jared him with q Six-month
prison sentence for contempt Of his
court. The second time was before the
Federal bar yesterday afternoon, when
Capone had the entirely new experience
of hearing from the lips Of any of1cial
the statement:
1T Is time to impress upon this de-
PENDANT that it is utterly impossible to
bargain with the Federal court"
Two Others Given Jolt.
Besides, back in 1928, this same Judge
jolted two other gangsters, Terry Drug
gan and Frankie Lake, when he put
them in jail for contempt of court.
They had accepted Judge Wilkersor1's
earlier sentence for a dry law violation
to be a mere scrap Of paper, and spent
most of their prison time tending to
the beer business.
When they went before the Judge
yesterday, Al and his attorneys thought
that they had a nice deal fixed UP with
every one. Al appeared to believe the
attitude Of a judge would be unirn-
portant.
When Judge WilkerSon disillusioned
the jaunty Capone, the gangster's at
torney let the cat out Of the bag.
He said that an agreement had been
reached with the district attorney to
enter pleas Of guilty in return for
recommendations concerning the dura-
ton of punishment.
The recommendation of the district
attorney, its concurrence by the attorney
general, its concurrence Of the Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury. constituted
an inducement to the defendant and
to us to enter the pleas, and am
frank to say to the court that unless
we we're confident and firmly believed
that the court would acquieSce in that
recommendation we would not have
entered the pleas" asserted Capone'S
attorney, Michael Ahern.
But the judge was not to be budged.
1t has been much the same during his
career.
Prosecuted Standard Oil.
Judge Wilkerson sprang into national
prominence over 20 years ago, when he
was chief counsel for the Government
in its prosecution of the Standard OIL
Co. of Indiana for rebating. The trial
before former Judge KeneSaw Mountain
Lands resulted in q $29, 900, 900 fine for
the company.
In 1911 the now Judge Wilkerson was
appointed district attorney by Presi-
dent Taft, and when Judge lands re-
tired in 1922, he was named to be o
Federal judge.
Frequently in the past Judge wilker-
son has scolded prosecutors who bring
small-fry prohibition law offenders be-
fore him.
ct is impossible to enforce any law
50 long as we make a practice Of deal
ing merely with the petty offenders and
give no attention to the large Offenders
money, but who have not been pre-
sented to the court for prosecution, !"
he declared.
Raps Pursuit Of Money.
Again he has said:
I'VE have drifted away from the high
standards of the early days Of the Re-
public. The pursuit OF money has be-
come the chief end of individual ambi-
ton. We pretend to search for the
cause of the present deplorable condi-
ton with It's gangs of outlaws and
racketeerS. We lay 1t to the World
War, to prohibition, to weakness in the
courts. We overlook the main fact, the
establishment of the regime of money"
Now he sets down the dictum In re-
fusing to bargain with q gangster:
Certainly it is an unheard-of thing
in criminal proceeding that anybody.
even the court itself, could bind the
court to the Judgment which Is to be
entered after the hearing"
(CopyriRht 1881