Evening star., 1932-10-23
BY ROBERT ISHAM RANDOLPH

A MAN IN THE AUDIEN(
BY ROBERT ISHAM RANDOLPH,
Head of the Secret Six" Chcago's Crime
Commission.
TT has been said that the best
form of taxation is the one that
gathers the most feathers from
i the goose with the least amount
Of Squa viking" National, State
and city governments in this country
evidently have not discovered any such
system, for there is a great present
squawking from the geese; but those
sinister forces that run our invisible
governments in all Of cur big metro
politan centers have been successfully
plucking the softest down from the
breast of the goose and soaring him SO
BADLY in the process that he dare not
zen hiss.
This form of taxation is known in
police paflance as the racket" and one
of the abiest police administrators in
this country told me the other day that
in his opinion this evil is the biggest
problem now presented to the admin
istratlon of criminal justice in this
country.
Fear is the weapon which the tax
collector of the invisible government
uses TO keep the goose from squaWking
The tax is levied on food and drink
clothing and its maintenance, housing
and heating. human service of every
kind, merchandising, and even on
cosmetics.
The ladies may challenge this, but I
have the proof. Cosmetics are sold in
drug stores along with golf balls and
dow dispiays-bright lithcgraphs o.
dream girls with vclve. skins and
seductive sirens who owe their charm
to so-and-so's facial cream. These dis
plays are placed in drug store windows
all over the country by so-called win
dow trimmers employed by manu-
facturers, distributors or advertising
agencies.
Attendance at Meeting.
/ attended meeting of such inter
ests recently, by invitation, because /
am the nominal head of an organiza-
ton that has undertaken to give succor
to the squawking goose. The meeting
was held on the top floor of big hotel
in big city. The door was locked
when 1 arrived and when l knocked
for admission man on the inside
peered at me through a curtain and
then called one of my agents to look
at me before he would let me in.
SpeakeaSieS are not more careful.
When I was finally admitted found
$50 men assembled in the room and two
assistant prosecutors ON the platform.
A man in the audience was telling in a
scared voice how he had been intimi-
dated by two thugs, taken against his
will-kidnaped if you please-to a GER
tain Office where he had been forced to
sign an application for membership in
so-called window trimmers union. 9th
ers told similar stories
I finally began to get the general
picture as the details were filled in. 1t
seemed that these men were window
trimmers, representatives OF advertis-
ing agencies, distributors of nationally
advertised products sold in drug stores,
cigar stores and other stores that use
window display advertising There had
been window trimmers' union organ
lied some time within the year. This
was perfectly legitimate union tand
have no quarrel with trade unionism as
such), but it had not made much head
way and had not bothered anybody very
much. window trimmers are artists
not artisans, II their own estimate OF
Themselves is correct. and they had not
been eager TO join.
Another Union Appears.
Then another window trimmers' union
appeared on the scene. This was
rival union. and it did not have the
official sanction OF those agencies of
organized labor which take toll from
their constituent units. In other words,
it was an outlaw union. Its agents be-
gan to harass the window trimmers.
Store windows that were not protected
with the label of the legitimate union
were mysteriollsly broken. Storekeepers
we're warned not to use displays placed
by non- union window trimmers. Armed
thugs came into stores and removed
window displays without so much as BY
YOUR leave to the storekeeper. Nom
union window trimmers were followed
by thugs and warned to join the union
or quit the business. Many OF them
were taken by force or intimidation to
the headquarters of the outlaw union
end induced to sign applications for
membership.
The only protection from this sort of
terrorism seemed 10 be little b. s
inch paster label of the legitimate
union If this was pasted on the win
dow it was sign that the proprietor
had paid unto Caesar the things that
are Caesars and could thank whatever
god he chose for his purchased peace:
Incidentally he could pass the added
cost for the advertised product on to
the geese who smoke cigarettes and use
cosmetics So why should he care?
The legitimate union had done nothing
illegltimate, and the outlaw union
seemed to be satisfied if its efforts re-
suited in driving its victims to purchase
immunity from its apparent rival:
1 asked if there was an employers
assccist ton of these distributors and
was told that the same interests that
had ors snized the outlaw union were
making an effort to organize the en-
pioya-11. That nedc the ce.-up typical
OF all of the collusive agreement rack
displaying both ends against the
middle.
Called on for Advice.
After about an hour of the expert
ence meeting when all of the rourners
had had a chance to sob out their sad
stories they called upon me to advise
them. told them that did not think
advice would do them any good; that
uaS disrIlsted by the spectacle of $50