Evening star., 1933-12-08
BY JOSEPH B. KEENAN,,
Assistant Attorney General Of the
United States.

(Written for the Associated Press,
Discussion Of the crime situation
af.er repeal of the eighteenth amend
ment can only be predicted. And pre-
diction is always hazardous. But the
purpose of forecasting is the practical
one of trying to foresee what may hap
pen, and of forestalling with due vigil
lance any evils we can forestall through
knowledge of past experiences.
The illicit sale of liquor aided by lack
OF public support of prohibition did
three things to the world of crime.
l. 1t brought new criminals into the
field.
2. 1t transplanted many of the more
fertile-minded, bolder criminals into
easier and more profitable work
8. And most important, it permitted
the former safe-cracker and stick-up
man, abhorrent types, to put their feet
up on the same desk with responsible
citizens.
1t was not unusual for John Smith,"
a former safe-cracker turned bootlegger,
to visit business man and end up in
conversation. They actually sat down
and talked.
Criminal Gains Caste.
The criminal became less of an out
cast he came to know politicians and
som. types of law-enforcement officers
who we're not 100 per cent scrupulous
and yet not wholly dishonest.
Before prohibition these politicians
and officers would scarcely have known
a safe-cracker and certainly would not
have associated with him. But they
did, and do, associate with bootleggers.
The criminal forced the officer from a
twilight zone into actual corruption.
The result was that bootleg rings had
power with politicians.
Now, recent experiences lead me to
believe that this alliance is disintegrat-
ing. Such political alliances of crimi-
nal with law-enforcement agent are
breaking up. Crime conditions are
cleaning up in metropolitan areas be-
cause revenue is slipping out from un-
der the world of crime.
Touhy Home Palatial.
Here is an example. In the recent
trial of Roger Touhy on a charge of
kidnapping in st. Paul it developed that
Touhy wanted to sell his house.
That home was like baronial estate.
He had shifts of guards, a swimming
pool, his own telephone system. He
had offered his beer plant equipment
for sale at $4,000. and the plant had
a capacity of 72,OO0 barrels a year. He
must have seen the handwriting on the
wall for his type and for his form of
making living.
Touhy had been picked up in July
with gang in high-powered car that
contained six guns which would have
been too big for Jesse James and bag
of ammunition that one man could not
have carried. Why did he have them?
Generally, that situation is one we
must guard against. We prophesied
that these liquor barons would be turn
ing to some other form of work Now
we have the evidence that points in that
direction. That means we must be all
the more on guard.
Records to Be Kept.
But the Department of Justice is pre-
pairing to make a complete record of all
bootleggers in the various areas. When
and If crime breaks out in other di-
rections we will be prepared to bring
the criminals in.
The average citizen can help most
by his attitude and by his self control.
He must assist an enlightened ad-
miniStration that is moving to his aid.
Remember that the same type Of selfish
and mercenary individual who caused
prohibition, the unethical manufac-
turer and distiller, will still be out for
easy money.
We can aid the administration and
Government most by contempt for the
man with the hangover of speakeasy
days, the man who still thinks it
smart to circumvent regulations.
We must realize that the man is
poor sport who cannot have wholesome
respect for regulations; for instance. the