Evening star., 1933-07-13
NEW CRIME CRISIS
THREATENING i. s.
Liquor Gangs Find in Kid
naping Another Source
of Easy Riches.
CONTINUED From First Page.)


would pay well for it. 1t naturally fol-
lowed that no one was particularly in
terested in enforcing an unpopular law.
The danger Of prosecution was negligi-
Bile, but the danger of arrest was
mighty. The difference is graft.
A bootlegger caught plying his trade
could pay his legal fee" in advance
to the arresting officer instead of to
the court. This made him immune.
Prosecution was nothing but persecu-
tion. and persecution was little enough
SO long as you passed its cost along to
the consumer of booze.
Millions rolled in. Petty grafters
passed out because the bootlegging
business attracted cute lawyers in
search Of great fees. Bootleggers could
pay great fees. Their ability to do
this had more reaching results. It
attracted to bootlegging competing
gangsterS.
Still Gutter Rats.
They were still gutter rats; still
thugs; still human vermin as con-
scienceless as serpents. They brought
to the comm cree their usual commercial
methods blackjacks. brass knuckles,
pistols, finally machine guns. Boot
Logging became mighty business with
mighty profits. 1t was a simple busi-
ness. easy to learn. A brawny arm, a
stulitifled character and sodden un-
derstanding were worth millions
The whole thing grew with almost
magical speed. The only fundamental
change in the old-time gangster was
the lifting OF him from the status Of
an alley rat with blackjack and a
sweater to boulevardier with a bou-
limo
seat Of the limousine was a machine
gun. In the background was a shyster
lawyer with habeas corpus and a
venal judge living on the fat of the
land through bootleg bribes
Now the change. Sentiment is rout-
ing prohibition. If it passes the United
States will have an array of the most
murderous bandits of modern time
without work" No more the endless
stream Of gangrenous gold: no longer
the oVcrfloWirg Golfers Of beer and
booze wells, no more the "alky"-cook-
ing millions which offered profits of
1000 per cent a drink and sold for
anywhere from Is cents to So a gulp.
That Is gene.
Reverts to Old Status
Inevitably the gangster reverts to his
old status. But here is the chronic and
acute angie: He is now a gangster &C
cuStomed to 10-course dinners. star
sapphires aud peaked lapels Platinum
blonds occupy a definite and indis-
pensable place in his life. He uses
limousines, presents diamonds. con-
tributes to elections He has assumed
an immense political power through the
information he has on venal officials
now in Office. He has learned to op-
crate without numbering anything but
competition. Is it to be expected that
repeal of a single law will change this
yegg? Not for second
The problem. then. is simple. With
out bootleg revenues where will he
turn? What will he do? How will
he operate? What of all his luxuries?
Can he keep up the pace without turn
ing to crimes of violence?
Let me say right here that he can
not The records Of the last few
months prove this. Kidnapings have
assumed front-page position in the
news
The newest kidnapping to flare on
the front pages is reported from Albany,
N. Y, where John j. O'Connell, jr.
of the Albany County Democratic
machine, vanished-his disappearance
followed by a demand for a s25O,OO0
ransom. And take my word for it, AL
bany never had gangsters capable of
organizing and perpetrating such a
crime without lot of outside help.
The very same day the newspapers
carried the story of the kidnapping of
an aged and wealthy banker from his
home in Alton. ILL.,, and these crimes
were but two of at least nine sensa-
tional kidnapings reported in the
United States since February, only six
months ago.
Rackets Less Sensational.
Rackets fill in with less sensational
but just as incredible advices of the
predatory operations of these thugs
American business pays the price.
Those who know their underworld
shot operation for some IA months. 1t
got so it cost too much to fix murder
trials, square 'raps" and operate with
in the bounds of profit.
But bootlegging has taught the power
Of the legal technicality. Gangsters
formed corporations and as such preyed
upon business under the protection Of
the law. Shysters reaped a harvest by
directing sabotage, intimidation and
monopoly enforced by the machine gun
and bomb.
Today, literally billions of dollars are
being extracted by the scapel of force
in the hands of murderous thugs who
were spawned in the gutter, who th,ove
in the slums of thought and grew to
the distortions of bribery, malfeasance
and organized corruption.
People ask if the bootlegger will turn
to crimes of violence with the passing
Of prohibition. The answer is fright
fully simple He already has In the
upper crust of the underworld today,
bootleggers are as scarce as Hottentots
in the United States Senate. Bootleg
ging no longer pays. People are wise
to prices. Competition is too broad. At
tempted enforcement has waned, thus
increasing the ease of distribution of
liquor. The enforceability of law has
been made doubtful in the mind of the
professional criminal That goes for all
law, not just prohibition. AS a result,
he is still riding in his limousine.
Commercial Racket Simple.
The commercial racket is simple in
operation. So the passing bootlegger
operates it. In most large cities the
cleaners are "organized" So, too, with
the laundrieS, the window cleaners, the
dyers, the poultry markets, the garages,
the fruit dealers, the ice cream dealers,
the trucking companies. Space does
not permit enumeration Of all the COM
mercial and industrial activities which
have fallen under the spell of this one
time alley rat called the gangster.
New York City disclosed recently a
poultry racket" that paid its operators
some 16 millions year. How did it
operate. Intimidation. Pure and simple,
alone and unaided. Instead of dip
lomatic note, bombs were placed in
offices, freight stations and stores. In
place of sales letters, machine gun bull
lets whined their expressive and usually
conclusive message. Force. PAY us,
or we'll blow up your plant, murder
your wife, kidnap your children"
Drivers of trucks in many lines are
forced to join a protective organiza-
tion, pay dues, then refuse work unless
it is approved by racketeers. In one
case, on q great building in New York,