Evening star., 1933-03-05

A profound sensation was caused SO
years ago by the indictment Of three
former members
Thieves Indicted aeuectlve and saNera1 otbsrs
on charges of theft, connivance of
theft and receiving stolen property.
The Star in its issue OF February II
gays:
The Citizens Committee who have
so vigorously and courageouSly prose-
cuted the self-impcSed task of hunting
down the thieves who have SO long
preyed upon this community deserve
and receive the gratitude of all honest
people of the District. They have
aroused into an active assertion Of its
power the law, which. as against the
thieves gang. seemed paralyzed. 1t
now rests with the courts to finish the
work SO admirably inaugurated by the
committee. The leading spirits of the
gang of robbers have been indicted and
the evidence against some of them. at
least, appears to be sufficient to war
rant conviction. But whether by means
of technicalities or by the laws delays.
or through other methods. the guilty
escape the legal punishment they de-
serve, one good result is accomplished.
criminals, which made Washington a
sort of thieves paradise. has been
broken up and the officers who made
burglary easy here have been deprived
of power to do any further harm as
public officers The authorities have
received a lesson that will, no doubt
make them more vigilant hereafter. and
the city will enjoy that protection
which the law should extend"
In the news columns of the same
issue The Star said:
VT. "A great many
Vmclals victims people. in the
of Intimidation. J ishs = t : Of q nmsnIS assent
wonder how it happened that this
state Of affairs could continue in this
city for so many years, while at the same
time there have been numerous changes
in the personnel and management OF
the District government and the police
force. It is evident that these men
could not have worked SO boldly unless
there had been some winking or closing
Of official eyes. This is now alleged
to be the actual fact, and the unsteadi-
ness in the official eyes was occasioned
by the industry of the detective officers
and their pals in making themselves
acquainted with the private lives of
their offlcial superiors. This scrutiny
was not confined to their superiors
alone, but extended to members OF
Congress and others. and in this way
the accused acquired hold upon the
fears Of men that made this gigantic
system of public plunder not only pos
sible, but long lived. The speciality Of
these men has been for years personal
history. and they attempted to use the
same weapons in warding of this in
vcstigation. In other words, the system
Of blackmailing. or intimidation has
terrorized the honest men and the
thieves have fourished in consequence.
The information thus obtained was
by no means in all cases Of criminal
character, but there are not many
men who can hear threats Of exposure
Of certain passages in their lives with
cOmpoSure and the ex-detectiveS were
thoroughly acquainted with this weak
ness Of human nature"
"As there Is apparently no possibility
Of establishing an alibi in the cases OF
Professional by by the the grand jury on
Capacity" MGhoay Mon aSe N IateIV exposed
detective rascalities." says The Star OF
March 1, 1883, 1T would seem to
be in order for the several implicated
parties to plead the fact that they were
simply acting in a professional ca
pacity' in the various suspicious trans
actions brought to light. No sooner
does an Individual Of the Tombs lawyer
stripe get caught in an illegal or ir-
regular act than he pleads his priN-
leges as an attorney and sets up the
claim that he was acting in the matter
in q professional and confidential ca
pacity. So it is with the detectives.
No matter what infamous and criminal
business they may be engaged In. they
At once put forward the pretense that
they were acting In Q purely pro-
fessional capacity and that that sort