The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-08-18

But Bookkeeping has taught the pow
er OF the legal technicalfty. Gangsters
formed corporations and as such
preyed upon business under the pro-
lection OF the law Shysters reaped
a harvest by directing sabotage. In
timidatiOn and monopoly enforced by
the machine gun and bomb.
Today literally billions of dollars
are being extracted by the scalpeI OF
force In the hands of murderous
thugs who were spawned In the gut
ter, who throve In the slums of
thought and grew TO the distortions
OF bribery, malfeasance and organized
corruption.
People ask IL the bootlegger will
turn to crimes of violence with the
passing of prohibition. The answer Is
frightfully simple. He already has. In
the upper crust of the underworld to-
day boOtleggers are as scarce as Hot
tentots in the United States senate.
Bootlegging no longer pays. People
are wise TO prices Competition is too
broad. Attempted enforcement has
waned. thus increasing the ease of
distribution of liquor. The enforce
ability of law has been made doubtful
in the mind of the professional GRIM
inaL That goes for all law, not just
prohibition. AS result, he Is still
riding in his limousine.
The commercial racket Is simple In
operation. So the passing bOotlegger
operates 1t. In most large cities the
cleaners are organized" So, too.
with the laundries. the window clean
ers. the dyers. the poultry markets.
the garages, the fruit dealers. the ice
cream dealers. the trucking cOmpan-
les. Space does not permit enumera-
ton of all the commercial and indus
trial activities which have fallen I'm,
der the spell of this one-time alley
rat called the gangster.
New York City disclosed recently
poultry racket" that paid its opera.
tors some sixteen millions year. How
did ii operate? Intimidation. Pure
and simple, alone and unaided. In
stead of diplomatic note. combs
were placed in offices, freight sta.
lions and stores In place of sales
letters, machine gun bullets whined
their expressive and usually conclu-
sive message. Force. "Pay us. or We'll
blow up your plant, murder your
wife, kidnap your children"
The business of the racket is just
as widespread today as the business
of the bootlegger was three years
ago. This is not comforting cOndi.
ton. On the other hand 1t Is not half
so bad as 1t sounds Put In nut
shell, the business of the gangsters
before prohibition was cheap and haz
ardous because its revenues were in.
sufficient to pay for protection. The
crime of violence never in history has
proven profitable.
Crime is safe only when protected
by venal police or courts. That pro-
lection is commodity not offered at
inferior prices. So violent crime is
stupidity. In it's very essence it is
failure.
Successful crime must be profitable
on great scale, to pay brides, nur-
ture corruption and hire skilled law
yers. Footpads cannot do that Mel
Their can burglars, robbers. petty
thieves and the like. The gangster
who became the bootlegger must now
again become the gangster because
he has never changed except In purse.
fe al xryith
a few new ideas conceived in bootleg
gold. few new ambitions certain to
trip him up, few condolences that
will prove mantraps as his bootleg
revenues change into those for which
he must resort to violence.
There is a way and simple way to
rout the racketeer 1t involves ma
tional action. It demands unification
of protective measures that never can
be subsidized by local politicians and
criminals. So closely are these local
politicians and criminals allied that
the line of demarcation between them
is often indistinguishable.
1t is a deadly truth that the boot
logger never could have grown as he
did without political protection he
bought with bootleg money 1t is
helpful truth that the passing of pro-
hibition will enable honest officials to
break the tie-up between thief and
cop and so disrupt the so-called gang
ster organizations the country over.
The next few years will see ire
mendous developments In American
criminal codes and procedures. If some
decent and sane social order is to
survive, these developments already
are appearing obvious In their de-
mands.
The bootlegger who has turned
racketeer is on the way out The
speed of his exit will be commensu-
rate with the speed of the social or.
der in enacting simple and far-reach-
ing measures for the establishment of
order and the Punishment of the worst
criminals the United States ever has
tolerated.
Even now the federal government
is moving against the racketeer. A
senate subcommittee investigating
this form of criminaliry has just been
assured by President Roosevelt that
the full facilities of the federal gov
eminent will be at the committee
disposal.
&c. 1888, by North American Newspaper
Alliance. Inc.-WNU Service)