Evening star., 1934-10-24
Murder and the Rackets.

Murder and the Rackets.
Cold-blooded murders by armed
hoodlums, which make victims Of in
nocent citizens as we'll as other hood
lums, ere the recognized and inevi-
table product Of well-organized I'M
derworld rackets In vice and gambling.
The significance of the atrocious
murder Of an innocent man in Ia
koma Park. Md, yesterday. and of
other murders and violence Of recent
date In Washington, is not to be es-
capped. Before this type Of crime can
show itself there must have been In
existence the organized rackets Of
the underworld. Their existence In
Washington is a challenge to the au-
thorities and cannot be ignored. The
longer they are permitted to remain
the stronger they become and the
more difficult to combat. The Wash
ington public looks for action by the
police and the courts and is more in
terested now in results than in ex-
plantations Of why the results are
difficult to achieve.
Until recently gangSter terrorism
was practically unknown in Washing
ton, although recognized as the &C
comps niment Of the rackets in prac-
tically every city of the country. The
murder in Takoma Park, Md, yester-
day comes as the climax in depraved
cruelty of a series of violent out
breaks among the racketeers in the
past year and should be regarded in
Itself as the warning against the sort
of public and official apathy and
indifference which breeds more crime
The principal source of the rackets
in Washington seems to be gambling
on the races and on the numbers"
Both, according to the prosecuting
authorities, are difficult to reach, al
though the police seem to know pretty
we'll the identity of most of the So
called big shots" and their hang
ers-on.
The gambling statutes themselves
are considered weak. Last year United
States Attorney Garnett made the
statement that the gambling laws
should be strengthened or gambling
should be legalized-that more harm
than good resulted from ineffective
laws which could not be adequately
enforced. But his proposed amend
ment of the gambling laws. though
approved by the Senate District Com
mittee, got nowhere in either house.
1t was not even reported by the House
Committee.
The three principal points involved
In Mr.. Garnetts proposed amend
ments were: ID To make the pos
session of gambling paraphernalia
prima facie evidence of guilt which
could be used against the owner and
occupant of the premises as well as
against persons found on the premises
at the time Of a raid; (2) To bring
the so-called numbers" racket spe-
officially within the purview of the
gambling statutes, and (3) to provide
q broader basis for the issue of search
and seizure warrants, permitting the
warrants to be issued on the basis of
an oath by the police official as to
the existence of gambling equipment,
including books, papers, memoranda,
etc, which sometimes represent the
only paraphernalia necessary in the
numbers game.
In the past few months the police
have conducted several spectacular
raids against known gambling estab-
lishments without results. OF forty
three gambling cases presented to the
grand jury since January l Of this
year twenty-nine indictments have
been secured and fourteen cases have
been ignored. In four of the fourteen
cases indictments were later secured
on other charges. In cases where con-
victions have been had, Mr.. Garnett
complains that the indeterminate SEN
tence law works to prevent the maxi
mum penalty, although the judge may
be anxious to impose it. He has asked
the Department OF Justice for amend
Inent or revocation of this law.
These weaknesses in the laws are
recognized. With determined public
sentiment they can be removed. But
action against the organized gamblers
cannot wait on these partial reme-
dies. All the fault does not lie in the
weakness of the law. The police know
who most of the gamblers are. The
police must clean them out.