Evening star., 1938-02-11

clients by cutting under the estab-
lished fee of $25 case. He charged
SIS. and he soon had all the policy
business. With a smooth personality
and gift of courtroom eloqlence,
he became known as Kid Mouth
piece"
But Davis. allegedly turning his
back on ethical law practice, saw
more in the numbers racket than a
limited amount Of fees. He had made
the acquaintance of Dutch Schultz"
Flegenheimer. The game, Dixie felt.
was too scattered. badly organized
and too much was being spent for
'lce'-i.e.. protection. Dutch looked
into it and saw immense returns if
the business were knit together into
monopoly. This he proceeded to
do, with the aid of the "goriIas" who
had helped him organize something
OF a beer-running monopoly during
prohibition
Right Hand Man.
At first Dixie Davis was chief coun-
sci for the new Schultz numbers trust,
at a $50 fee for every legal service.
with the work farmed out to other
attorneys, but soon the ambitious
young barrister became right-hand
man and brain guy" for the Schultz
mob. police claim He was adviser
to the racket king in all his violent
enterprises. the authorities say, and
appeared as "mouthpiece" when there
were legal tangles to straighten out.
Dixie lived in sumptuous Manhattan
apartment. He was equally at ease
i'll mob councils, at symphony con-
certs or in the more lavish night spots.
When the Dutchman'S own kind
wiped him out with shotgun slugs in
Newark tavern in the fall of 1885.
Davis was the logical successor. Three
OF Schultz's aides were killed with
him But the monopollzed numbers
racket went on full speed. reputedly
under Davis leadership until Dewey
cracked 1t wide open last summer with
an indictment against all its alleged
hlPher-ups
Davis. his racket career wrecked.
vanished. Meanwhile disbarment pro-
ceedings had been brought against him
and in November the appellate divi-
sion of the New York Supreme Court
handed down decision disba rring
him as An abettor of crime.
Trailed Them Down.
Yes. in New York they know the
numbers-its violent implications. cor
rupt ramificat tions and crooked by
ways
District Attorney Dewey was not
content TO scatter the mob that con-
trolled the game through murder. ter
ror and extortion. With relentless de-
termination he had the mobsters fol-
lowed across the world One fugitive
was captured in Paris. another in
| Mexico City. And now the dapper
chieftain. Dixie Davis - in nearby
Philadelphia. strangely enough,
You'd have hard time persuading
Mr. Dewey or Mr.. Grimes or Sergt.
William Grafenecker. the crack de-
tective who worked up much of the
evidence against Davis ct al, that the
numbers is the harmless little game
many Washington people seem to
think it is.
Perhaps these good people will have
to see it ''organized" here by another
Dutch Schultz before they'll believe
Mr.. Dewey
Meanwhile. interest in the more
drastic gambling law which law en-
forcement officials here say they need
to get at the racket has been revived
on Capitol Hill at the insistence of
House District Committee members.
and Chairman Palmisano has agreed
to hold hearing at an early date.
The pending bill was referred to
the committee year ago today, after
passing the Senate.