Evening star., 1951-04-08
that a policeman would take q
bribe not to enforce the law.

that a policeman would take q
bribe not to enforce the law.
And it's beginning to dawn on
him that the rackets are costing
him money. Where manufac-
turers have to pay tribute to
mobsters for the privilege Of
getting their goods of the docks.
where the racketeers get into
the black market. John @. Citi-
zen surmises. the prices of what
he buys go up.
If John @. Citizen is a mer-
chant, he is also beginning to
realize that money that would
otherwise come into his grocery
or his shoe store is going to
bookies.
Not One of Misguided.
He's not one of those mis-
guided people who believes that
gambling brings money into a
town. The hearings of the Ke-
fauver Crime Investigating Com
mittee have shown him that the
money bet with bookies and
dropped in slot machines goes to
the big bosses of crime and they
don't live in his town.
But what, asks John O., can
an ordinary citizen do about it?
These racketeers are too power
full, the thing is too deep-rooted,
he says. If they can boss the
politicians and buy the police,
what can we do?
john @. doesn't realize it, but
he's already taken the first step
toward defeating the under
world government when he de-
cides something should be done.
Again and again the Kefauver
hearings showed that public
apathy and indifference cleared
the way for the racketeers to do
business.
What's Wrong With Town?
Step two is to start finding
out what's wrong with his town.
Are the police actually cam
paigning against the bookies or
are they simply making token
raids? Are they making arrests
with warrants SO the cases will
stand up in court? Are there
big-time gamblers known to the
police but never arrested?
And how is city hall perform
ing? Are strict orders being is
sued from city hall to close down
the places that breed crime or is
it all being left to the police? +?
Are known associates of the un-
derworld on friendly terms with
public officials?
And what about the prosecu-
tors office? How many cases
against gamblers are being
dropped or reduced from felonies
to miSdemeanors?
And the courts. Are some
judges so Intent that the law
yers will try all the delaying
tricks of the trade to get their
clients before them?
And the laws. Does John O.
Citizens town need some new
ones to plug all the loopholes
through which smart lawyers
can wriggle their clients?
Commissions to Do Job.
John @. Citizen promptly pro-
tests that he's just an ordinary
citizen. He can't find out those
things alone. But he doesn't
have to. In city after city, crime
commissions have been born tc
do just that kind of a job.
In New York, crime COM
mission has just been formed
because a Brooklyn grand Jury
realized the effects of it's in
vestigation would only be tenn.
porary if a continuing body
wasn't established to carry on
the cleanup job. In Miami, the
bar association started the bal
rolling with a mass meeting at.
tended by 5000 citizens who
knew they would have to dea,
with the paralysis of their pub.
lie officials. In Chicago and
California, crime commission.
have bee9 working for year
to do what public official.
wouldn't or couldn't do-turr
a spotlight on crime and thu
people who let it live.
Any citizens group can urge
the formation of an independ.
ent crime commission. but Johr
@. Citizen and his neighborl
have to support it with none.
so expert investigators can bt
hired. And when the Grim,