The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-10-19

No varieties Of this biological
necessity" were overlooked by the
mobs-slot machines, punchboards,
cards, dice. roulette, wagers on
sporting events and the numbers
racket. But the big killing came
when they successfully penetrated
illegal bookmaking on horse races.
Thereby, a vast and corrupting new
industry-the gang-dominated wire
service-was born.
The colossus of the racing news
industry today is an organization
known as Continental Press service,
a virtual monopoly.
From Arthur M. Mickey Nc
Bride, of Cleveland, Ohio, and his
bald, seemingly disingenuous broth
er-in-law. Tom Kelly, Of Chicago,
both Of whom were unhappy wit
nesses, we obtained a remarkable
biography Of Continental press.
Mcbride insists he started Con-
tinental on a modest $40, 900 bank
roll purely out Of sentiment and
good will to provide a job for his
brother-in-law, Kelly.
The new wire service set up elabo-
rate precautions. Instead Of selling
news" direct to bookies, Cont
mental set up regional distributors"
to whom it sold its service. Cont
mental would gather the racing news
through an elaborate nationwide
system and would telegraph this in
formation to its distributors. Nc
Bride himself admitted that Cont
mental got the news out Of the race
tracks by either going in and pay
ing a concession price, or taking it
out otherwise" The otherwise" in
cluded use Of spies with high pow
cred telescopes and ''wig-wag"
men.
The distributors, in turn, pass
ed the news for a price to thousands
Of illegal bookies all over the coun-
try. Continental was not supposed
to know anything about that. II, !"
Mcbride irrelevantly remarked,
never have been in a bookmaking
joint in Is years" Finally Mickey
YEARLY acknowledged the obvious
fact that certainly" Continental's
news eventually got to bookmak-
ers."
We isolated instances where
parties, supposedly operating as in
dependent distributors, actu all
kept only small salaries or percent
ages and RENTED thousands Of dol
lars-the bulk Of their profits-to
Continental.
From Mickey Mcbride, who APP
peared at the Cleveland hearings
in a suit of ''race-track plaid, I"
hand-painted suspenders and a very
sincere bow tie, we elected the
tortuous story Of how Continentaps
ownership shifted back and forth be-
tween the McBrides and the Ragen
family. Mickey himself never
wanted to run Continental. so in the
beginning he went to an old col
league, the late James M. Ragen
Sr., and asked him if he would
take over. In 1912 Mcbride said
he sold out to Ragen's son, James
M. Ragen Jr. The following year
Ragen Sr. took over and put pres
sure on Mickey to return to the
business.
Mickey compromised by buying
one-third of Continental back for
$4,000 as an investment for his
son, Eddie, then 10 years old.
Ragen's difficulties with the Cap
one syndicate actually went back a
number Of years, but in 1916 he ran
head-on into trouble. The Chicago
Capone mob had been cycling Cont
mental Press; If they could seize
control it not only would provide
them with a Golconda Of profits
but would be a source of jobs for
literally thousands of hoodlurns.
The only trouble was that Ragen
Sr. was a tough. frascible Irish
man who wouldn't play the game.
He refused to be ''muscled."
The mOb's initial approach was
Id the form Of a conciliatory but
thoroughly dishonest proposition, adj
vanced by three leading syndicate
members, Jake GREASY Thunb)
Guzik, Tony (The Enforcer) Ac.
cardo and Murray (The CameD
Humphreys. The mob sweetly in.
sisted that all it wanted to do was
to cut itself in and help build ur
the business. ,----.'s-s =
As RAgen saw the picture, how
ever, once the mob had moved in
and had gained sufficient experience
to dispense with his ''know-how,''
he would be found some morning
dead in an alley.
AS part of the Incredible seen.
ario. according to Ragen, the Ca
pone interests used Dan Serritells
as their emissary. Serritella had
served in the Illinois legislature al
a senator for IL years. during par
of which period he also was engaged
in the business Of publishing Z