Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-03-17
Continued From First PAGE

0~S@A6 Az PAAObA~o4AJs AAV WAAA GALL
without any warning whatever
from Portland to Texas. wher
he happens to have been born
His fantastic memory. he thinks
may have come from his lifelonl
preoccupation with remembering
cards and dice combinations
Craps and 81 are his business
and his recreation.
II gamble because like II
gamble" he says. "and after thi
I'm going to do it legitimate. il
Nevada"
Bored by Legitimate
Actually. he says, he coult
have made more money in wha
he calls Legitimate" but it bore
him. He had. for instance, il
1949-50. a highly profitable
slaughterhouse. but he gave it up
There was no excitement il
it at ALL" he explains.
Still. it is plain that Elkin
brought something of a business
mans care for details into hi
CLANCY chosen livelihood. Oper
ating his three AFTERNOONS club
in Portland. he didn't bothe
about protection-beyond may
be a buck for the bull on the bea
at Christmastime" - he special
lied in preventive measures. HI
rented an apartment across thu
street from the Liquor Commits
sion. His help manned the win.
dows, memorized the faces Of thu
Commission. These people wer'
turned away at the door of hi.
clubs. He also had lookouts posted
at the municipal garage to watch
for the departure of trucks which
would signalize after-hours raids
Keen Sense of Public
ElkinS has keen sense of pub
lie relations. too. He always wen
around the neighborhood, point.
ing out the advantages of hi,
clubs to local businessmen. Fol
such a man, the primitive Team
ster-sponsored approach was
jarring indeed.
For one thing. Tom Maloney
Frank Brewster's enormous side
kick. and Joe Mclaughlin, the
Seattle gambler who also was a
friend of the Transfers, proposed
to operate without paying any
income tax.
To Jim Elkins not too many
things are sacred; but the in
come tax is. There is no way
you can operate without you pay
that" he says in his granny
tones.
Moreover, they was going to
move into prostitution. they was
trying to organize colored town.
They even wanted to take over
legitimate card rooms, anything,
oh Lord, that would make dol
lar"
Town of Small Operators
Even if Ida felt like it, you
couldn't do it in a town like
Portland. It's a town of small
operators. Once the horse book
was run by syndicate, l think.
but mostly it's every man for
himself"
Il didn't want to get into a
fight with them. tried to freeze
them out I would introduce
them to the punchboard men.
But they just couldn't get the
wheels creased"
Elkins had always had
cordial relations with the team
sters' union, because his pinball
machine operators belonged to
the union. But although vari-
GUS deals were still pending,
Elkin's dragging of the feet was
noticed and the situation rap
idly deteriorated to the point
where he had a tape-recording
machine installed in Tom Ma
loney's apartment.
This Elkins did, he says
humbly, because he never
thought that anyone would be-
lieve him if he told his tales of
the teamsters' expeditions into
racketeering.
Then he went to the District
Attorney whom he and the team
sters had helped elect. William
Langley, and told him about the
tapes. Langley, who, at Al
retins adolscent good looks,
heard the tapes in the Caucus
Room the other day and took
the Fifth Amendment.
Langley promised to be good:
but instead, wrote a letter to
the Chief of Police accusing
Elkins of prostitution activities.
Truth Is His Religion
That tore it because, as Ell
kins puts it, If a guy says
he's gonna stop doing what he's
doing and he don't do it, / never
trust him again, If I've got a reli-
gion, it's to tell the truth; or if
! can't, then no comment.
Besides. Elkins makes a point
Of not being involved in prosti-
tuition.
Thereafter, ElkinS turned
over his tapes to the Oregonian
and promptly was plunged into
trouble 40 times worse than l
ever seen" The Teamsters called
and threatened his wife. and his
ll-year old daughter, Nancy,
who is the light of his life. He
got indicted for overlapping,
he has mortgaged his house and
sold his insurance to fight back
Transfers Western Conference
chairman Frank Brewster, he
says, told him he would be "wad-
ing across Lake Washington in
concrete boots" for dealing so
harshly with teamsters' friends.
Il had an awful time says
Elkins of the beginning of
his career as an informer. Il
had to tell my wife and my
daughter about my record"
Did Mrs. Elkins know nothing
about his record? he was asked
Well" he replied dryly. she
knew I was no angel. but I was
always more or less home