Call a Cop
-
By Charles Francis Coe
Eminent Criminologist and Author of
“Mr. * % % Gangster,” “Swag, "™ Votes”
+ + « and other startling crime stories,
PASSING OF THE
BOOTLEGGER
ARTICLE No. 1
NCLE SAM might very reason.
ably advertise “bootleggers for
sale,” Not that they are sala-
ble. It is simply that the good Uncle
has a great many of the breed of
which he soon must. make some dispo-
sition,
The problem is not only real, it is
acute, To understand it, and gather
an idea about what must be done to
solve it, we should analyze the hoot-
legger. We should know whence he
came, determine whither he goes. If
he goes!
He was, broadly speaking, a product
of the prohibition era
“millionaire
prohibition,
had
That is, the
with
always
Wis a
bootlegger”
Before that
the bootlegger. But
small-timer. He nothing but a
tin-horn tax evader. It is not exag-
gerating to say that the advent of pro-
hibition saw the passing of this art
of tax evading from the hands of the
original mountaineer and dry county
bootlegger into the hands of others
presumably more respectable.
But let no one tell you that prohi
bition made the gangster. America
had gangsters Just as vicious as pres-
ent-day gangsters long before the dry
era dawned as a national condition.
What prohibition did was to finance
the gangster through making the
small-time of bootlegg
national industry. The notorious
“Hudson Dusters” New York
a gang. They plundered and
they fought and brawled. But
were constantly In
poli They served a goodly
of their lives in
comparatively minor
were, in the language
nine “bums.” They ha
fcal influence, they contr
ftable commercial, acti
utterly lacked
came
we
he
was
business
old
of
the pe
offenses
of the
ties,
Prohibition
nation
ster, being a
criminal, undertook
booze. Suddenly he suppl
measurable quantities
urable profits. He
thuggery; none of hi
pensities:
lost
none
methods of operatic
came rich, and
It quickly dex I
metropolitan areas w
would pay well for
followed that no one wae
interested in
law. The danger of
negligible but the danger
was mighty. The differenc
A bootlegger caught ply
could pay his “1
to arresting officer
the court. This made him
Prosecution wds nothing but
tion, nd 1
enough so long as you passed its cost
slong to the consumer of
Millions rolled in. Petty gangster
p ed out because the boot egging
business attracted cute lawyers In
search of great fees. Their ability to
do this had more far-reaching results
It attracted to bootlegging competing
gangsters,
They were still gutter rats:
thugs; still human vermin as
scienceless as serpents, They brought
to the commerce their usual commer
cial methods : black jacks,
knuckles, pistols, finally machine
guns, PBootlegging became a mighty
business with mighty profits, It was
a simple business, easy to learn. A
brawny arm, a stultified character and
f& sodden understanding were worth
millions,
The whole thing grew with almost
magical speed. The only fundamental
change in the old-time gangster was
the lifting of him from the status of
an alley rat with a blackjack and a
sweater to a boulevardier with a bou-
tonniere and a limousine. Under the
seat of the limousine was a machine
gun. In the background was a shy-
ster lawyer with a habeas corpus and
a venal judge living on the fat of the
land through bootleg bribes,
Now the change. Sentiment is rout.
Ing prohibition. If it passes, the United
States will have an array of the most
murderous bandits of modern time
without “work.” No more the endless
stream of gangrenous gold: no longer
the overflowing coffers of beer and
booze wells; no more the “alky-cook.
ing” millions which offered profits of
1,600 per cent a drink and sold for
anywhere from 15 cents to two dollars
a gulp. That is gone,
Inevitably the gangster reverts to
his old status, But here is the chronie
and acute angle: he is now a gang
ster accustomed to ten-course dinners,
star sapphires and peaked lapels,
Platinum blonds occupy a definite and
indispensable place in his life. He
uses limousines, presents diamonds,
contributes to elections. He has as
sumed an immense political power
through the Information he has on
venal officials now in office. Ie has
learned to operate without murdering
anything but competition. Is it to be
expected that the repeal of a single
law Will change this yegg? Not for a
second,
The problem, then, is simple. With.
out bootleg revenues where will he
y
i
sy fF ne
enforcing
nDrose
i
§ trade
egal fee” in dvance
the instes
persecution
booze,
still
COHN
brass
operate? What of all his luxuries?
Can he keep up the pace without turn.
ing to crimes of violence?
of the last
Kidnapings
position in
not. The records
months prove this.
assumed front-page
News,
few
American business the
Those who know
know bootlegging has not
big-shot operation for some fourteen
months. It got so it cost too much to
fix murder trials, square “raps” and
operate within the bounds of profit.
But bootlegging has taught the pow-
er of the legal technicality. Gangsters
formed corporations and as such
preyed upon business under the pro-
tection of the law. Shysters reaped
a harvest by directing sabotage, In-
timidation and monopoly enforced by
the machine gun and bomb.
Today literally billions of dollars
are being extracted by the scalpel of
force in the hands of murderous
thugs who were spawned In the gut
ter, who throve in 1
thought and to the
of bribery, malfeasance and org
corruption.
People ask If the
turn to of
passing of prohibition. The answer is
frightfully simple. He already has, In
the upper crust of the underworld to-
day bootleggers are as scarce as Hot-
tentots In the United
Bootlegging no longer
are wise to
broad. Attempted
waned, thus
distribution
pays
their
price,
been
sinms of
distortions
zed
arew
bootleg
will
with the
rer
crimes violence
States senate,
pays. People
prices. Competition is too
enforcement has
increasing the eake of
of ,
ability of law has been made
in the mind of pre
i That g for all
result,
Vices ” w
liquor, The en
doubtful
Oorce
the fessional
erim
he
Lion
trial activities
the
the boot
This t
is not
On the other
id as it s
the busines
» prohibition was ch
us because
‘lent to
crime of viole
ven profitable.
Successful erir
on a great scale,
ture
nur
nw
Ned
petty
gangster
corruption hire skill
yers, Footpads cannot that,
ther can burglars, robbers,
thieves and the like. The
who became the bootlegeer must
in become the gangster
he has never changed except in purse.
He old with
a few new ldeas conceived in bootleg
gold, a few new am to
trip him up, a few confidences that
will prove mantraps as his bootleg
revenues change into those for which
he must resort to violence
There is a way and a simple way to
rout the involves na.
tional action, It demands a ur ification
of protective measures that never can
be subsidized by local politicians and
criminals. So closely are these local
politicians and eriminals allied that
the line of demareation between them
Is often Indistinguishable.
It 1s a deadly truth that the boot
legger never could have grown as he
did without political protection he
bought with bootleg money It is a
helpful truth that the passing of pro
hibition will enable honest officials to
break the tie-up between thief and
cop and so disrupt the so-called gang
ster organizations the country over.
The nest few years will see tre
mendous developments in American’
criminal codes and procedures. If some
decent and sane social order is to
survive, these developments already
are appearing obvious in their de
mands,
The bootlegger who has turned
racketeer Is on the way out. The
speed of his exit will be comtuensu.
rate with the speed of the special or
der In enacting simple and far-rench-
ing measures for the establishment of
order and the banishment of the worst
criminals the United States ever has
tolerated.
Even now the federal government
Is moving against the racketver. A
senate sub-committee investigating
this form of eriminality has just been
assured by President Hoosevelt that
do
now
aga
because
bheetliohrow
is the same
bitions certain
racketeer It
ernment will be at the committes's
disposal.
1933, North American N ’
i ail Ino ~~WNU Service)
The Movies
Copyright by Mal €. Herman
BY AL JOLSON
movies at all. I think I sauntered
|
And there was a “welcome” mat In
the hall! At least I did a lot of “look
ing" before “leaping.”
I “looked” into the
times during the years that Immed!
ately preceded the development of
Vitaphone pletures, but I couldn't be
convinced that the silent screen was a
proper medium for me to use to reach
an audience,
Several producers and directors tried
to persuade me but I was always dubl
I went so far as to make tests
to plan a story, but I was still dubious
and finally decided that the silver
screen was for me,
movies several
ous,
I'm still spektical
tures—but the public
in its approval of, “The
and “The Singing Fool™
I had resisted some t«
try silent
road with my
the sug;
mpling
to on
the
“
was
Boy”
make "
cussed,
the picture and
show
hen
“singing”
We were |
before we
the
make the experimer
Warner Brothers who had just then
perfected the Vit who had
approached me with
th iow and
thought
ded to
enver wi the
left there IT had
proposition and de
over
ST
that
re
ence,
Having m
learned tl
the bre ak.
Brot
tures and that I was
Warner
long time before I lean
leap was made into the me
Bo regrets,
Buck Jones Has Played in
More Than 300 Features
Buck Jones has been a
screen star for than twelve
years. After ten years with Fox, he
left that organization to produce in.
dependently. Three years ago he
Joined Columbia and today
holds the remarkable re ord of having
appeared In than 200 feature
screen plays,
A fan poll conducted =n year ago
by a national magazine, revealed that
Buck Jones was the most popular out-
door screen star in the opinion of the
millions of the publication's readers,
The rapid development of the Buck
| Jones Rangers clubs attasts to the
star's appeal to the youth of America.
| Some 3,000,000 Rangers are enrolled
throughout the country, in these boys’
i clubs with a goodly portion of them
i meeting regularly in more than 500
theaters,
successful
more
pictures
more
; Hobart Bosworth Played
i Leads to Notable Stars
Hobart Bosworth started his stage
career In 1885, subsequently appear
Ing as leading man for Minnie Mad.
dern Fiske, Julin Marlowe and Henrl-
etta Crosman. Mr, Bosworth had the
distinction of starring in the first ples
ture ever made In Los Angeles, In
1000, "The Sultan's Power” A few
months later he wrote, directed and
played the leading role In “The Sea
Wolf” He has appeared In “Blood.
ship,” “Flight,” “Dirigible,” and “Hur
ricane”. His most recent pictures In
clude “Fanny Foley Herself,” “Carn
val Boat,” “County Fale,” “Phantom
Express,” and “The Miracle Man
All Districts Will Be
Reached in Time.
By J H Newton, Deputy State ¥
glat, « y y Colleges F {re
tation. — WNT
Occurrence of
all the alfalfa-producing areas of the
Western states 18 only a matter of
time, First discovered in American
alfalfa fields near Salt Lake City In
1904 or 1905. this native lnsect of En
rope has spread since then to portions
of seven of the ne ghboring states,
It was In 1917 that the weevil was
first discovered In Colorado near Pao
nia, in Delta county. Since then it has
spread to parts of Mont
rose, Ouray, Moffat. Routt, Rio Blanco,
Garfi®d an Mesa
Is also an isolated infestation
Gunnison,
counties There
nt Glen
The
insect has been at an
of six les per season
failed to
wood Sprin
spread of
average
Garfield cou
this
rite
Careful scouting work has
reveal the
continentn
Quarantines were n
pres
enn
xpected to
[ the vil that
be expected from flight and other
natural mear They are intended to:
1 Prevent prom uling
hays and
most mn
the
= To
EBlntes,
ent the WE
of
the
carrying
cuoug ha
straws thus et
for
and
witant av
insect
mee
thus ns
Orchard Irrigation Is
Us dd by Ohio Growers
Lif red 1% 1 1
Fermenting
to tomato
At
try.
x hts
Were «
come
thea
Nintes
yper.
ultural exne
ion
ntation
anism
largely
present
d extracted by the ms
disease more
the genera
Age of Freshening
Advanced
Registry records, Prof, C. W. Turner
the Missouri of Agrien)
ture has drawn the following conclu
sions concerning the effect of age at
first freshening upon the later produc
tion of heifers: moet
milk and fat production (utilization of
nutrients) will be obtained by breed
ing animals to calve ut from 20 to 24
months of age, maximum production
at about 30 months of age. and with-
in 5 to 10 per cent of the maximum
production at from 23 to 28 months,
depending upon the breed.”
the examination of
In
of College
“The efMicient
Copper Carbonate for Smut
Copper carbonate ix the most effec
tive chemical for the control of cov
ered smut of barley, according to the
results of experiments conducted at
the University of Idaho agricutural
experimental station farm at Sand
point, Copper carbonate has been
used for the prevention of bunt or
in wheat for many
recommended for the control of the
smuts of other cereals.
Wa oR
Milking Time Respected
When a large farm was moved by
ly, the railway arranged the schedule
so that the cows conld be milked at
time In the evening and arrived at
Stalbridge early the nest morning, and
the 17 cows apparently were sate
fied. Fourteen farm hands, nearly 100
head of Hye stock and several car
loads of furniture and Implements
were moved — Washington Star,
HALF AND HALF
They had bought a second-hand ear
and were taking their first trip in it
After covering the
driver became aware that something
He stopped the ear,
my d
several miles
was amiss,
“1 say, my dear
wife, “have a look at
your side and tell
thing
“Oh.
after a
one’s flat at the bottom, but it
he sald
the tires
me if there's any
10
on
wrong with them.’
it's quite all aid,
rear
round
careful “The
enough at the top
Making It Even
“A wir} who £
never go out
the maiden un
“Oh, It's all
too,” replied
Stray Stories
Seeking Relief
“What makes our friend
ley keep talking abou
“Maybe to
Mr, Dum
keep nind off it,’
Miss Cayenne ‘He
never
said one of
those people
what they
who
Are saving
Slight Mistake
Visitor to a Hote
thin that you can
A BIT THICK
The manager of the big business
stormed into hi ead
and banged a fist angrily
his desk,
“Smithers,” he eried nously,
“this is outrageous. | distinctly told
You you could only take seven clear
days’ holiday, and here you have at
lase put in an appearance the
eleventh day. What is the meaning
of it?
“Oh, yes, sir,” said
ly enough, *I have an ex;
Three of them were foggy." —London
Answers,
firm clerk's
office on
om
on
Smithers, cool.
dianation,
Less Will Do
Kind Lady—Why are
little boy?
Boy-~I've lost a dime.
Kind Lady— When did
Boy-—This afternoon and
has sent me out again to
itt Sh ays if 1 can't find | n
nickel would do. (Mont.
real),
you crying.
lose 17
mother
for
you
look
~azette
REALLY NOT HER FAULT
Wifey's Objection
Have you noticed ti}
Quite Simple
4
wb ommsnsned
TT]
Horizontal,
ToNaruh
Sem oung gont
Glieeply engrossed
Peiirgane of head
12«=Dull, spiritiess person
13eTarchasable
10wEsclamation of regret
1 Ne Pant imes
20m quick pull
2H aving beem victorious
ZdweSmall room
24Finh eggw
FheeT art
Vw Girl's mickname
2wlong period of time
B0iime who follows up
AdeePoy's first name
2431 MOYER
BeeTo pull with force
20 FIL
Apt niversity official
42Prevarieate
AhTrcomen ntigued
45%=Poy's mame
Ae intress signal
TeeMixture of earth and water
Ae neloned (poetic)
HbShoemaker's tool (pl)
Bee ¥ e Movew
Sdefelonging to mn person
BleeTo run off
B7wwAcquires by labor
BBeetmpressed
BOF len
Sle=Nickname of martyred President
62m weight
Vertical,
Fenliod of love
BeeShort sleep
dla know (Seoteh)
BemEnglishman's salutation
words)
Te=Projecting piece of wood
Be Denter
Peelivnppening
100A Mirmative
11«Fave hone
12«Mnansion
TéBig
(two
18Te earn
1TeParted with
IDCame face to face with
Ne hrintman carol
L3==Prefix meaning by means of of
through
26~Author of “The Inferno™
Teh eguire
I8emBelonging te am eastern
yersity
PPA drill
emDomentie animal
Bleeds pp
2G~Foreible stroke
Bl eTassagewny
A8eTtarkened
ABT make amends
40 Middnyn
4lwMetal stamp
44euChnfe with friction
48-Carpenter’s tool
4Dlmtin or French for “ia®
BleeThick nalfce of anything
B23w=To Initiate
BElemalirl's mame
bet pon
EfTo be In debt
bBS—Rodent
unde
The solution will appear in
next issue.
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