The Vice Bondage of a Great City; or, the Wickedest City in the WorldHarland, Robert O.
History
The Vice Bondage of a Great City; or, the Wickedest City in the World
Harland, Robert O.
Chicago (Ill.) -- Moral conditions; Prostitution -- Illinois -- Chicago
The negro refused to do so. The "big boss" police official went to the
gambling fraternity and the result was that the negro was put out of
business. The night his place was closed, another, run by a friend of the
"big boss," opened across the street. The police never molested it. A
local lieutenant told the negro that the "big boss" police official was
known in the department as a "double-crosser."
"TIPPED OFF" RAIDS.
In violation of their oaths, the police daily hand the public that is
paying their salaries over to the gamblers.
Often they are compelled by public demand or through some newspaper to
raid places which are running flagrantly. Frequently, as has been shown,
the keepers of the places are "tipped off" before the raid is "pulled."
The keepers leave a "blind" to impersonate them and "ringers" to appear as
customers. These men are arrested with a great flourish and blowing of
trumpets by the police. They are fined. The fines are readily paid by the
real gamblers who are thankful to the police for the advance information
given them.
STRANGE IGNORANCE OF POLICE.
The police pretend not to know of the existence of gambling places, as
evidenced by the recent statement of a high police official when formally
asked by his superior if he knew of any gambling in his district. He
declared he did not know the location of one place and was sure there was
no gambling in his district.
A day later the Mayor of Chicago, angered at the fact that the gamblers
were flaunting their trade in the face of the public, and while a gambling
and police investigation was under way, ordered that a policeman be
stationed in every gambling house in the district of that police official.
Strange to say, although he had sworn he knew of no gambling, when he
realized that the Mayor meant business, he mysteriously found nineteen
gambling places that same night and stationed men in them. That is one of
the laughable inconsistencies of the police department.
One of the policemen, assigned to the work of standing guard over a
gambling house when questioned about the matter, said:
"Of course we all knew these places were here and running full blast. But
that wasn't the question. I have been a policeman for fifteen years and I
haven't been asleep all that time. I have learned that the policeman must
not obey the law written in the statutes. He must follow the tacit customs
of the department. A policeman must never make a move until he is told to
do so. If he does, he finds he is treading on some big man's toes and then
the transfer slip comes to him soon."
POLICE, BURGLARS AND PICKPOCKETS.
It seems incredible but investigation and constant observation has proved
that many big police officials and a number of smaller ones, have fallen
so low that they "hold up" the burglar and the pickpocket and make them
pay for their silence and protection.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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