◆ SpookStack

ce ee er ne aaa, 0 there is honor among thieves.” There isn’t any euch quality in the -fraternity. There is fear which seals ‘Lips, but there is nothing akin to ‘Joyalty in it. The criminals are all first cousins of Judah and there is “not one of them who would not sell his own brother for a price if he - thought he could de it without de tection. “Thirty pieces of silver’? was the price of the Crucifixion. The current - market price of betrayal ranges be twedén a “‘C’’ note ($100) or a Grand ($1,000). We buy this kind of in- formation at the market and pay for iC. O. D. Sometimes we buy bad - information, but we never buy a gold brick from the same man twice. If they want to continue to do business with us the information must prove up under our Investigation. It usually does. . ; Help Given to Authorities. In spite of the fact that Al Capone made public acknowledgment when , be was convicted that the Gecret Six ‘had licked him, we do aot claim the « credit for the long series of oonvic- tions of public enemias acconplished by the State's Attorney and the United States District Attorney. We have been helpful in apprehending criminals, in developing evidence, in the protection of witnesses and in doing many things for the prosecu- tors which they were not able to do for themselves, and they have been kind enoligu W awake puvuc acknowledgment of the value and effectiveness of the service. We are not required to account for the money we spend except to a small auditing committee whose per- sonnel changes monthly. This com- mittee destroys all money records every month after it has given its certificate that it has examined the accounts. The purpose of this is obvious. The continued existerice of the records might jeopardize many of the agents and operatives of the committee. Many of the ringleadera of the 1 “syndicate” are now in jail, but the biggest step in breaking up the politico-criminal alliances that hed become the invisible government ‘was taken in the municipal election a year ago when the thieves were turned out of the temple and a new administration pledged to good gov- ernment was elected by an over- whelming majority. The Secret Six - doesn’t claim the credit for this, bat : ° the Association of Commerce had a fot to do with it, and the same citiien group has been sitting with the new * administration as counsellérs tm the. \. reorganization of the municipal cor ry eon a ce oe ree Ap ‘e could not have picked a shan better qualified than Anton J. Cer tak by training, experience and nat- ural capabilities to reorganize the elty government and bring order out of chaos. The first appointment he made as Mayor was thst of Colonel A. A. Sprague to the post of Com- ralasioner of Public Works. Colonet Sprague ie a leading citizen of Chk — cago, a wholesale grocer, a director of banks and railroads, a man of ‘courage, ability and integrity. He ‘bad served the city well in the sme office under Mayor Dever, and there — was no one better qualified for the post, which he accepted at great per- sonal sacrifice. At the time of his “sppointment he was chairman of the Citizens’ Committee for the Preven- tion and Punishment ef Crime. For Corporation Counsel, the Mayor appointed Francis X. Busch, « lead- ing member of the bar and a lawyer of ability and integrity, who had held the post under the Dever Admini» . The Mayor aleo appointed 2 Civil Service Commission of outstanding ability and integrity and it has been busy weeding out the scum in the police and other city departments which had come to the top through bribery and corruption under the previous administration. To the post of City Sealer, who is the inspector of weights and measures, he appoint- efi a merchant whose principal busi- ness is selling bottling supplies to the citizen who prefers wholesome home brew to bad Capone beer. : Ag Commissioner of Poles, Mayer Cermak chose an officer selected by the Citizens’ Advisory Cemmittes without regard to politics or ether influence. In fact, the Mayor hed never seen or spoken to Oaptain James. P. Alimen before be sent fer him on the recommendation ef the committes, and he made the appoint- ment without eny strings to %. Cap- uictjone goers’ experience. iio i -one years” . extremely intelligent, is honest and courageous, and is admirably qual- ‘#ed for the difficult task of rebuild- Ang a demoralized police department. {Wor Chief of Detectives, the Mayor appointed Captein William Shoe maker, who knows the ways of the ‘denisens of the wunderworkd and ‘handies them without gloves. . - : It hag been well sald that we get tthe kind of government we are sm titled to, but we don’t get good gow ernment unless we demand it. We ‘pave made the demand in Chicago ‘and we are getting delivery em Ge- mand. We are not goformars. We don’t expect to make a spotiess town -out of a metropolis, but we do not propose to be exploited longer bys lot of rats who would not come ont of thelr gutters except for the greed , that brings them out en masse to get _the easy money that the prohibition Jawa have tempted them with. The ‘fattest of them have been trapped, lbut there ia ati a lean and hungry horde of others and we will hare to continue to fight them until the i poodit i taken out of beer apd boom, €:.