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HEAD OF CHICAGO'S SECRET. SIX’: TELLS OF THE WAR UPON —— All the Arts of the Spy, Saye Randolph, Are Used in the Effort to Chicago i still working to atamp out ite underworld gange. | Recently George BE. Q. Johnaon, United States District Attorney, told a Senate eubcommities of the difficulties encountered im con victing Al Capene and acme of the other leaders, In the follow- ing article the founder and head of the famous “Secret Biz” e2- plains how that organisation of citizens operates in oiding the authorities. By ROBERT ISHAM RANDOLPH. i Cu1cado { HE ‘Secret Bix” sounds lik romantic fiction, but it is the newspaper pseudonym for the Citizens’ Committee for the Prevention and Punishment of Crime, pecial committee of the Chicago Association of Commerce, organized in Februasy, 1930, during my first term a2 president of that body. I ‘appolnted the committes with the authority of the executive commit- tee of the association, and because I refused to tell the newspaper men the names of the members of the committee one fournalistio eenius dubbed It “the Secret Bix.” } He served us better than he know, because, quite unconsciously, he had ‘given us the weapon of the paychol- oxy of fear and the rats of the un- derworld began to scurry because ‘they didn't know where this mys terfous ferret was going to strike. The fear persists today, and because some of the biggest and the fattest rats have been trapped in the last two years the fear has grown and about in thls way: Under the corrosive fnfluence of the most corrupt and degenerate municipal sdminiatration that ever cursed @ city #@ politico-criminad a)- lance had been formed between civil Trap and Convict the Criminals of the City’s Underworld 3 oe ge ‘Activities of the “yndlcate.”| ‘The law of the land was the law of the gun, and there was no appeal from its edicts. “syndicate” control was so complete that speak- sasies, were not policited for business. but bad their assessment of beer and booze ‘delivered to them whether they wanted it or not, and even ad Yo take “‘syndicate” pretsels and potato: Thipe and use the “syndicate”. itmen service. “Byndicate’ strong-arm men took over labor unions, particu- larly in the service industries, and the citizen paid the “syndicate” 4pricé for much that he ate and drank and even for the crease in his trou ors. The citizen was not much eon- cerned when riva) bootleggers killed each other, even when they were shot down in batches of seven, as they were on St. Velentine’s Day in #71929, The citizen did not often get caught in the crossfire, and tt was no affair of hin, He [iked Ais booze with « kick in it and he didn't care whether it came from Bermuda or Canada or @ bath tub in Maxwell Street es long as it looked, tasted and acted like booze. We are e complacent people and thie condition might have continued ' without much protest if the invisible ‘government bad not become eom- placent itself. Success made it eon- temptuous and organised crime made the mistake of attacking organised Business. A contractor's superinten- “dent was shot. The contractor be longed to the Association of Com- jmerce. He wanted to know what he paid dues for and what we were 'going to do about ft. The answer, !was a conference between the exec-. jutive committee of the association Jand the Btate’s Attorney. The ques- ition was what might be done to atop crimes of violence in Chicago. _ a a Tr a 4 ES | Co g gj a & 5 3 ‘The Btate’s Attorney had a con-| jatructive suggestion. ‘T have a staff; ef \nvestigators,” he said, “whose, duty ft is to dig up evidence for | aaa 32-18 944 PEED L127 administration and the gun-governed underworld for the exploitation of the eltizen, and the ‘syndicate’ con- trol was spread @ cover all of Cook County. The “syndicate” had brains and gyps. The civil administration lacked prains end courage. So the “syndicate” became -the invisible, government and levied Its toll on Mfe and property, on all business, and a — 2-ISFHI-PEX | all classes of soclety, <>