Show i I The Days of Scarface AI Al Crime Bringing Back Bask Jittery Memories to Mr lair O. O By Frederick C. C Othman V WASHINGTON ASHINGTON The Renales senates senate's senates senate's sen sen- ates ate's inquiry into crime which it opposes is bringing back some jittery memories which I had hoped long long- ago to forget Mostly involving blood other othI peoples' peoples and arms and legs my own The general idea seems to be that the same gangsters who needled my beer 20 years ago in m Chicago still are aie in business at the same old stand Only now their breweries are legal and they have branched blanched out into other enterprises such as slot machines do dog races dope and confidence games on ona ona ona a national scale Or so said Virgil W. W Peterson the onetime man G-man who now is the slim sharp-nosed sharp director of the Chicago crime commis commis- commis sion Hes He's still fighting the gan gangsters but some of oC them continue to operate at the same ame addresses they used when I was one of that city's youngest reporters re- re porters Expert on Murder l I was the fellow who b batted l out of the office in those days for lor a quick look at the bodies So Peterson ran oC off the names that had become dim and shadowy in my mind mind Loud Loud LoudMouth Mouth Levine Leine Frankie Franl Diamond Joe Fusco Mops ops VOlPI Sam Sarn Golf Bag Hunt These and others he said are carrying on where Al AI Capone left of off and now have a working agreement ag with the worthies of or Frank Costello in m New York In my day the big big- business was beer This was a greenish I fluid usually with a little straw in the bottom bollom of the bottle which sometimes was fortified with raw alcohol and sometimes with ether It cost per jug in the joints that dotted the loop and the bartender opened each one with care If he didn't a 1 spray of oC brownish foam was likely to explode in his face Mine Host AISo Al AI AlSo AlSo So the boys always were shooting each other occasionally occasional occasional- ly they'd mow down an innocent bystander In the course of oC my business I met a good many of them while still alive I remember remember ber her well a party at which Scarface Scarface Scar- Scar face Al AI himself was host Im I'm afraid I was thoroughly impressed impressed im- im pressed by the fact that I was wa invited in but you youJI 11 ll have to put that down to my youth My fa favorite hangout was the biggest speakeasy in m the world This consisted of the third floor of an old loft building on West Madison at st. st It was big enough I Ifor for foot races On one side was a long bar bal on the other othera a hamburger stand i iI I spent a good deal of time I here cuI cultivating t i vat i n g my news sources I al also o spent a good deal of or my money on that alleged al allege alleged al- al lege beer One Sunday night the town was ryas quiet Id I'd banged out one small item item we we call em boxes boxe in the trade about trade about how there hadn't been a single gangster shot in a solid week And then I 1 did another piece about the biggest big speakeasy there I ever e was It was a colorful colorful dispatch if I do say so Too j George the manager phoned me the following day to re report report report re- re port that the boss hoss didn't appreciate appreciate ate the free advertising He said the boss had told him to tell me he was going to have my arms aims and legs brol broken cn This was standard punishment at the time for those whose offen offenses es deserved less than death For weeks I plied my trade in an inefficient manner on account account account ac ac- ac- ac count of the jitters Every ery timea timeR time a R big sedan came near me mc I Iwas Iwas Iwas was inclined to run But before before before be be- fore any bones were broken Al AI Capone was carted off to the clink I doubt if anybody appreciated appreciated ap ap- this as much as I did Ive I've been opposed to crime ever since Just like the U. U S. S senate Copyright 1950 by United Feature Syndicate Inc |