MURDER AS A PROFESSION

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3872, 8 March 1915, Page 3

MURDER AS A PROFESSION

A NEW, YORK INDUSTR Y. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 5. In a great city like New York, into which has poured the off-scon rings oi Europe, it is not to he wondered that, some forms of crime, which, are supposed to be peculiar to certain foreign countries, should flourish. Amongst these is that of the hired thug and murderer. For a fixed, price it is pos- ; siblc to hire a. man in New York who will either kill or brutally beat his designated victim. Some hundreds of criminals are known to the police, as engaged in this industry. Aroused public opinion has in recent, months stirred the police into an active campaign against this category of crime, and there are at this moment some 200 gunmen in gaol, either charged with or suspected of crime. Attention was first focussed on the work of the professional murderer in New loin i on the occasion of the slaying of Holman Rosenthal, in 11H.2, as the. result, of which four men, who, according to the evidence, were employed by a captain:of police, to remove Rosenthal, were executed. Now the people or New York have been angered by another professional murder, almost as sensational. The wholesale poulty trade would seem to be a peaceful enough occupation, but in New York.it appears to have been carried on with, the hit truest and most reckless . rivalry. . So much so that some -oi his business competitors deckled on the •‘removeof Barnet Baff, a poultryman in the "West "Washington market. Nothing was easier of accomplishment. j. w o gunmen, or gorillas, as they are called in New York, appeared in an automobile at the market'early one mOining while Ball was at- work, severa! revolver shots into his oody, inflicting mortal wounds.. AIL the information in the possession of the police points to these conclusions:—— That certain of Balls business rivals raised a murder and defence fund oi '£looo, with which they hired the gunmen and the chauffeur for too job. . Two gorillas are now under arrest in connection with the crime. The pouitrymen believed by the. police to he the really responsible parties are under daily surveillance ot the strictest character." They have not yet been arrested, because the district attorney is not prepared to produce evidence enough to ensure their staying in gaol once they are put there. Much evidence has been unearthed as to the I provision of money for the payment jof lawyers to defend the gunmen ; under arrest. . .

As stated, the people of New A ork ere aroused against (lie maintenance of a svxteni of professional murder in their eitv, and the police have been devoting unusual effort to eradicating the dirty spot. During last year more than 200 gorillas were placed under arrest. Amongst these were some notorious leaders, including • ‘Dopey Benny.” whose was fomenting murderous strikes. ‘‘Joe t] lo Greaser.” who tried to take ••Benin's'’ place, was also arrested, and is now held on a charge of murder. All these ’murderers have som. striking nickname. ‘'Gyp the lilooo ami •'Dago Frank” will remembered as two of the murderers oi ltosenthal. Police Commissioner W oods, one ot the heads of the New York force, recently furnished some startling facts about the business of murder and assault ns carried on in the American metropolis. Prominent among those who create a demand for the duty work of the gunmen he placed certain business" men, men. ostensibly respectable. ‘•'The" employ the gunmen to act as strike breakers. There are certain detective agencies that openly make a business of supplying gunmen as strike breakers. It was in that capacity tat the gunmen first entered into their alliance with business, but seeing the possibilities of this field o> graft through, violence, they have stretched its bounds far beyond its original limits. They now work the game both ways —they work for the employers and they work for the employee's. They work for the employers to break a strike, or they’ll work for the employees when there is a strike to scare off workmen who come to take the place of the strikers. Not only do they do this, hut they. foment strikes. Their method of doing this is to get hold of some fellow in a shop and nay him so much to start a strike. Then thev go to the employer .and got j.im to hire them as stike breakers, or they go to the strikers and cot to employ them as ‘scab beafcrs.’ It is a simple little game, and it has kept certain trades m « ferment.” It is also said that in so>ie instances when manufacturers have lea rued that a rival concern has obtained a- good contract the gunmen have been Lived to stir up a strike, in order to cripple the rival’s business, hut Commissioner Woods said lie knew of no instances of that sort, although lie knew the. gunmen were ready for any kind ol crooked work. Out of this hiving ot gorillas to do acts of violence m furtherance of business interests has grown the practice of employing them to assault and kill rival business men, as in the Buff case. Before Baff met his death there had been a long scries of assaults on men in the wholesale poultry business, and the murder was a- culmination of active and violent warfare within the ranks of the business. Speaking of the price foi which these profession a.l thugs anti murderers could he hired, Commissioner Woods said it depended, on hoW hard up the gunman is, and how risky the job is: but he had been reliably informed that those gunmen could be hired to heat up a, man —make a hospital ease out of him, even ‘‘hoot him, that is, knock him down and stamp on his face —for 10 dot. (T-A----“Of course, if it were a man who ■could stir up a fuss the price would be higher,’ said tlie commissioner. the .part of town frequented by the intended victim would be another factor in fixing the price. If the victim were obscure, and the job could be done in an obscure part of the town, T would not he surprised if a gunman who was hard up could have been hired to do a killing for a sum not much in excess of 10 dollars.’ In the forefront of those who make the murderous work of the gunmen or o-ori'la. as a marketable eommidity, Commissioner Woods places certain politicians of the district leader class. “I nut'these men in the forefront. _ he said “because it was only through their brazenly frank influence or backing that the gunmen developed the. reckless defiance that.has characterised their activities in recent ynfivs ” Until recently, the gorillas and men of that elnss-not all ot whom, however, would proceed to the length of murder—were used tor repeating” on election day, .and tor intimidating citizens at the polling booths. " But the commissioner says that now. the district politicians pie afraid to use these violent methods, ■an . aroused public opinion having driven them to cover.