CANADA CHECKS CRIME.

Western Star, 3 December 1935, Page 3

CANADA CHECKS CRIME.

DEALING WITH GANGSTERS. “BLUFF CUTS NO ICE.” Gangsters, gunmen and organized criminals are common enough in the United States. But you hardly ever hear of them in Canada. The reason was supplied to me by tho Hon. M l ' .Justieo MacKinnon, of the Superior Court of Quebec, who has been on a visit to ■London, writes a representative of tlie Evening News.

I met the judge at the Savoy Hotel, lie is a short dapper man whose eyes miss nothing. “So far as Quebec provineo is concerned, it is like this,” ho said. “About six or seven years ago masked gangsters staged a bank robbery. They held up a van taking money from one branch to another.

“There was a gun battle in the streets, two bank employee.; were killed, and one of the bandits fell mortally wounded His pals picked him lip, placed him in their car and drove off. The follow died in a few minutes, so they removed all identification marks from liis clothing, emptied his pockets, and threw tho body into th© gutter. They got away. “The police were quickly on the scene. Thev searched the dead bandit again and found in a waistcoat pocket

-crap of paper no bigger than my little finger—just a scrap of paper the bandits had overlooked in their hurry. Tt had a telephone number on it. Without losing a moment file police located that number and the bandits were caught- redhanded as they argued over the loot. “The bits of cloth cut out to mjake eye-holes in the masks littered the floor. It was a ‘fair cop.’ . .” The Judge’s dry voice ceased. H© had forgotten me and wa s back among tho memories of that famous case.

“And what did they get?” I prompted. “Get? W© hanged five of them,” he replied grimly. “That definitely dis. couraged banditry jn Quebec province and though we have had a bit of trouble now and then, that lesson has never been forgotten. “Another strong deterrent is the 'cat.’ Any criminal caught carrying arms gets the lash. I think it is th© indignity rather than the actual lash: ing which inakog them so- afraid. No matter how hard a fellow may be, however devoid of human feeling, th© lash breaks down his personal pride.

"Best of all, in our criminal court wo have two fine men on the, Bench, Chief Justice Greenshjelds and Judge Wilson. Both are absolutely fearless and administer the law justly and impartially. "Gangster bluff and bamboozling cut no ice at all. If a man is guilty he gets

what he deserves without fear or favour. No, gangsters don’t like ns ini Quebec.” Just in passing, Mr Justice MacKinnon told me that in three-quarters of the cases he hears—a British Judge ■in a British court —not a word of English is spoken. In Quebec th e old T’rencli is still in general use.