POLICE, BURGLARS AND PICKPOCKETS.
It seems incredible but investigation and constant observation has proved that many big police officials and a number of smaller ones, have fallen so low that they “hold up” the burglar and the pickpocket and make them pay for their silence and protection.
There is a thieves’ rendezvous on the West side that is known to the police, but the members of this gang are rarely disturbed.
Every night detectives and policemen in uniform stroll past this saloon and salute the well known criminals lounging about.
Every day robberies, burglaries and holdups and the depredations of pickpockets are reported to the police. Rarely is stolen property recovered in comparison to the amounts taken.
But as an indication of the strength of the alliance between the police and the thieves, when some one demands justice in a strong voice that has powerful backing of a financial or political character, the police are always able to recover the property and restore it to its lawful owner.
A certain labor organization gathered through investigators, information sworn to, in affidavits, of the acceptance by policemen on the West side of protection money from well known crooks who have criminal records in every large city in the country.