CLEANING CHICAGO

Hokitika Guardian, 11 October 1932, Page 6

CLEANING CHICAGO

DECLARED .RESPECTABLE. LONDON, September 2. I have just had the real, inside, “ n ° boloney” story of Chicago told to ma by Mr “Tony” Cet-mak, the anti-gang-ster mayor of the lakeside city, who arrived from Paris .at Victoria last night. H.e is an extraordinary .man, .this politician who went into .office with ® pledge to clean out the racketeers, who sent .“Big Bi'A” Thompson scuttling for cover, and who put the name of King George .back .into .the history books of Chicago’s schools. “Nope,” he . declared with vehemence as we talked, “J have never shaken ‘Big Bill’ by the hand. “There are som e politicians you can fight and still not get sore. /Big Bill’ isn’t one. of them. He’s living in a yacht now on Lake Michigan, outside of Chicago Harbour. “He’s been beaten in c'vic /politics ; now he is trying to get control-.of the State of Illinois. • He’s got a .fellow named Small to stand for Governor on a Republican ticket. He’s going to be beaten again.” First of all I learned that Mr Cermak is inflamed with a burning re.sentment against the reputation his city has acquired/

f-It’s a lot of hot air,” he declared with emphasis. “Why, .. take Cicero, the place which has been; .despribed as A 1 Capone’s lair. fit’s ..tihe' most respectable part,of /Chicago, 4nd .most;of our mil'ionaires dive there ;jn b>r? au tiful homes. '*

“We . don’t mind if. the fellows .on the booze racket .want to shoot ,at one another. -They .don’t'.harm .the peaceful citizen. They only .succeed in destrpying themselves. “When I got elected I started .in at dhc e to clean things up. I had to start with the . police. That’s where our racket begins. “I held open b°H s © for the newspaper ’.ays, put the fear of a thougar/d, devils into the grafters who were hanging op to the civic pay roll—And look what’s happened now! . “Chicago is clean!”

Although • -Mr,.Cermak (pronounced •Sur-mack) is positive and emphat'e v on these points, he does not rap his argument out in machine-gqn fashion. His voice, is soft, and his conversation i* a'.mp-st a drone.'

“How about yourself?” I asked. “‘Oh, I get lots of .tlinepts, .blackmail, warnings, and so on,” he stated, “but ‘they can’t bamboozle me. -Tb e - boys on th e racket are. iso pretty badly shaken up by now that they have got to the point where-they have to write nasty, letters.

“In ‘Big Bill’s time- they used to say it with lead. Now they s.ny it .on rose-scented stationery. It’s too bad!