The Sun remembers 1952: Where I Stand — Hank Greenspun: ‘There can be no compromises with the underworld’

Friday, July 21, 2000 | 9:37 a.m.

Note to readers: This column by Sun founder Hank Greenspun appeared on Feb. 21, 1952.

Chicago is now beginning to pay for its many years of winking its eye at proper law enforcement and condoning the tie between the underworld and politics. The biggest reform wave in 35 years is threatening to rock the city and country administrations right out of office.

One bullet started the avalanche of indignation on the part of the people of the Windy City; the shot which killed an obscure politician who was attempting to put over a reform movement. Even the St. Valentine's day massacre did not cause a people's revolt because the incident was passed over as one mob killing another. As far as the people were concerned, it was good riddance.

But when a minor individual who was trying to work in the people's behalf was murdered, the resulting roar brought on a rash of investigations and sensational charges which threaten the careers of many officeholders.

Laxity on the part of the public is the quickest way to lose control of government to the underworld. It requires eternal vigilance and alertness to keep the reins of power from passing into the hands of the evil element.

Once the agencies of civil authority make a concession to the criminal element, a complete breakdown of law enforcement takes place. There can be no compromises with the underworld. A law enforcement agent should hate crime. To allow one person to get away with something is the first step in the degeneration of law and order, because the next step comes easier and from then on, winking the eye at crime becomes the rule instead of the exception.

The combined municipal and county agencies here have been meeting the past few weeks in an effort to arrive at a coordinated plan to combat crime. Part of the time was taken up in throwing verbal brickbats at the Tax Commission for supposedly licensing undesirable elements. The Tax Commission is meeting shortly and will no doubt think up some answers and counter-charges to hurl back at their derogators.

What both groups should try to understand is that they both have similar powers where the admission of licenses are involved. Both agencies can either grant or deny a license without taking a precedent from the action of the other. Trying to shift the blame from one group to another will no more solve a problem than two kids calling each other names.

Any group composed of human beings is fallible and subject to the temptations and lures of the men who buy favors with money. One member of a group can make the whole outfit look bad. The indiscretions of one man can place the whole body of men in a position of disrepute. It is therefore incumbent on any agency to police its own to make certain that no one individual succumbs to temptation, because the reflection extends to the whole group.

There is talk going on about passing more stringent laws to control the gambling industry. If such legislation is really contemplated, it is a colossal waste of time, effort and money because more laws are not the answer; it is proper enforcement of those laws already in existence. You cannot legislate to curb man's greed or morals. Avarice is a quirk of the human mind that can rationalize any wrongdoing.

Whether prostitution should be permitted to exist should not be left to the discretion of the law enforcement agencies. The people should legislate their desires. Permitting houses to run in violation of the law with the connivance of peace officers is a compromise with crime. Once a concession is made, others will follow until a point will be reached where the dividing line between law-enforcement and law-breaking will vanish.

Respect for law and order can only come through proper enforcement. The enforcing arm of the government should not be the one to decide who is to obey the law and who is not to be held accountable.

The solution to the problem of undesirable elements moving into southern Nevada is not in passing additional laws, but in enforcing those laws already in being.

There can be no compromise with crime.