“Detroit Sets a Bad Example”
Have the students carefully read the following selection and then answer the following questions:
1.
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What is a “blind pig?”
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2.
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Discuss the profits made by the owners of the “blind pigs”
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3.
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What disguises may you find at a “blind pig?”
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4.
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What was a “Tip-Over Order?”
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5.
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What does the author mean when he says; “the law is ninety percent controlled?”
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6.
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Describe the relationship between the police and bootleggers.
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The following extract is from the article “Detroit Sets a Bad Example” by Ernest W. Mandeville (
The Outlook
, August, 22, 1925, p. 612). It examines the retailing of illegal liquor in Detroit with particular reference to the corruption of the local police.
Detroit, Michigan, is an excellent example of a wide open booze town. The time limits of my stay in that town prevented me from visiting all of the twenty thousand “blind pigs.” I think I did my duty as an investigator by going to a dozen or more of these places.
The “blind pig” conditions are worse in every way than in any other town I visited and the liquor sold is of a terrible quality. The profits here on needle beer are one thousand percent. Moonshine profits are slightly over that. “Moon” as it is called can be bought for $2.50 a gallon and redistilled denatured alcohol for about $3.00 a gallon. Both of these are sold in the “blind pigs” for about 25 cents an ounce, which would bring in $32.00 a gallon. “Blind pig” owners have no scruples and you can be sure you will be served liquor that will bring in the most profit.
“Blind pigs” are scattered all over the town. A good many of these places are run by women, and in many you may be entertained by these women. The fact is that they are centers of immorality as well as illegal liquor. Most of the vices of Detroit are said to center around these “blind pigs.” Narcotics are said to be distributed around them, crime plots are hatched there, and criminals mingle among respected families.
In the downtown section every manner of store front is used to disguise these “blind pigs.” I went to a radio shop which seemed very well equipped and had several salesmen and clerks in attendance. A very respectable-looking gentleman nodded recognition to my friend and we walked through the railing gate, back through the stockroom, into a fully furnished barroom with easy chairs, a white-coated bartender, and several people sitting nonchalantly around the bar sipping their drinks. This same experience was repeated in a trunk store and a laundry. I was even told of an undertaker’s parlor that stored its liquor in caskets.
I talked to one saloon owner who complained of the very high grafts he had to pay. I was later told, however, that this man had become extremely wealthy running a “blind pig.”
Detroit a while ago enacted a “tip over” order which allowed policemen to enter a saloon or “blind pig” without a warrant and tip over or rip out anything he wished. He could use an axe on the furnishings and confiscate the liquor. Since my trip to Detroit this order is no longer used.
This “tip over” ruling elevated the position of the bartender. Saloon owners had to hire bartenders they could trust with money payments. If the saloon was entered and about to be “tipped over” by the police then the bartender had to act quickly and supply cash from the register for the police who were bribable. Therefore, on the checkup of receipts with the owner, the bartender’s word had to be taken if hundreds of dollars were missing from the cash register accounting. The bartender also took the risk of being arrested. Bartenders would be paid $75 a week and $50 extra each time he was arrested.
Ten years ago a dishonest policeman was a rarity and was pointed out and put on the tape. Now the honest ones are pointed out as rarities. The result is that the law is ninety percent controlled. The policeman who is honest is shifted around from job to job, making his work very unpleasant.
The relationship between the police and the bootleggers is very friendly. They have to pinch two out of every five once in a while, but they choose the ones who are least agreeable about paying graft. Jails are full of bootleggers, but they are almost all foreigners who have been making booze in their kitchens.
The booze pay-off doesn’t go very high up. The Police Commissioner makes a persistent and conscientious effort to enforce the law.
But the lower officers make a business of dealing with the bootleggers. As soon as any saloon or “blind pig” opens the owner is propositioned, then they handle him, then everything is all set. These are the terms they use.
Seven policemen have just been dismissed for ignoring the recent order “not to frequent ‘blind pigs’ while on duty.” There might have been many times that number dismissed. These seven policemen say they were framed by the rum interests, who have a grip on the police officials and wanted to get rid of them. Think of it! Having to issue an order to policemen not to commit an illegal act while on duty.