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About The advocate. (Portland, Or.) 19??-19?? | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1931)
H ic K m o t W rila r» >rnd llirir S t o r i o 1 ii >1 lo th e ! l l u. tra trd F n l u r r Section n in <*• mi T h e A d voca te ii *••*•••» m THK 1ELUSTUATKD FEATURE SUCTION— October :t 1. 1931 m il a ia a o s i n ik i : tíos is lot s» n a n »t tvi»i hection » i u is The Harlem Policy Racket $6.000 A DAY COLLECTIONS HAVE SHRUNKEN TO $685 NOW U C NV*r I l»c Dunbar llA iirr l'â liirr, in llarlrrn. i favorilr fur Ihe i u n n rn ! I l u n i l n i out plu<r T i l l P A R IS OK I'.S .A .— 135th S lrrrt and Seventh Avenue, with "S m a ll'» " in the background, where black and white folk* dance f om m idnight to dawn and many a runner i% to be found. R a ck e t O nce Em ployed 150 M en a* O verseer*, The [ n i ’" .h o h" s f h i h t " 1* t »•» dropped Into the cylinder cording to the taxicab driver, had In - M oney ChanRer* and R unner*. C ustom er* hand n u n U the baaa. |The com binations and the sequenc -s vested the other h alf dollar in a of the num bers drawn out of the c y l - ] dream book th at helped her to pick H ave O ne C hance in -5 0 0 of W inning. Middle and »lightly English accent proclaim * irider decide the winners. Various the lucky number. T h e West In d ian ¡him W ,,,t est Indian. Indian, d d rifts In and combination» pay odds running up to chuckled and "allowed th at he would M en G et 2 5 P er C ent C om m ission. ,,m’ * a w r ift. In — makes him at ‘•mne home on a broken .150 550 to I t i ... self -* borrow " th a t there dream bosk "T tie can e-seated ch a ir h e Boss" looks T h e Boss" whirls the cy lin d e r,1 Again and again "T h e B oss" whirls Hr U 'O K I I F and PAUL at hts wrist watch It U almost tune which spins for several seconds. T h e the cylinder. T h e second num ber It la »aid by thoiie who are wise on to grind out the num bers A taxicab room Is quiet. "Pult'em . boy,'* the drawn isn't on any ru nner's list. I t T h e Insid e •uch m atter» th a t "T h e O tay U»wa" driver walks In. followed by another, j voter of T h e Boss Anally co m m and s' ts a "house" number and "The By ts* D o p e of « h o runs the Harlem policy racket These are runners, gathered to pro- and the West Indian, with teeth sh in - tell* Dan to credit him with a h( n - H ow ih e cam e to New York from D etroit when And so so It it goes n ^ b t tect the Interests of th eir clients in nig In a pleased smile, gingerly reach- drrd dollar* And P o licy W h e e l atrong police activity In th at city the grlndout j es Into the cylinder and bring* out down the Une until all of the tubes it T u r n e d threaten ed the prosperity of flourish Upon them depends the success of four t u b s . handing them to Dan. ir e drawn out. a n d th e ing [mlIcy houses there. In the little T h e ru n n :rs collect their custo the policy game Elevator boy*, taxt- T he latter pushes the paper out of ••Number.” room on the third floor of the le n o x rab driver* and dance hall loafers.— each tube with his »tub of a pencil m ers' pay-off slips and depart T hey G r o u n d O ut Avenue house, where he makes his they canvass stores and houses In the and calls out the num bers; T h r e e ! will scrupulously turn In those win headquarter», he Is known »Imply and ning* to the proper custom ers per vicinity, collecting from m en, women S e v en ! Five! S ix " and children Im partially, T h e ir' Kagerlv eloquently as ‘"H*e boss Eagerly the the ruiui rs scan their haps getting a small percentage from T h e West Indian, the last of Long a fte r th e runner» have you may determ ine that the usual “route " also takes In tailor and bar lists. "T h a t's on m in e!" shouts one them bor shops, shoe-shining parlors and the runners to leave, treats 'T h e brought In their dally lake lo I>an. method a (Touts i.'.i 000 com binations, other places employing colored help, j of the taxicab drivers, "Nam e's Mrs B oss" to a final show of his te e th . th e dapper little fellow who, with the giving the house an 80 prr ren t break "The Boss" gives them a commission H eader. Pour b its!" A happy-go-lucky chap. T h e Boss ' walks over to the table of 20 to 25 per rent on their sales | "Okay." Dan calls, checking the sleeve* of hi» blue silk sh irt rolled "T h e Boss" carefully tears up all experim entally whirls a cylinder By ' i ' * , ‘m*‘ ! h ’ Mtl*f room duplicate list T h e taxicab driver is hi* tabulations into tiny shreds, puts to hla arm pits, checks up a t th e ' crowded with at least a dozen r u n - ' given a slip calling for a pay-ofl of on his coat and says goodbye to Dan. a< arred oak table, the Boss walks In. | th at revolves on an a tle mounted on a ncr*. W ith the help of Dan. "T h e $150 for M is Herter. If his customer T h e latter sm iles and carefully rolls mays "HrHo'* and peers abstractedly small stand Hits and a few pieces Bovs" has penciled several sm all slips had paid in a dollar instead of fifty down the sleeves of his blue silk shirt. out of the window where he sees at of rubber tubing are all th at are n e c - o ( i>a|>er In one to ten sequences and rents, she would have collected dou- T tie h o u s; Is ready for another day's But Mrs. Herter. a c - business. them in fciii.\ll rubber tubes ble th at sum th e corner a burly colored policeman esMiry for hla policy g.uue or nearly In all Im portance directing the sw irl all, for the strong gambling instinct of many people, of course, a highly ing tram« T hese storekeeper« in the »hop« im portant factor. An elevator boy, whose dark skui across the way, the ten an ts in th at w row of ap artm ent houses th at lint's th e avenue yonder, the dancer» who w rithe to the torrid strain s of Ja/jr. in th** d ance hall tap the block, all are hi» custom ers "T h e Boa»” takes off his coat, but not his Imt He Is sensitive, it Is said, '. 'Hr NMÑTMI OtiflW i about his baldness T h e cut of hi» SHtPM tttUft exiieiihive serge suit seem s a trifle v . sr .l f C I I * WlhHf extrem e for his com fortably middle- wav Mil*TAUT W titi***» aged figure, but It Is clearly tailo r- imnvMv. aAin*av,iti, m ade Well versed In psychology. " t h a o u t i l y à t AN Í H •The Boss" »hows an understanding im M iriM h a f \ n o u*n.i‘ # ti« r ts t< (•owkAW.Mr am A m i n o of nature th a t indelibly stam ps him vl: SIM Of T im I t 'l M S T I its a Southerner, although his speech IN M'AR! C W *; •’ does not b ’tray him. It is said that during the war, as a non-com m ission rti)'. & 6 m h t ! 't \ i ed officer In a Ocnrgtu training camp, ’ Hi 1 -8 (1 *!' PM U i'D i lie worked wonder» with a regiment „ 3»!f*t>flH»-YANÜ IH» jfl A\ii»*..oi * i'k vi t» M * . that dt«Tnot respond to the more ten* , M lto.m w TO t •. »Aim der overtures of tin* Northern ofay .ffl'V l \mi|\!N<. , ;h M, commissioned officers 7 fJO tftnytfrt'A .If 111 "W h a t's the take', D an ?’’ he asks, A r'i cw <r\ w , i r «uíu> — turning to the little blown m an who % n i $»%•&*> is busily figuring with a stubby «^.'ifli* U t o V, pencil. "S ix hundred clghty-flve, B onn ,** I s : »■ ■' s iaiw tin* answer, "A 1 if11«* off t«»day." V..<ll |l tv Jjtti fd f* Dan, who was with "T h e B o ss ' In D etroit, and who is fairly truthfu l, vourhes for the statem en t that in the old days "T h e Boss" took In about $(¡ 000 a day and employed about 150 men as overseers, money changers, and runners. Now, In 1« ss palmy days, he Is taking in much less, a l though the racket isn't a bud one. "T h e Boss" will tell you confiden tially th a t the custom er lias one ch ance lu .500 of winning. If he Uiinks you are wise to such m atters, TH E M EM ORIAL TO E M T IIE U I. SLA V ES—T hia S A Y S IIE HU* NOT HAVE E U E I UMM Ssr.A N O IN C . AltO U r C E LE BR A T IO N Dr he will casually adm it that the play- m arker which was creeled and dedicated by the Henry T. Mi Donald president of s t i r . , ( '..te - at ta r o -is Ferry m aking th r » r Ironie i t ’s ch an ce Is about 1 in fi.000, and if United II.in .lite r s of the Confederacy was unveiled address In Ihe I'.H.C. deleítales The n liltr sh a ll on I ir .iit.il .- l ie Jo h n Brown Memorial. von hniv'e • H' *n,’( v - -rniiv -* Horners E 'Crv. IV. V i.