'Political Assassination1 Of Chicago
Alderman Recalls Gangland Killings
EDITOR'S NOTE: The slay
ing of itn alderman bat put a
spotlight os (ha machinery of
political and perhaps under-
world power In a great city.
A ITI special reporting team
Including veteran Chicago
.-"crime reporter Robert T.
Loughran, Fred Mohn and Da
; vid Smothers, arrived at the
;44th Ward headquarters of
: "Benjamin (Duke) Lewis shortly
after the Negro politician's bul
let riddled body was discov
ered. The story of the slaying,
it political overtones and the
past violence of Chicago's po
litical wars are detailed In the
following dispatch.
A ITI Team Report
CHICAGO (UP1) - Police seek
ing the "Chinese execution" kill'
ers of Alderman Benjamin F.
.. . Lewis today followed a trail of
; politics, power and "policy.
The politics were biglime.
Lewis, 53, whose slim, manacled
body was found stretched on the
: floor of his headquarters Thurs
day, had won reelection to the
City Council by an overwhelming
majority only two days earlier.
His power was growing and
there was talk that he aspired to
Congress and to the throne of
Rep. William Dawson as leader
of Chicago's Negro Democrats
i There was talk, too, that Lewis
', had made dangerous enemies in
I his battle to control the tough
I West Side 24th Ward.
! "Policy," the nickel and dime
Lakeview Man Wrifes
Of Afghanistan Life
LAKEVIEW - Another interest
ing letter, dated Dec. 15 and re
ceived Jan. 7, has been re
ceived here from Tom Crawford
who, with his wife, Beulah, Is
in Afghanistan as an irrigation
. adviser for the U.S. Bureau of
;- Reclamation. He says:
"We are now settled in a mud
brick home with concrete floors,
; plastered walls, and GI furniture.
' The electricity is not too depend
" able and the water is dependant
on the electricity.
"Native beef and lamb are plen
tiful, but the bulk of our food
travels by railroad and truck
from Karachi. Pakistan, and
takes several weeks from order
to delivery. Beulah has become a
real good bread maker using na
tive flour, and we haven't re
ceived our first shipment of gro
ceries as yeti j
"The weather Is dry and it has
been down to 17 degrees for a
few nights, but we take our jack
ets off in the afternoon. The win
,ter wheat has been planted as
well as the root crops In our
'garden, so things are continuing
normally for Afghanistan.
"The nomadic groups and tribes
have made their winter camps
below the largo canals on land
that Is not farmed. Their thou
sands of camels, sheep, gnats and
donkeys seem to be every place
as we drive along the ditches
THE GIANT STORY OF MODERN
'. '-kjfii Mac Mahou Elizabeth Alien- i,i,iii8ittRotiis
.V,.HntlWIMnlli
j(ieFsit -
SS3
ENDS SATURDAY!
"THE MONGOLS" ond
"THE TROJAN HORSE"
Rock Hudson
Doris Day
Tony Randall S
(3
II, CBtlKMI COLO
Hilt ilWK. Inr flint vnitrKiru
IT- .iM
gambling racket which preys on
Chicago's Negroes, was an un
known factor. But it could be the
big one and it could mean that
Lewis fell before the expert gun
of an assassin from the ranks of
the Chicago Crime Syndicate. It
has happened in Chicago before.
A Lewis lieutenant, ward Dem
ocratic Vice President Curtis
Foster, said "The hoodlum ele
ment was trying to come in with
policy. He (Lewis) said "Over my
dead body.' They killed him for
revenge.
Like Old Times
The Lewis killing was like the
old times much too much like
the old times and it raised
fears that Chicago has not shed
the ghost of Al Capone and his
gangster shock troops.
The three automatic pistol bul
lets fired into the base of Lewis'
skull were echoes of a bloody tra
dition of political vendetta, a tra
dition harking back to the days
of Capone and the letnal 20s when
the game of politics could be
deadly in the 24th Ward and the
neighboring "Bloody 20th."
Through the decades, Chicago
politicians have been shot, knifed
bombed and kidnaped. Sometimes
their slayings have touched oil
shock waves of reforms. But none
of these victims had the power,
and political potential of Ben
(Duke) Lewis.
A state representative called
the slaying "political murder'
and there was no keeping the
murder out of politics. Chicago
and canals. There are no fences
but I haven't seen an animal on
planted land nor anywhere he is
not supposed to be. It seems as
though the herders tell their stock;
where not to go and the animals
comply. That is the result, any
way. "The Afghan dogs are large, up
to 90 pounds, if they are in good
shape. They have massive headsl
and foroquarters, with ears
clipped off tight. Their purpose)
is protection of livestock (not
herding) from wolves, jackals,
and men.
"Today is Friday or "Jouma,"
tlie Moslem sabbath which we
use as a day of rest, and also
to catch up on our correspond
ence.
"I mentioned that I was going to
have 6nails in Paris. They
wcren t on the menu in the par
ticular restaurant wo visited, but;
I did have squid in Rome, which
is a very good sea food. When
served it appears to be onion
rings. It is somewhat tougher,
however.
"Our only first class travel was
from Rome to Bierut. The carrier
was Air France and the plane
was a two-engine jet, the Caravel,
The cocktails, filet mlgnon, bran
dies, cheeses, liquors, mints,
etc., accompanied the view of
the northeastern Mediterranean
and southern Greece. It was
memorable flight."
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CONTINUOUS SAT. t SUN.
FROM U:4S
Rock Hudson
Gina LOILOBRIGJDA
Sandra Dee
Bobby Darin
1
LaaJTrlllBl
Mayor Richard J. Daley, one of
the most powerful individual
Democrats in the nation, is up
for reelection April 2 and his op
ponent, former State's Atty. Ben
jamin Adamowskl is no man to
pass up a vote-swinging issue.
Within hurs after the discov
ery of Lewis' body, Adamowski
issued a statement charging that
the slaying was "another chapter
in the sordid history of the Chi
cago Democratic machine. . .We
are apparently at the beginning
of an era of violence and blood
shed."
Orders Go Out
The mavor ordered his police
superintendent Orlando W. Wilson
to "apprehend and bring before
the bar of justice the culprit who
committed this dastardly crime,
Orders went out to:
Make an hour-by-hour check
of every move Lewis made since
Tuesday night, when he strode
into Daley's Morrison Hotel head
quarters in the Loop and jubilant
ly announced he had won reelec
tion by a whopping, vote of 12,179
to 888.
Find whether the Crime Syn
dicate, hard pressed by federal
and city police raids on policy
wheels elsewhere In the city, was
trying to force the racket into the
24th Ward.
Discover whether the man
who placed a mysterious tele
phone call to police shortly alter
the body was discovered was
crank or killer.
At an hour when Lewis' slay
ing was not generally known in
the city, the caller said "I got
Lewis I'll get Biggs next." a
police guard was placed at the
home of Robert Biggs, a Demo
crat who made an unsuccessful
bid for alderman of the 29th
Ward in the Tuesday election.
Charles Chew, a Negro candidate
for alderman involved in a run
off, said he got a threatening rail
and police established a guard
around his house.
Make sure Lewis didn't fear
for his life. On his last night, he
asked police Sgt. James Gilbert
of the nearby Filmore Street
Station to telephone him. It was
eporled Lewis told Gilbert in the
7:30 call "I'm all right." Then he
Vaterfront
Boss Dies
NEW YORK (UPD - Anlhony
Touch Tony) Anastasio, 57, over
lord of the Brooklyn waterfront,
died early today of complications
following a heart attack suffered
two months ago.
Anastasio was an international!
vice president of the Internation
al Longshoremen's Association
(ILA) and business manager of
I LA Local 1814. ,
Often arrested but never con
victed, the swarthy dock boss was1
the brother of Umberlo (Albert)
Annstasia, reputed Czar of Mur
der, Inc. who was shot to death
in a barber shop in Manhattan's
Park Sheraton Hotel In 1957.
The brothers spelled the family
name differently.
Of late Tough Tony s power on
the Brooklyn docks, once unques
tioned, had been under siege. Fel
low dock bosses ousted him from1
the wage scale committee of tlie
ILA. and his vice presidential po
sition had been challenged.
Anastasio suffered a heart at
tack on Jan. 2, and after a stay
of several weeks In Brooklyn s
Long Island College Hospital, was
discharged. But complications
from the attack caused his death
there early today.
Anastasio a rise through Uic
tangled power web of the Brook
lyn docks was steady. Though
never convicted of tlie various
crimes he was charged with
ranging from assault to murder
he Inspired fear and respect In
his associates.
Acquaintance said his temper
could be fierce. But his home life
was quiet. A widower, he lived
with his daughter and son-in-law
Anthony Scotto, organizational di
rector of Local 1RI4, in a middle
class neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Tony was one of six brothers
in his family to come to this
country from their native Italy.
Three others remained In Europe.
One of his brothers, the Rev.
SHlvatoro Anastasio, now is pas
tor of a Roman Catholic Church
in the Bronx.
derail anil $ eto
Klamath Pura, Ortfwi
Putlllha ailv (! ! l am luMai
Serving Sawtham OrttM
an Nartnarn California
v
Klamath Pufcllininf Campany
Main at lialanatft
Fnana TUiMa llll
W. s. 3attlanC. VualKHar
ntaiad at tace:itf-claia maltar at TM
toil afflca al Kiamatn Fall. Orttan,
A Awfusl . I4. Mfftfar act arf Can-
frati. March J, tin. lacafia-claaa pair
t MM at Klamath alalia. Ortffvn,
nd at aMilianal malllaj ffKaa.
Carrlar
I Mmtk t .
I MaMM ItiM
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Mall in Atfvanca
I Mamii i .n
Mantna Itaaa
I Yaar tll.M
Camar ana1 Daalart
Wtthtfay a SvMay. lY lac
UNITSD Mill INTINTIOSL
AUDIT tUPKU O" CIRCULATION
tubtcrlbara nat rxalvlnf llvtry at
Ittair Htraht an Nawt. alaata phaaa
Tuiwa Hill aatara I P.M.
said suddenly "I'm sorry, I have
to hang up now."
Facts Clear, Baffling
The facts in the case were clear
rad baffling snd the scene was
a white columned stone building!
which previously had been a
bank and a mortuary.
Lewis, still glowing over his
Tuesday victory, left his wife El
la and their red brick home on
Fillmore St. at 3:30 p.m. Wednes
day. He checked into his office,
paid a brief visit to the Morrison
Hotel Democratic headquarters,
and then returned to his head
quarters at S.
The headquarters on drab West
Roosevelt Road were new and
imposing, covering most of the
two floors of a Grecian-style
building which had housed the
Community State Bank and, later,
a funeral home. Invitations were
going to city hall that very day
for the gala opening Saturday.
Lewis went to his freshly pan
eled, modernistic office on t h e
second floor and closed the door
with his name on it behind him.
Building Manager James H. Smith
heard the alderman's telephone
ringing constantly, right up to the
time Smith went home at 10 p.m.
At home, Mrs. Lewis wondered
why her husband hadn't returned.
He had never, she said, stayed out
all night. She awakened at 4
a.m. and again at 8 a.m., but did
not call police.
At 8:47 a.m., janitor Joseph
Brown wondered why all the
lights were on in Lewis' office,
investigated, and found the boss of
the 24th Ward spread on the floor
beside his desk. Lewis' hands.
locked In handcuffs of a type used
by Navy MP's during World War
II, were cradled over his head.
A filter cigarette, burned down
to the fingers, was between his
fingers. The radio on a table be
side him still was playing.
Murder Method Clear
The method of murder was
clear. The killer had forced Lew
is to don the handcuffs, then
stepped up behind him as he sat
and sent the bullets crashing into
his skull. A green leather cushion
from Lewis' chair had been used
to muffle the shots. The modus
operandi bullets fired into the
base of the skull Is known as
"Chinese execution."
There were other professional
touches. The killer had apparent
ly entered through a back door
by popping the lock and tum
blers. A corridor and spiral
staircase led to Lewis' door.
Robbery was out as a motive.
There was no sign of struggle,
Lewis' $200 suit was undisturbed,
the expensive watch was left on
his wrist, the heavy ring on his
finger, the $36.25 in his wallet.
Coroner Andrew Toman estimat
ed at first that Lewis had died
at around 8 a.m. Police discount
ed the theory. They pointed out
that the alderman's car was still
parked where Lewis had left it
at S o'clock the day before. There
was a half inch of fresh snow on
the hood.
Other Political Slayings v
Who killed Ben Lewis was a
question which may go down in
Chicago history with tlie old po
litical cry "Who killed McSwig
gin?" McSwiggin, known as the "hang
ing prosecutor" started the cur
rent era of Chicago political kill
ings when he was machine gunned
in front of a Cicero saloon in
1921).
Dangerous
Cat Hunted
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (UPI
An "extremely dangerous'
black panther was believed loose
in the foothills northwest of San
Fernando Valley today only 10,
milos from heavily populated Los;
Angeles suburbs.
A day-long search for tlie pan
ther failed Thursday, and a
spokesman for the Ventura Coun
ty sheriff's office said its search
was being halted and probably
would not be resumed unless
lead was found.
But Hcinze mine, owner of a
private zoo from which the pan
ther escaped, said he and his em
ployes would begin a search of
their own.
Ruhe said the panther was nor
mally afraid of people but could
turn into a killer if cornered. He
urged hunters to shoot tlie ani
mal on sight, but ottered a $1,000
reward to anyone bringing it back
alive.
He said the animal, alued ati
$2.0(10, could forage lor food andl
live indefinitely in the sloping
loothills.
Csut-to-GHui
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7
START OF LONG DRIFT
Beach, Calif., and his wife
raft Lehi V in a dinghy as
photographi them. Pulling
btach is Donald McFarland
member. Lehi V sailed on
voyage.
I
I
Death Reprieve Sought
For Two Irish Setters
PITTSBURGH (UPD - "That's
the end. Every dog has his day
and so has every man; and the
end is tlie same for both. We die
like old Caesar and are put into
the ground and have the earth
shoveled over us."
It was Mr. Trigg speaking in
Green Stamp
War Opens
SALEM (UPD - The perennial
Green Stamp war formally be
gan Thursday.
A leading stomp firm warned a
proposed bill would "effectively
stop the use of trading stamps in
Oregon."
The bill, sponsored by Bep. Eu
gene Hulett, D-Eugcne, would re
quire stamp firms to issue stamps
to any merchant who wants them
It also would require a stamp
company to pay a $5,000 annual
license fee to any county in which
the company docs business.
John Howarth, distric; manager
of the Sperry and Hutchinson
Stamp Company, said tlie bill
would not regulate, but in fact
would end the use of stamps in
We state.
Evangelist
Gets Tests
HONOLULU (UPD - Evance
list Billy Graham was undergoing
tests at a local hospital today
and it was feared he might have
to postpone his forthcoming Asian
mission.
Graham entered the hospital
inursoay lor examinations of an
acute undetermined infection."
Doctors said it will take 48
hours to run a complete scries of
tests, and three additional davs
of evaluation to determine if
Graham can depart as scheduled
to open his crusade in Manila
March 11.
The evangelist had come to Ha
waii to relax prior to starting his
Asian crusade. He told UP! he
felt he had overcome the effects
of a lung ailment that has both
ered him off and on for the past
five years. But he admitted he
had been running a fever for sev
eral days and was feeling weak.
Despite Ins weakened condition.
Graham talked enthusiastically of
the Asia tour which lie said could
be "one of the biggest crusades
we have ever held anywhere."
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to c
DeVere Baker, 47, Redondo
Nola, 44, start toward the
an unidentified cameraman
the dinghy away from tha
of Torrance, Calif., a crew
the second leg of a global
U PI Telephoto
W. H. Hudson's "Death of a
Dog."
But if Pennsylvania Gov. Wil
liam W. Scranton and the assist
ant superintendent of Pittsburgh
police have their way there
will be many more days for two
prize Irish setters condemned to
death.
Brickland and Sunny Birch
prized show dogs were owned by
Miss Ida M. Capers who died in
January at the age of 72. Her
1 decreed that the dogs be de
stroyed after she died. She feared
that new owners would be unkind
to the dogs. Death was better
than cruelty, she reasoned.
Attorneys William McC. Hous
ton and Fred C. Houston Jr., ex
ecutors of tlie estate were reluc
tant to carry out the death sen
tence. They appealed to Allegheny
County Orphans Court Judge Wil
liam S. Rahauser who ordered a
reprieve for the dogs until an
audit of the estate is completed
The audit may - take several
months.
The plight of the Irish setters
struck a sympathetic chord in the
heart of Assistant Police Super
intendent Lawrence J. Maloney
who is preparing for the annual
St. Patrick's Day parade.
He vowed "We'll save those
dogs, you can be sure of that.
They'll be in line of march come
March 17."
Vandenberg
Quits Plane
LA GRANGE, N.C. (UPD-Maj
Hoyt S. Vandenberg Jr., son of
the former Air Force chief of
staff, parachuted to safety near
here Thursday shortly before his
crippled jet fighter exploded in
night.
Vandenberg, 34, married and
the father of two, was on a rou
tine flight out of Seymour John
son Air Force Base at Goldsboro
when the aircraft developed
trouble.
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PAGE i A
iiii i
HERALD AND
Weather
Roundup
Temperatures during the 24
hours ending at 4 a.m. PST today.
High Low
Astoria 52 44
Baker . 50 31
iirookiags 58 44
Medford 54 37
Newport 50 44
North Bend 54 43
Pendleton 59 41
Portland 54 42
Redmond 60 35
Salem 49 40
The Dalles 60 44
Chicago . 27 17
Los Angeles 79 57
New York 36 27
San Francisco 66 54
Washington 48 34
Five-day weather outlook:
Western Oregon: Recurring
rains. Temperatures below normal
in Northwest Oregon and near
normal in Southwest Oregon.
Highs in 40's, lows in 30's.
Eastern Oregon: Near normal
precipitation and temperatures.
highs in 40 s and lows in 20' s and
low 30's.
Northern California: Mostly fair
with clouds north part.
Western Oregon: Partly cloudy;
high Saturday 43-50, low tonight
28-38.
Eastern Oregon: Mostly fair;
high Saturday 35-45, low tonight
22-32.
The Dalles and Hood River:
Partly cloudy, few scattered show
ers; highs 46-52, lows 26-33; gorge
wind west 15 to 25.
Bend, Baker and La Grande:
Fair; highs 45-31, lows 24-30.
Reds Forced
To Fly Long
Supply Line
WASHINGTON (UPD - Soviet
TU114 airliners have been con
ducting a weekly drama in tlie
skies over the North Atlantic to
keep Communist supply lines open
to Cuba.
Denied refuelling rights or
otherwise restricted by a half
dozen counties, the Russians for
two months have been forced to
operate a difficult and expensive
airline service 5,000 miles non-stop
trom Murmansk to Havana.
The TUlHs, civilian counter
parts of the Bear bomber and of
the reconnaissance planes which
have flown over U.S. fleets, take
off once a week from Moscow and
fly north to Murmansk to fuel up.
From Murmansk they fly only
over international waters. They
head out into the Barents Sea,
skirt the northern bulge of Scan
dinavia, pass between Iceland and
Greenland, pass Newfoundland
and the New England coast and
finally slip between Florida and
the Bahamas into Cuba.
The TU114, a prop-jet, is said
to have a range of up to 6.000
miles with maximum payload of
15 to 16 tons of cargo or 120 to
150 passengers. Tlie payloads ap
parently are being reduced for
extra fuel.
The planes are operated by
Aeroflot, Russia's state airline. No
one knows what the cargoes are,
but if any strategic goods or mili
tary personnel are included, it
could be highly embarrassing for
the Russians and the Cubans to
have to land in the United States
or Canada.
39
95
- 1
SEWS, Klamath Falls, Ore.
Partisan Election Bill
Proposed In California
SACRAMENTO (UPI)-A two
hil' series designed to make coun
ty and municipal elections par
tisan was complete today.
Assemblyman Phillip Burton,
D-San Francisco, introduced hisl
well-advertised bill to allow pai tl
san elections in cities of more
than 100.000 population yesterday.
"I want to emphasize that this
is permissive and not mandatory,"
said Burton. "It would develop
young leadership for both par
ties." But Burton was virtually all
alone with his bill. Most members
of the Democratic leadership of
both chambers said publicly and
privately that they could not sup
port such a measure.
Earlier in the session Burton
introduced a bill to allow county
supervisors to be elected on parti
san tickets and announced at the
time that he had a similar meas
ure for local elections.
Republicans charged that such
a measure smacked of political
"bossism." Assemblyman John
Veneman, R-Modesto, said Gov.
Edmund G. Brown, as attorney
general in 1956, had ruled that the
legislature could not constitu
tionally provide for such elec
tions. Assemblyman Jerome R. Wal-
die, D-Antioch, tlie Democratic
floor leader, joined in to say that
he would "strenuously" oppose ef
forts to make local and county of
fices partisan.
"This bill is designed to get
Democrats elected in Los Angeles,
San Francisco and San Diego,"
Waldie said at the time. "But
when we have the strength we
have, why make the Democratic
party stronger? It could lead
to irresponsibility."
Richard Carpenter, executive of
ficer and chief counsel of the;
League of California cities, also!
opposed the bill. He called it
'the surest way to return Califor-:
ma to the political bossism that
prevailed in the state 60 years
ago."
Burton leaped to the defense of
his twin proposals.
The same hue and, cry was
raised when the legislature first
seriously attempted to abolish
crossfiling," said Burton. "I ex
pect healthy debates on the mer
its of this proposal."
Although he apparently was not
willing to predict tlie 1963 legisla
ture would pass his bill, Burton
went this far: "I believe we will
see the day when local elections
in the metropolitan areas of the
state will be partisan."
For the first lime since the ses
sion began two months ago, one
house scheduled a Friday session.
Friday, March 1, 1S6
The Assembly was in recess but
the Senate met.
Other action in tlie legislature:
Labor State Sen. John Holm
dahl, D-Oakland, introduced legis
lation establishing a State Labor
Relations Act.
Voting Burton introduced a
bill setting the voting age at 111
and said that most 18-ycar-olds
are well versed on current affairs
and should be allowed to express
themselves at the polls.
Sessions Freshman Assembly
man John Moreno, D-Santa Fe
Springs, introduced a constitution
al amendment to allow regular ses
sions of the legislature every to
years. At present, there is a gen
eral session in odd-numbered
years and a budget session in
even-numbered years.
March Limps
In Like Lion
By United Press International
March limped in like a frost
bitten lion today, dumping fresh
snow across the center of the
country and drenching the South
with rain.
With spring only three weeks
away, the mercury at Lone Rock,
Wis., dipped to 16 degrees below
zero and Spencer, Ind., reported
7 inches of new snow.
Shclbyvillc, Ind., had 6 inches
and Dayton, Ohio, had 4.
Heavy snow warnings were is
sued for parts of Kentucky, In
diana, Ohio and the West Vir
ginia Panhandle. Snow was ex
pected to move into Southern
New England and New York by
nightfall.
Thunder and lightning accom
panied rain squalls from Louisi
ana and Arkansas to Alabama,
Tennesee and Kentucky. Lufkin,
Tex., and Pine Bluff, Ark., re
ported more than an inch of rain
fall in six hours.
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