Gangsters and Organized Crime in Jewish Chicago by Alex Garel-Frantzen

Author:Alex Garel-Frantzen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2013-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

5

POOLROOMS, FLASHLIGHTS AND GUNS

Jews in Gambling, 1890–1920

A special campaign, with flashlights and guns, is not necessary in the Jewish district.256

—the Daily Jewish Courier, July 1914

Years prior to the McCann trial, Julius and Louis Frank were saloonkeepers at Halsted and Madison Streets.257 In addition to state senator John Broderick’s bar, Frank Bros. was a popular establishment on the West Side near the turn of the century. Like several saloons of the time, it housed large gambling rooms that often attracted great crowds of players and spectators.258 This was particularly true on Sunday, November 4, 1900. “The stud and draw poker tables,” the Chicago Tribune recounted, “were crowded all afternoon and night” at the West Side saloon.259 Rather than suppressing the open gaming, as was customary of late, police gave the “tiger freer rein” and put forth no effort to interfere.260 It was, after all, two days before the country’s presidential election, and that afternoon, a giant Democratic parade had filled the city’s streets.261 It was little surprise, then, that gaming at Frank Bros. went uninterrupted.

In Chicago, politicians utilized gambling as an instrument for raising campaign funds. As elections neared, gamblers, such as Julius and Louis Frank, pledged money to a politician or party in exchange for promised immunity from prosecution.262 The Chicago Tribune noted that November 4 was one such instance: “Democratic politicians, anxious to cast a big vote for the Democratic ticket, pressed for funds for the campaign, have brought pressure to bear on the powers that be in the City Hall.”263 This was yet another example of the inextricable ties between politics and vice. That the newspaper specifically mentioned Frank Bros. and Senator Broderick’s gambling house in its articles demonstrates the importance of these establishments to West Side gaming.

Even when the city did not tolerate the illicit activities at Frank Bros., the saloon and its proprietors continued to make the headlines. In an August 29, 1927 retrospective Chicago Tribune editorial, “From the Tribune’s Columns,” the paper shared events that had occurred on that day in history. Of the four stories chosen under “25 Years Ago Today,” the following appeared: “CHICAGO.—Frank Bros.’ gambling house, Halsted and Madison streets, was raided by detectives from Chief O’Neill’s office, and fifty men were arrested.”264 Its curious inclusion in an article selective in nature further suggests the sizable reputation Frank Bros. had acquired throughout the city at the beginning of the twentieth century. Perhaps the brothers’ saloon and, more broadly, Chicago’s struggle with gambling were worth remembering.

Moreover, Julius and Louis Frank’s involvement in gaming underscores the interconnectedness of all the underworld’s vices and personalities. Therefore, while I am analyzing the Chicago Jewry’s relationship to each immorality separately, it is vital to remember that all the criminal pursuits coexisted with and overlapped one another. That being said, the impact of prostitution and gambling on the Jewish community contrasted markedly and thus warrants separate consideration. The public’s perception of the two vices, in part because of differences in reform efforts, helps to explain this variation.

Sociologist John Landesco rightly asserted, “Gambling as a pastime is less opprobrious than commercialized vice.

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