◆ SpookStack

f They were then tossed out into a t , ' in a locality known as Beer Cemetery. Keane was dead probably befere he hit the earth, but Egan, with half a dozen wounds, crawled for miles crying for help. Finally he got into the Palos Park Golf Club just at dawn, Believing himself dy- ing Egan told the only employee there at that hour that he was a bootiegger in the service of “Spike” O*’Donnell. Mac- Earlane was arrested and held in a hotel for a few days before being released. Under pressure, however, indictments were returned in which were named Joe Saltis, Willie Channel, Johnny Hoban, Ralph Sheldon and Willie Niemoth and Mac- Earlane. Incidentally they were tossed into the wastebasket four months later. All this was bad business and Torrio shuddered to think of the future with all of these tough boys doing their stuff. Johnny made no public estimate, but if he had it is doubtful if he would have : fixed the number of gangsters to bite the sawdust in the next couple of years at more than 300. “Spike” O'Donnell could not be brought into the fold, although peace was offered him. “Spike” had come from a fighting family back-o-the-yards district and had a few friends in the city hall himself, but his drag was puny and insignificant compared to that of Little Johnny. But he would not be brought to terms, and for a long time this word could be heard in Gangland: “ ‘Spike’ O’Donnel! will never make another dime in the racket. He’s ruined everybody else, and now they’re going to gang against im.” In the investigations that followed the murder of Keane, charges were made that the police were persecuting “Spike” and his boys, while the Torrio mob went undisturbed. But i ALAS Meine The Damon and Fythias of Boosefiom and their playgrounds. Georgs Meeghan, early casualty Wouth Side Beer Wars. “Spik. ad some influence, and, although he and uis brothers were arrested and jailed several times, and two of them in- dicted, there was to come a change in their fortunes. As we have seen the great factor in Torrio’s power was the vast politi- cal influence he wielded, but in 1923, the people of Chicago, becoming bored with illiam Hale Thompson, blew him out of office, placing in his stead William E. Dever. This brought panic to the under- world; the vast system was shot to pieces; no speakeasy proprietor Imew just whether he was “in” or “out”; Torrio worked desperately and frantically to “fix” the situation, and he went about with great handsful of dough in an effort to bring order again to his realm; he was only partially successful. This change in the administration and its consequent disaster to Torrio’s machine gave “Spike” O’Donnell the break he needed, and he again instituted terroristic proceedings in the realm of Torrio. His particular field was that controlled by Joe Saltis and Frank MacKEarlane. Saltis and MacEarlane, now that Torrio’s power was a doubtful quantity, operated on the South Side for them- selves, As a matter of fact conditions were so precarious that every man or rather every gang realized that until Torrio could “fix” things, every man was for himself. Torrio was working to bring about the fixing, but he realized that he was up against the greatest job of his vicious career. Over on the North Side Dion O’Banion and his inseparable companion, Samuel “Nails” Morton were growing in strength and power, and Torrio could see that unless he could get a bettcr grip on his connections,-there would be trouble from that source. At this period the government annoyed Torric by “kmocking off” a brewery . Cl) -& typical “Valley” district scene where Terry Druggran and Frankie rose to fortune in the beer business. (2) Frankie and Terry themselves. (3) In manufactories like this one, the Beer Barons made it for $350 a barrel and sold it for $45. (4) Where “Spike” O'Donnell used to appear with his tracks. 8} LU &