stjorthotic Chapter 172 The Chaos in Boston
Chapter 172 The Chaos in Boston
Chapter 172 The Chaos in Boston
On the same day, March 22, a Tuesday, Theodore Roosevelt, in Boston, felt a frustrating sense of powerlessness at the Boston Police Department.
Theodore Roosevelt came to Boston as a federal visiting official to conduct research.
Although the U.S. political system dictates that the federal and local governments are not subordinate to each other, and there is no hierarchical relationship or business guidance relationship between the two, the Boston local administration, as is customary, still showed great respect to this member from the National Council of Civil Servants.
For example, with officials from Boston City Hall accompanying him throughout the process, and with the full cooperation of officials led by the Boston Police Commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt was free to enter and exit any public government building in Boston, and could freely investigate every precinct and every officer of the Boston Police Department that he wanted to see.
Roosevelt initially felt quite good about the city. He showed great respect for the history of this great city and, at the same time, felt that its efficient and orderly port economy governance model was a completely different kind of order from New York and Washington.
But three days after the investigation began, Roosevelt sensed the mysterious power beneath the deep water.
Specifically, there are two forces that are absolutely hidden beneath the glamorous surface of Boston.
One group consists of new immigrants. Boston's unique geographical location makes it a top choice for immigrants from Northern Europe, such as Ireland. At the same time, as it is also the largest fishing port on the East Coast of the United States, it attracts a large number of illegal European immigrants who use fishing boats to cross the border.
This makes Boston's security situation relatively complex, and there are numerous gangs formed by immigrants.
When Roosevelt planned to visit Northport for research, he was firmly refused by the accompanying officials and the police precinct near Northport, because the security situation there was too complicated, and the officials said they did not want to leave a bad impression on federal officials.
Of course, this was no challenge for Roosevelt. After completing his daytime investigation, he went to the North Port area under the cover of night, where he discovered smuggling, gang fights, and other illegal activities that were practically out in the open. Even thieves and prostitutes were openly engaging in illegal business near the North Port Square.
Theodore Roosevelt himself was once harassed by two streetwalkers, after which a group of menacing pimps gathered around, intending to extort money from Theodore Roosevelt, a man who clearly looked like an outsider.
Fortunately, Roosevelt himself was somewhat skilled in martial arts, and after several struggles, he managed to break free from the thief's clutches. However, during the struggle, his wallet and pocket watch were also stolen.
Roosevelt went to the police station that evening to report the incident. The Irish officer on duty at the police station initially ignored him, then coldly dealt with his report, claiming that all the officers were out on duty and that these were minor cases that could not be investigated.
The standoff lasted until after 11 p.m., when Theodore Roosevelt finally couldn't hold back any longer and revealed his identity, at which point the other side took him seriously.
At midnight, Boston Police Department Deputy Chief of Police Mr. Stone personally visited Roosevelt to offer his condolences and promised to recover the Commissioner's lost wallet as soon as possible.
Up to this point, Roosevelt was still able to understand what had happened.
What he couldn't understand happened after 1 a.m., to be precise, 1:05 a.m., Roosevelt was still sitting in the police station, not yet back at his hotel. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Stone had personally found his lost wallet…
When the wallet was returned to Theodore Roosevelt, he was astonished! Based on Roosevelt's experience, even the world-renowned Scotland Yard would not have been able to solve the case and recover his lost wallet in such a short time.
Because no one could possibly find a thief in the Beigang District in the middle of the night without any eyewitnesses...
But Deputy Director Stone did it!
Roosevelt didn't naively think that the Boston Police Department was particularly efficient; instead, he immediately considered another possibility: that the police department and the gangs were actually in cahoots, which allowed them to return his wallet intact so easily.
Yes, something else happened during this time that left a deep impression on Roosevelt.
The pimp and thief who harassed Mr. Roosevelt tonight were personally arrested by the police, and in front of Theodore Roosevelt, they were beaten bloody with police batons...
It escalated to the point that even Roosevelt couldn't stand it anymore and demanded that the police stop using excessive force. However, Deputy Chief Stone believed that Mr. Roosevelt was deliberately showing mercy to maintain appearances, so in order to appease Roosevelt, he personally took a baton and beat the thief severely, knocking out two of his teeth...
Left with no other option, Roosevelt hurriedly returned to his hotel before the police could kill the thief.
Theodore Roosevelt was no naive newcomer; he understood perfectly well the Boston Police Department's "over-the-top" behavior in an attempt to quell his anger. But it was this blatant abuse of power that truly alarmed Roosevelt!
Another force hidden deep within Boston is the city's old power structure.
When Theodore Roosevelt came to Boston, he naturally wanted to visit the Carnegie Steelworks, where the bloody crackdown had just occurred earlier that year, and to offer his condolences to the injured steelworkers.
Visit the workers again and ask if there's anything you can do to help them.
But something strange happened right away!
George Deporte, the strike leader who had been sentenced to death by hanging, committed suicide on Thursday night out of fear of punishment.
The specific cause of death was that he hanged himself from a faucet pipe, which was 5 feet off the ground, using a shoelace.
Despite Roosevelt's repeated requests to see the site, state government and judicial officials declined his request, citing it as a state matter.
Theodore Roosevelt's request to visit the community to see the injured workers was unexpectedly granted.
But when Roosevelt visited the "injured workers" on Saturday, he discovered that some of them suffered from epilepsy, and others from polio...
Roosevelt once questioned whether these people were injured workers at Carnegie Steel, but the accompanying official assured him: "Sir, these are absolutely the workers. You cannot discriminate against them just because they have polio..."
Roosevelt was speechless.
As for his desire to visit the Carnegie Steel Plant in New Holmesburg... that's out of the question!
It was private property, and now it was managed by workers from other states and Pinkerton detectives who only answered to Mr. Carnegie. Unless Roosevelt was president, there was no way he could go to the site, and nobody would pay him any attention...
Theodore Roosevelt was very frustrated in Boston.
Today is Tuesday, and Senator Adams invited him to lunch. During lunch, Theodore Roosevelt shared his various problems with the highly respected head of the Adams family.
Adams immediately stated that this was all the work of the gangs behind those immigrants!
Boston's so-called crackdown on the "Rosstein Gang" was essentially just a case of some "big shots" using police power to oppress innocent businesses, and the Rosstein Gang was merely one of the scapegoats they used as an excuse.
Roosevelt stared wide-eyed, indicating that he had never imagined the situation would be so complicated, and asked Mr. Adams who this important figure was who could get the help of the police department.
Mr. Adams was vague about the matter, gave a few perfunctory words, and then had the butler summon a tall, thin man.
"This is one of the victims, a front desk manager at Metropolitan Brokerage, who witnessed firsthand the devastation inflicted on the merchants!" Adams explained.
Roosevelt was very curious and questioned the man in detail.
The man claimed to be the front desk manager of the largest branch of Metropolitan Brokerage, and that the company consisted of honest, normal business people. However, since the beginning of the year, they had been subjected to wanton harassment by gang members, including a guy nicknamed "Gambling Kid" whose real name was "Edward Robinson." He exploited loopholes in the brokerage and wantonly attacked legitimate merchants.
Roosevelt was a New Yorker, so he knew that betting companies were not exactly "legitimate businesses." However, he was very interested in this guy called "High Roller Boy" who made so much money from betting companies by exploiting loopholes.
In addition, Roosevelt also learned that the eventual bankruptcy of the Metropolitan Casino and the downfall of the Rothschild gang were more or less related to the loophole discovered by the "High Roller Boy".
Roosevelt had reason to believe that this "gambling kid" was at least part of the plan; otherwise, the "big shot" hiding behind the fog wouldn't have been able to wipe out all 43 Metropolitan branch offices in one fell swoop.
Senator Adams concluded, "Mr. Roosevelt, you must know that our beloved United States of America is being devoured by a dark force. Greedy and wicked people are exploiting loopholes in the system to maliciously destroy the legitimate property of kind and fair gentlemen. During your term in office, you must pay close attention to this terrible trend!"
The former front desk manager of the Metropolitan branch chimed in, "Yes, sir, especially those speculators. They do no production, but they make a fortune by exploiting loopholes in the system. You should be very careful with these people... They are parasites on society."
Roosevelt, of course, didn't believe what Mr. Adams said, or even what the man before him was saying. Besides, he had only been in Boston for less than a week and had already encountered many strange things he had never imagined before, but this wasn't the first time he had heard of these speculators' destructive impact on the national economy…
Seeing Roosevelt's hesitation and disbelief, Mr. Adams solemnly reminded him, "You are a close associate of President Harrison. Whether for public or private reasons, you have a duty to remind the President to be wary of these speculators. They will undermine the tariff policies that our Republican Party has been pushing for a long time, and they will stir up market storms, ruining the bright prospects of the American economy..."
After thinking for a moment, Theodore Roosevelt turned to Mr. Adams and said, "You're right. I'll try to remind the President to pay attention to punishing these speculators..."
(End of this chapter)