The newspapers reported a connection between the owner of the bar and Tony Accardo, an old enemy of Sheriff Ogilvie. Gauger had testified for Accardo once, and the Sheriff had taken offense at this and had sworn to "get Louis Gauger.”
Prof. Claude O. Sowle, a leading criminologist at Northwestern University, spoke out concerning the raids as follows: "It troubles me that police would release names of persons they know can't be held accountable to the law." He said that policemen should have known at the time of the arrests that many of the defendants were innocent of any crime. Wholesale raids are a misuse of the laws, he said. "Just being there is not a crime. It would probably take complaints from neighbors to "provoke a breach of the peace as stated in the law. Without such complaints it is very difficult to make the charge stick." Prof. Sowle added that the motivation for the raid may have been harassment, or the police may have thought it would be good politics.
The Aftermath
The timing of the raid on the bar was such that the bar's license, which was due for renewal, may not be renewed. It might be salutary to point out some items which people might have used to suppose that raids like these would not happen. The apartment raid was of a private party where the guests had paid a $1 to get inlike so many parties these days. In the case of the bar, it was an old, established place, perhaps 34 years in business, and it was considered by many to be one of the safest. Above all reasons why the raids were not likely to happen. was the fact that the raids occurred in a state where the penal
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code has been remodelled and the homosexual enjoys the same protections as the heterosexual. Apparently public officals and the newspapers of Illinois prefer to ignore this fact. We notice that some homophile organizations continue to ask homosexuals to cooperate with the police and to "get along" with the papers.
The final item in the story of the two raids is especially important to members of ONE. We have been often asked to print and distribute lists of gay bars, baths, and other places where homosexuals congregate so that our friends will know where to go when they visit strange towns. We have never felt it would be wise to print such a list. In the raid at the bar the officers found a copy of such a guidebook put out by a house in Minneapolis. Now the other bars listed in the publication are under investigation. Why should the homosexual always make it easy for the police? Why print a list that in the wrong hands can be used against us? Anyway, no self-respecting, enterprising homosexual should ever confess to the need for such a guide. On the other hand, it probably would be advisable to have a copy of the March, 1961 issue of ONE Magazine if you happen to be unlucky enough to live in Chicago. The March 61 issue. contains the editorial telling you what to do in case of arrest.
SURVEY
In San Francisco an art gallery displayed metal statues based on the Kama Sutra in the window, but not anymore. The trial comes up shortly in that "enlightened" city. John Rechy, author of City of Night, has been rejected for membership in a Texas literary society. Anyone wonder why? The U. S.
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