Crime Hunters

After a year of chasing gamblers, chiselers, unusually wealthy police officers and other curious creatures out of the worm; eaten woodwork of the nation's largest city, a New York City grand jury last week sent out a call for reinforcements. The jurors proposed a crime commission of distinguished citizens, to be financed by public contributions. Its job: to keep an eye on officials charged with preventing crime, holler long & loud if they fall down on the job.

By prearrangement, more than 50 distinguished citizens got together within three hours of the jury's action, formed the Crime Committee of Greater New York* and began looking for FBI-picked investigators to get it operating. As chairman of the nonpartisan group, the citizens picked Spruille Braden, harddriving, blunt-talking ex-Ambassador to Argentina and former Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American affairs. Among the other members: Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey, President Thomas I. Parkinson of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, President S. Sloan Colt of the Bankers Trust Co.

Chairman Braden leaped into the new assignment with enthusiasm. "We are shocked when we see so much corruption --perhaps we should be called the Anti-Corruption committee," explained Braden. "This corruption goes beyond city, state and national borders. It is hurting us in world affairs."

*A few days after the Citizens Union set up its own New York City Crime Commission.

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