HE ONCE BUILT HOUSES HERE.
But Now George O. Purdy Is Chief
of Police in East St. Louis.
HE ONCE BUILT HOUSES HERE. ~ But Now George O. Purdy Is Chief of Police in East St. Louis.
January 29, 1910
George O. Purdy, chief of police of East St. Louis, Ill., for the past eight years, whose department has the record of capturing a greater percentage of malefactors than any other police department in the country, arrived at the Savoy hotel last night. It was Chief Purdy who adopted the system of putting practically all of his policemen in plain clothes and sending them out in the shape of a dragnet whenever a crime was committed, and he has advocated this plan at every meeting of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, of which he is a member of the executive committee representing Illinois.
Twenty-three years ago Chief Purdy was a Kansas City contractor. He laid the foundation and the first story of the old Missouri, Kansas and Texas Trust Company building, the first of the Stilwell propositions in this section.
"Kansas City is destined to be the coming inland city," said Chief of Police Purdy last night. "It may take a few years, but she has the advantages and just look at the territory that is dependent on this city for supplies. A score or more years ago the wildest dreamer of the then boom days of this city could not have predicted the advances it has made. It is wonderful. There is a hustle and a bustle about this city that does not exist in other cities in this country and although I am across the river from St. Louis I will say that unless St. Louis gets a move on itself and that in a hurry, Kansas City will soon leave it behind."
