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Fishface
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Nov 18, 2018 07:11AM
What is a Chcago typewriter, and why, by the mid-1930s, were news reporters no longer bothering with them?
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A Chicago typewriter is actually not a typewriter, but a Thompson machine gun, used by Al Capone & buddies. A case in the 1930s caused them to be taxed heavily unless they were being used by law enforcement so it became a way to lay charges on gangsters. They were also subject to misfeed if the 50-round barrel was being used and were difficult to clear.
Because Capone was in prison??
K.A.'s half answer is a DING DING DING...Diane's is a BZZZZT! Keep trying peeps!
Fishface wrote: "Nobody? Nobody at all?"The National Firearms Act of 1934??
Fishface wrote: "What about it?"It's why news reporters were no longer bothering with them.
I don't understand your answer. Can you restate?
You asked why did reporters stop bothering with tommy guns in the mid-1930s. I was suggesting they stopped because the 1934 Firearms Act was aimed at curtailing the sale of said guns.National Firearms Act of 1934
"In the 1930s, the United States faced a run of much-publicized gangster violence, led by such well-known criminals as John Dillinger, al capone, Baby Face Nelson, and Bonnie and Clyde. The sensationalistic aspect of their crimes convinced the administration of President franklin d. roosevelt that something needed to be done to control the spread of weapons into the general population. U.S. Attorney General homer cummings and his staff began the process of drafting recommended legislation that would achieve this goal.Cummings and his staff quickly determined that, rather than ban weapons and run afoul of the Second Amendment, they would try to tax such weapons out of circulation. As originally proposed, the NFA covered a fairly broad range of weapons, but as passed by Congress, it's scope was narrowed to cover only "A shotgun or rifle having a barrel of less than eighteen inches in length, or any other weapon, except a pistol or revolver, from which a shot is discharged by an explosive if such weapon is capable of being concealed on the person, or a machine gun."
The statute levied a $200 tax on each firearm defined as above, for any transfer involving the firearm. The tax was to be paid by the transferor, and to be represented by appropriate stamps to be provided by the commissioner. It was declared unlawful for anyone to sell or receive a firearm in violation of this section, and they could be fined $2,000 and imprisoned for up to five years for violating it.
While the $200 tax does not seem like much in current dollars, it represented a very large amount in 1934—in many cases the tax was more than the cost of the firearm itself. The act also required dealers of the listed firearms to register with the federal government, and also required for firearms sold before the effective date of the act, that "every person possessing a firearm shall register, with the collector of the district in which he resides, the number or other mark identifying such firearm, together with his name, address, place where such firearm is usually kept, and place of business or employment, and, if such person is other than a natural person, the name and home address of an executive officer thereof."
Well, that's a very complete answer. As in, wow! BZZZT!
Fishface wrote: "Well, that's a very complete answer. As in, wow! BZZZT!"Well, then I give up!
Reporters stopped bothering with the "Chicago typewriter" in the mid-1930s because there were so many gangland murders that it just got boring. You know, the way they're finally kind of over breathlessly reporting every dumb tweet Donald Trump produces after 2 solid years of it. Seems to me the firearms act would have actually made killings of that type less common and maybe "put the bloom back on the rose" for reporters, making it worth devoting column space in the paper about it again.
Fishface wrote: "Reporters stopped bothering with the "Chicago typewriter" in the mid-1930s because there were so many gangland murders that it just got boring. You know, the way they're finally kind of over breath..."Wow, I can't imagine reporters ever tiring of death/guns news ... and I'm not slamming reporters, I used to be one, and loved it. Very interesting trivia, Fishface.
Even the current Chicago gang wars are only considered locally interesting news now. And it's a friggin slaughterhouse.
Fishface wrote: "Even the current Chicago gang wars are only considered locally interesting news now. And it's a friggin slaughterhouse."Amazing.
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