ike that, Abe, the insurance companies ain't liable under
their policies," Morris said, "and they wouldn't got to pay no losses
for the damage when them bombs done it to them buildings."

"Who said anything about the insurance companies paying losses?" Abe
asked. "I am talking about the insurance companies paying lawyer bills,
Mawruss, which I never read any of that part of my insurance policies
that is printed in only such letters as could have been designed in the
first place by them fellers you read about who go blind from engraving
the whole of the Constitution of the United States on a ten-cent piece,
y'understand, but I have no doubt, Mawruss, that it wouldn't make no
difference if the loss was caused by anything so legitimate as throwing
a lighted cigarette in a waste-paper basket, understand me, the only
reason why an insurance company pays any losses at all is that they
figure it's cheaper to let the policyholder have the money than the
bunch of murderers they got representing them as their general counsel."

"No doubt you're right," Morris agreed, "but in these here bomb outrages
Abe, the way the police 'ain't been able to get a clue to so much as a
suspicious red necktie, y'understand, it looks as though this
bomb-exploding was going to be such a regular amusement with anarchists
as pinochle-playing is with clothing salesmen, understand me, so the
insurance companies would got to make a stand, otherwise they would be
paying for new stoops for the houses of anybody and everybody who ever
said an unkind word in public about Lenine and Trotzky."

"It seems to me that the police ain't so smart like they once used to
be, Mawruss," Abe remarked.

"No, nor never was," Morris said. "In fact, Abe, from the number of
crimes which has got into the let-bygones-be-bygones stage with the
police lately, clues ain't of no more use to them fellers at all. What
them detectives need is that the criminal should leave behind him at the
scene of the crime a line of snappy, up-to-date advertising containing
his name, address, and telephone number, otherwise they seem to think
they have the excuse that they couldn't be expected to perform miracles,
and let it go at that."

"I see where right here in New York, Mayor Hylan puts the whole thing up
to the newspapers," Abe observed. "He wrote to a friend the other day
one of them strictly confidential letters with an agreement on the side
to ring up the reporters as soon as it was de