Phenix City Story Once Known

Phenix City Story

Once Known as "Sin City"

Commonplace Sins

Haven for Hellish Activities?

Cleaning Up Phenix City

The name, "Phenix"

Excuses and Reasons

THE PHENIX CITY STORY

"Once Known as "Sin City"

Real People good name is better than precious ointment.

Bible: Hebrew)

Remember, real people live here!" Littlejohn (26) notes one native-born Las Vegas' civic leader to state about "Sin City." "Sin City," the focus for this paper does not refer to Las Vegas but Phenix City in Russell County in Alabama. The reminder "Remember, real people live here!" referring to Las Vegas, however, proves applicable to Phenix City, also known as Phenix City

History has reportedly entwined some facts with myths about Phenix City. Rawls and other writers report General George Patton, former commander of Fort Benning, to have sated: I am going to smash Sin City flat with my tanks. Okamo, alkbeit, argues that words Patton, vowing to blow "Sin City," off the map, are currently deemed to be a myth. Whether Patton threatened to destroy Phenix City or not, sources agree that during the height of its corruption, "The vice industry," Jenkins said, "was Phenix City's only industry." (Rawls)

II. Commonplace Sins

Haven for Hellish Activities?

Even prior to Phenix City's becoming "Sin City, U.S.A.," the city was known as a haven for bond-jumpers, rum-runners, and others involved in criminal activity. ("Could This Be...")

During the 1800's, aristocrats, along with fugitives, and convicts from British jails populated the town. During 1918, as the army established Fort Benning, the gambling syndicate began to sponsor cockfights; casinos; lotteries; other forms of gambling, transforming Phenix City into a town known as "Little Las Vegas." (Ibid.) As gambling, narcotics, alcohol, prostitution and other crimes increased, "sin" became a primary way to earn a living in Phenix City, where neon lights shone 24 hours a day. From 1945 to 1954, over one thousand prostitutes lived and worked in the town, which at this time had a population of 23,000. Although these criminal activities were deemed to be "illegal," the "mayor, council, police chief, and county solicitor (prosecutor) were all controlled by the 'machine'," (Ibid). with Albert Fuller, a leading gambling interests' profiteer, controlling the sheriff. In exchange of one-third of the profits, Fuller provided legal protection to brothels in exchange. Young women were "forced" into prostitution after Fuller arrested them on trumped-up and/or false charges. Brothel owners then bailed the women out of jail, in exchange for "work." (Ibid.) If/when soldiers from Fort Benning protested about losing their paychecks from crooked gambling, bouncers beat them. When customers did not drink all their beer, the unconsumed beer was re-bottled and re-sold. "Drinks were spiked. Customers were knocked on the head and their wallets lifted. House men would take all the coin a soldier had, at a crooked dice table, then direct the youth next door to a company-owned pawnshop where he could pick up a spot of cash for his boots, his watch, or his underwear." (Ibid). Dead bodies, with cement-encased feet, were regularly dumped into the Chattahoochee River. As murders were not solved, honest citizens' concerns were unchecked. The majority of citizens, however, worked hard and were decent people. When some challenged the "machine," however they were threatened, bombed and beaten, with some individuals being dumped into the Chattahoochee River. Consequently, many "real people" who were not directly affected, accepted things the way they were. (Ibid.) Rawls posits that although state and federal officials knew about the wide-open crime in Phenix City, the majority of real people determined "a hands-off approach" to be best and called the enveloping crime something residents of Russell County needed to deal with. On church for every 450 residents of Phenix, existed during this time, thirty-seven white churches and seventeen black churches, more churches per capita than any other city in America at this time. "Some churches opposed the gambling interests; others were controlled by them. Many of the gambling kingpins belonged to churches and contributed heavily. Ministers who opposed them were accused of mixing politics with religion and told to go read their prayer books." (Ibid.)

Hugh Bentley, a layman, decided to try to fire the churches into action against the sin and criminal activity in 1946. Bentley stressed that Phenix City's problem was a moral one and that until the moral breakdown was changed, things would not improve. January 9, 1951, Bentley's house was blown up with thirty-six sticks of dynamite, however, neither he nor any of his family was seriously injured. In 1954, Albert Patterson, a sixty-year-old Phenix City lawyer, adopted his campaign crusade to be cleaning Phenix City's gambling machine. At this time, Phenix City was described by Life Magazine as the "wickedest city in the United States,... everything from gambling to murder to arson to fraud." (Ibid.) June 1, 1954, Patterson won the Democratic primary. Two nights before Patterson was murdered, he and Howard Pennington, his ally, vowed to one another that if one of them was killed, the other one would keep working to see the murderers were convicted. July 18, 1953, after Patterson finished working at 9 P.M., he was shot and strangled on his own blood. Patterson died before he could identify his murderer. (Ibid.) Patterson, despite being murdered, continued to win his crusade as moral outrage about his murder swept Alabama and turned the tide back to "right." John Patterson, a law partner of his father, worked to help see his dad's death was dealt with. More than 80 individuals were ultimately convicted or plead guilty to involvement with Phenix City's criminal activity. Albert Fuller, Chief Deputy Sheriff, was convicted of murdering Patterson. Although also charged, Arch Ferrell, Attorney General, was acquitted. After Si Garrett, Russell County Circuit Solicitor, also charged with Patterson's murder, checked himself into a Texas mental hospital, the charge against him was ultimately dropped. Investigators identified Fuller's fingerprint on Patterson's car, did not find Ferrell's. John Patterson was elected attorney general. He also became was a primary focus for "The Phenix City Story," a B-grade movie. He was elected governor of Alabama in 1958.

Cleaning Up Phenix City

During its zenith as "Sin City," "Murder and bombings were commonplace. Attractive, unprotected women - including 12- and 14-year-old farm girls-were snatched off the streets and forced into prostitution. Elections were meaningless because the government counted the votes. As the crooks controlled the prosecution, judge and jurors, no crime was punished."(Roberts) Right after Patterson was murdered, John Patterson vowed to smash the mob that murdered his father. At this time, the National Guard was called out. Under martial rule in 1955, Major General Walter J. (Crack) Hanna began to clean up Phenix City.

Hanna, commander of the Alabama National Guard, was ordered by Alabama's governor City the morning after the shooting to go lead the Guard into Phenix. July 22, 1954, when the governor proclaimed martial law, convinced Phenix City officials were covering-up crime, General Hanna and his guardsmen disarmed the sheriffs and policemen and "took over the administration of law in Phenix City." ("Could This Be...")

Judge Walter Burgwyn Jones, sixty-six-year-olds, assigned as special judge over the Phenix City proceedings, in addition to being a judge, served as president of the Alabama Bar Association, president of the Alabama Bible Society, editor of the Alabama Baptist Society Quarterly. He also published forty-five books on legal, historical, and biblical issues. June 30, 1954, Judge Jones opened court. He delivered the following prepared message to a courtroom "packed with hostile mobsters, racketeers, brothel operators, prostitutes... As well as citizens hoping for a return to law and order:

It is the unalterable determination of the State, of the Governor, and the people, that there shall be no return here of organized crime and commercialized vice; no further continuance of a wicked regime which, for years, has burdened the county with an arrogant violation of the laws of God and man. There will be no return of the miserable days when a few gained wealth by holding in contempt the laws of the State, and by pandering to the lusts and base desires of men and women....

What is going on in this country today is not just a passing phase, not just a condition which will exist only for a few weeks or a few months-it is a permanent condition: all the powers of hell won't be able to prevail against it....

A bring to the good people of Russell County the assurance of the Governor of Alabama that the State will do everything in its power to bring to an end the rotten situation here so long disturbing to the law-abiding people of the county. No longer is this county to be under the control and dominion of racketeers and gamblers and purveyors of prostitution.

Their insolent sway here forever ended on the night of June 18, when a cowardly assassin took the life of Albert L. Patterson and made his name the symbol of resistance to organized crime.

Albert L. Patterson rests in the earth from which he came, but the State of Alabama, all her forces of law, will not rest, day or night, until his murderer is tracked down and the extreme penalty for the brutal deed.

Let it be understood here and now, once and for all, that there will be no return to Russell County of that tragic era, the days when the law violator reigned supreme, and trampled the Constitution and laws under his foot. From this day forward the reign of law has come to Russell County to stay, and stay it will under the providence of God and all the power of Alabama's government....

To those who have had part in the lawlessness in this country, who have made crime their livelihood, who have grown fat in the debauchery of our youth and the destruction of the morale of our Nation's young soldiers, your day is ended, your hour of reckoning is at hand, you stand at Armageddon.... (Ibid.)