Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1861-01-31


Whittier have vanished wife and child
And hearcth, praying, this answer fall:
"Patience! that village shall hold ye all!
-ss---
THE CHICAGO DETECTIVES AND THE
ADAMS EXPRESS ROBBERY.
From the Boston Journal
The progress of the trial of the Adams Ex-
press robbers which has Just resulted in the
conviction of Andrew L. Roberts, Louis Steb-
bins and Porter Kellogg, has revealed one of
the most ingenious, bold and successful crimes
on records that the Adams Express Company
have exhibited remarkable degree of ability
and libcrality in ferreting out the perpetrators
of the robbery, and that the whole affair has
been thoroughly sifted to the determination of
a nest of most desperate rogues who have laid
various plans of operation in various parts Of
| the country. But the manner of bringing about
this result has scarcely been brought to light
| The inside working Of the investigations, the
progress of the detective operations in making
the developments upon which the criminals
were apprehended, has not been revealed. 1t
| was expected at the commencement that these
| revelations would be made by some one of the
detectives. and great deal of interest was ex-
cited to the case thereby. The prosecution
however supposing they had evidence enough
without further encumberng the minds of the
court and jury, and by request of the detectives,
whose interest it is to avoid personal publicity,
refrained from presenting it, excepting in so far
as it was necessary for Mr. Bangs to give few
| links in the chain Of evidence.
But by the favor of some of the detectives
we are enabled to lay before the reader brief
statement of the Chicago detective organization,
and their proceedings in the case Of the express
company, as illustrating their general mode of
operations.
The Chicago detective force consists of some
fifty individuals, few of whom are females,
| half a dozen being located in Chicago perma-
nently, as managers and clerks, and forty-fve
are Immediately connected with the detective
business in all parts of this country, the Cana
| das, Australia, or wherever their services are
required. Allan Pinkerton is the founder and
sole manager of the force, which was organized
on the present plan some eight years ago. An
evening spent with Mr. Pnkerton and some OF
his associate detectives, convince us that they
are men of intelligence and remarkable Ton
clcarncss in understanding human nature. The
director in particular appears to have been a
student of the world, and understands thor
oughly the various casts of mind with which he
is constantly coming in contact. AS showing
the system with which he goes to work. h had
been reading in Bulwer's novel the murder o
Eugene Aram, scoring the salient points of the
account, which he explained would bear upon
murderer in high life, whom he had been try.
ing TO discover, and who he supposed woult
evince some remorse OF conscience, as in tn,
novel, These marked passages the detective,
are required to read. in order the better to un
derstand the position of man in similar cir
cumstances, and how to approach him.
Mr. Pinkerton himself is plain man, hardl,
displaying outwardly the shrewdncss for which
he has so wide reputation. He says that he
scarcely ever goes to New York. or any great
place. without being taken for "greenhorn,
upon which all the "ball' or 'patent safe" and
such confidence games are attempted. He en-
Joys these things highly up to certain point
when he turns the tables upon the confidence
men, and they beat a hasty retreat.
The rules of the detective establishment are
strict, and all upon entering the force mus
make a written agreement to abide by them
One of these rules is that, on taking a case fol
investigation, they pledge themselves to ren
quish all rewards that may have been Offered
for its success; they are simply to receive pei
diem. Each man has to make complete rec
ord of each. days work, accounting for ever,
hour in the day, for every act, and giving thu
fullest possible history, all which has to be sen
Immediately to headquarters, there to be en-
tered upon the records Then, of course, th'
strctest confidence and secrecy is enjoned, let
ting their real character be known to but very
few. When they are engaged upon case like
this, for company, they allow but one or two
men of that company to know them. On max
ing the contract, the director specially decline
to have any of his men go upon the witness
stand, although he almost always valves tina
stipulation afterward if the cause requires it, al
in this case, when Mr. Bangs gave his testimony
So, though Mr. Pinkerton has attended upol
pngp i'm day nj
public table at the crowded Sterling Hotel ant
been among men in the streets, he is scarcel,
known to dozen men here, and even the ar
gus-eyed reporters are inquirng for him, ant
conclude that he has left. These precautions
of course, are necessary in measure to tn
success of their plans.
Mr. Pinkerton dscards entirely the idea tha
it takes a rogue to catch a rogue On the con
trory, man with the least dishonesty or wan
of promptness il detrimental to him--woul,
, upset in moment a plan based upon the in
vestigaton of weeks. When new man is tax
en- in, a watch is often kept over him by hi
brother detectives, whom he does not know
His theory is, that where there is a mind capa
ble of committing crime, you may also find il
an honest man mind nearly its counterpart
and that the latter can gain the confidence ant
discover the guilt of the former. Hence he Sc
! lects his detectives from different classes of so
ciety-of various educatons, habits and incli
misunderstanding all distinctions of religion
: and politics. and only inquiring for their homes
ty and capabity. He can therefore select from
his force the person most fitted for detectin,
, any class Of criminals.
The operations in the case of the EXPIRES
robbery perhaps illustrates as well as any tn
course they pursue and a short account may no
be uninteresting, in connection with the lat
trial, though it would be impossible to 90 int
all the details. In the first place some one out
, side Of the force was sent upon the ground 0
the robbery, to collect all the "outside' facts b
could. Upon these facts, Mr. Pinkerton sc
himself to study the probabilities in this case
1t will he seen to have been difficult one, whel
L il is known that nll the emnlnNees of the road