New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-01-30


the fence separating McLin's yard from thai
of his next neighbor, Mr.. We'll, and they were
tracked again in Wells yard, where wet brick
dust had been used in cleaning the pavement
The foot-marks were evidently those o.
a wOman; but 1t j. not easy to i'm.
ngine bow Q woman could without assistance
have climbed the fence, which was quite high,
and offered no rest for the foot within five
feet of the ground. A robbery of few small
articles had been committed in Mr.. Weili
house about 0 o'clock the previous evening
but that, it will be remembered, was three
hours before Dora went to her room, and in
any case there are serious difficulties in the
way of connecting the two crimes. Thert
seems to be no reason for suspecting any Of
the inmates Of either house, Dora being on
excellent terms with them all. The police, to
all appearances, are utterly at fault; and the
coroner's inquest-as is apt to be the way
with inquests--has left the case as mysterious
as ever.
The excitement over the New-0rleans murde,
has not yet subsidized when the telegraph bringsm
intelligence of another case very similar to thato
Dora Hennerichs. On the 18th instant a Girl N
10, named Christine Kett was murdered IN
broad day, in her own house, at Dayton Ohio
and no clue has yet been found to the assassin.
In the City of New-York alone there were.
during the year 1886, no fewer than II homi-
cides and murders, without including numerous
cases of death by drowning or other means,
which we know not whether to classify as mur-
ders,. suicides, or casualties Only SO persons
we're arrested for these crimes, and the records
of the courts show only Is convictions fseveral
of which were for offenses committed in pre-
vious year,, with 10 prisoners still to be tried.
That is to say, of the perpetrators Of clear and
unmistakable homicides more than 80 per cent
are not arrested, and nearly so per cent are
not punished.
Now the suggestive thing about this mates
is that it can hardly be accounted for Ia any
other way than on the supposition of very
imperfect system for the detection of crime.
Our police are sharp enough in tracing out great
robberies. A bank is rarely broken open or Q
safe rifled but the thieves are caught, sooner
or later provided they have secured heavy
booty. Human patience, persistence, and in
genuity are seldom better illustrated than when
one of our best detectives, with full purse in
his pocket, and-pardOn us, gentlemen of the
force, for saying it, for you are only mortal
men after ala good bouncing reward in pros
pect, gets on the trail of heavy burglary, or
a great embezzlement, or any such crime OF
which the object was money instead OF life.
You may say that burglars rarely operate
alone, and the chances of detection are
multiplied, of course, in exact proper
ton to the number of the confederates.
There is something in this; but it viii not ac-
count entirely for the comparative impunity Of
murderers as contrasted with other classes Of
criminals. We are not finding fault with ON
detectives individually; we only say that there
is something wrong in the system under which
they work. We believe that in the majority OF
cases they are unable to follow up murder to
the end because they are not furnished with
the necessary money, and certainly in some
cases they fail because they have not the
requisite inducements to persevere. The matter
deserves careful consideration. individuals may
be left to take care of their own money; Gov
eminent is bound to take care of mems lives;
and the incentives to the detection and punish
ment of the graver offenses ought certainly to
be no less strong than those to the pursuit OF
less dangerous criminals. 80 81 .N