The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-08-24
Observation-Disclosures 1871
FROM she Philadelphia Ledger.
,..sns,re.-Cursous ancfdenfs.

asserting hero IN Two pSo.eesN"Ia,
might wen be believed that egotism, vaal.y,
md professional pride. colored the h,story
W., among she friends as well as the foes OF
sociefy. And vet to those familiar with she
nast history o, the detective department OK
Philadelphia few Of the stories told py Inc
French policemen seem exaggerated; ira-
.,itiou. rs well as the personal @coHsct,on
Of our own officers, give long catatoSuss
Of crime detected, criminals capluieu' anu J.
nron,rty recovered, by means as surpfls,nHS
as any employcd by the famed Ntdocq. 40
one Of our detectives has ever pu. Nv
shane these incidents, and whas - nG IN.
known comes to US through the S9sttap, ,n
c;dent to \ friendly chat WIFE eA''o''s'''0
officers. ;,,,,,,de not
only the success but also the failures o. .no
ofs;cnrs--not only victories but ALSO isno
r,;n;n,,s defeats, Some of these mistakes
,nare not only amusing, but at Tunes re-
,'roa IN necuniary loss to the unfortunate
e eeicer For instance, heavy robbery was
Committed some twenty years ago In paul.
more. and our policemen were notlneo Oh
the fact. The Baltimore propelers were
therefore watched at our wharf, until finally
a man. notorious In criminal annals as the
robber of the Patent Office, appeared. He
was seized and his baggage examined.
fine lot of burglars tools were thus secured,
hut none of the stolen property was dis
covered. and "Tom" bad to be released.
He at once brought suit against the officer,
and obtained o verdict for $3.50 damages. 1t
is not always, however, that well known
criminals improperly arrested have the
etfrontery to 90 into civil court to obtain
COMPENSATION for wounded honor.
Even innocent men, and men entlrely
~ frraa hpS1fQfQ IN
undertake such a task, and most OF them
are content to be released, and thus forever
bury from public gaze the story of the
wrong. A case or two In point. About
fifteen wears ago the officers in this city re-
ceiyed information Of a robbery in New
York, with the description Of the supposed
thief-"a German. five feet nine inches,
dent in the left cheek, and trunk contain
ing cut cloth ready for manufacture into
clothing.'' The officers captured at the de-
Dot a German answering exactly TINS de.
scription, including the trunk with the cut
garments. And yet the detectives had cap
tured the wrong man, the real thlef Delng
arrested in New York a few days atterward,
his personal appearance closely resembling
the unfortunate victim Of the Phlladelphla
officers mistake. The German was too glad
to secure release to trouble the o1ncerS
with a suit for damages.
A still more unfortunate blunder was
once committed by q special officer, who Is
now dead. In company with well-knoWn
eX-detective he visited West Chester In
search of a thief, whose personal appear
ance included red hair of the true, BLONDE
order, cut in peculiar style. On the tram
home the officer became convinced that ne
recognized in one of the passengers the o.
iect of his search. His fellow. officer, more
experienced and discreet, was not so posi-
tive, and endeavored to dissuade his SAN
yuine companion. "Sam," however, was
positive. aud at one of the way stations for
Refreshments he managed to get near enough
to the passenger and address him Familiarity.
Upon their return to the train the two en-
gagged In conversation, the officer lnqulrlng
where his new friend came from, where he
was going to, and whether he had any bag
gage.
Inc stranger, evidently annoyed at what
he believed to be the impertnence OF his In
terviewer, gave ambiguous answers, winch
tended to increase the suspicious OF the ofh-
Ger. He stated that he had no baggage, and
yet when the train reached Philadelphia
the officer saw his stranger friend call Il car
rage and place upon it two heavy trunks.
Here was confirmation, and accordingly he
entered the vehicle, claimed the occupant
as his prisoner, and brought him to the
Central station, where it was at once dis
covered that the accused was respectable
gentleman residing on Arch street. Being
q civil engineer he was returning from
professional tour, and the weight OF his
trunks was caused by the instruments in
them used in his occupation. OF course
there was CONSERVATION in the office.
AT this moment "gentlemanlv George"
came to the relief of the bewildered officer,
ana explained to the gentlemen the nature
of the business upon which the detectives
had been engaged, and recounted to him
the suspicious born of his own peculiar
and unsatisfactory answers to questions in
the train. The gentleman admitted this,
explaining that, as he did not know his in
terviewcr, and believing him to have some
design upon him or his property. he had
been thus cautious in his replies. lie good
naturedly forgave the mistake, and left the
Office for his home.
On another occasion two officers started
in search OF thief. One of the detectives
asserting that he knew his man well, and
merely desired the other to make the arrest
when the party was found. In Market
street, near Twentieth, the man was sighted
and pointed out to the officer who was to
make the capture. This officer followed
his man as far as Eighth and arch, and
then addressing him, told him he was his
prisoner. The man, indignant, refused to
20, and struggle for the mastery ensued
between the two, until finally the detective
was victorious, although tue encounter re-
suited in a torn coat for the prisoner.
Upon reaching the entral station Imagine
the surprise Of the officer to be told by his
fellow-officer, who had preceded him to the
station, that he had made a mistake In the
identity of the mani The accused proved
to be u respectable young man attending
medical lectures in this city. at the eX.
pense Of q new coat, the officer succeeded
in avoiding any further trouble from this
false arrest.
The reverse Of these incidents presents a
curious case Of an officer ignoring descrip-
ton and yet securing the right man.
An old gentleman residing in Boston had
been robbed by his nephew of about $500.
The description Of the man came to PhlIa-
delphia, and in addition to the height and
general appearance, it was said the accused
was lame and wore q broom coat. The
packets from Boston were closely watched
by the officer detailed for that purpose, hut
he failed to see any one with the brown
coat or the limp, and yet there was q con.
viction upon bis mind that his man !" was
somewhere about.
Coming up to Jones's Hotel, in Dock
street, where omnibusseS in those days en-
tered, the officer saw man standing on the
steps of the hotel he answered the gene
raj description, but wore black coat.
This, thought the officer, might be readily
changed, and he therefore watched the
mans gait when he moved. The man did
start, and the officer failed to discover the
slightest trace Of lameness. He was still in
doubt. Recollecting that the man he want
ed was named Jonathan j, as last re-
sort, the detective walked quickly up to the
man, grasped him by the hand, eXclaiming