The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-12-10
THE REPORfER'S STORY.
The Evidence that Cost Cartw rig IN
His Life

How much the great public owes for
safety from imposition and for detection
and punishment of crime, TO the Keen IN
stincts Of newspaper reporters, cannot be
estimated. Indirectly, the record of one
effort of systematiZed villainy tends to pre-
vent the success Of subsequent attempts !;
the description of a rogue i'm the local col
umns Of newspaper paralyZes him as far
as that locality is concerned, and the hid
ing culprit has as much 10 fear from the
knowledge the community gains of his ex-
ploits AS from the search Of the sleuth-
hounds Of the law. The grocer baker,
tapster, clothier, are made amateur deto1-
tives by perusal of their daily papers, and,
in not isolated cases, take thief while
serving customer, or gain clue that of
ten leads to the arrest and incarceration Of
an enemy TO society. Per contra, the mis-
taken endeavors of professional detectives
to suppress information concerning infrac-
tions of law, 10 invest their movements
with an air of mystery, to conceal every
spark of intelligence concerning depreda-
ton and depredator. are, in nine cases out
of ten, so many aids TO defeat justice.
While confess my inability to give more
than the general statement Of my first po-
sition, could, if necessary, instance more
thar one case to prove the truth OF
my latter assertion, gained and garnered
during a career as a newspaper. reporter,
extending over many years, in the princi-
pal Eastern cities of this Union. The great
mass OF criminals dread the publicity given
10 their actions more than The pursuit OF
officers and they have, too. wholesome
fear Of the vigilance, penetration and
shrewdness of the reporter. They 60 out
of their way to court his favor; give him
information that all the machinery and
ingenuity of the law could not eXtort :;
and allow him TO penetrate, alone and
uumolested, TO haunts Of vice and crime
that are hardly approachable by the posse
coBs5tGtHs. "a ENHa
But. started out to narrate singular
circumstance that happened to myself,
wherein | was instrumental in checking
the career of two of the cleverest and worst
men that ever cursed the country. and. in
addition thereto. hanging the chief of the
partnership. | could not refrain, however,
from giving a need of justice where tribute
has too long been withheld, and speaking
nv word TO instill inte my readers a sense
of their Obligation to neglected, obscure,
but vastly useful class of workers. in the
busy hive ofhuman life. urls
First as to opportunity and then as to
means. | had been for some time night
local on the (let us saw New City Press,
"a paper of great circulation and un-
bounded influence" published in one OF
the chief cities on the Atlantic seaboard.
Now and then a 'stip tOp1 sensation re-
warded the weary midnight tramp around
the several police precincts on my beat /;
but week after week mylwork was unre-
Teved. except by the stereotyped jokes OF
the men on duty, or an occasional " inter-
view " with a convivial humorist, against
whose name on the docket appeared the
significant legend, sd. & d.
One night. Monday. December 4th, 1865,
a bitter. blustery night, thermometer hug
ging zero, and whole. drifts of snow driv-
ing before a hrITying snorther, was
warming my thumbs at the red-hot stove
i'm Station Six. eXpatiating on the sitting,
tobacco and stench-laden air of the office
and receiving the congratulations of the
lieutenant on duty that be only had tEo
freezes. a little suicide and mddling bad
case of destitution " for me, when the
outer door was flung open. and patrol
man and one of FleetwOOd's private de-
tectives came in, preceded by wlIirl OF
Snow and a well-dressed, gentlemanlY-
appearing feilow-a prisoner. 1t was a
relief to notice that he was not drunk, for
nv experience told me that nothing but
an ordinary spree or extraordinary crime
could have brought there a man so evil
IDENTIFY smart and intelligent, and the
promise of a "big item,n and one that
would be exclusive, made me regret the
less the slimneSs of my notebook. Pray,
do not understand that q reporter glories
in the preparation Of ofenSes, or gloats
over crime; by no means would wish TO
convey that impression; but, granted that
any thing has happened, the more ele-
ments of sensation it has, especially II he
alone, of all rivals gets IT, the more 1t con- con-
duces to his good standing in his office,
and the more credit he gets in its writing
mp. The prisoner, his Overcoat and hat
being removed and his wrists freed from
the iron cuffs, cast a quick, interrogative
glance at me, as much as to saw, "what
the deuce are you here for?' and then,
noticing the familiar nod of Ketchum. the
detective, and noting something profes-
Sional in my bearing. instantly made up
his mind, seemingly, as TO my business,
and observed an eNpression,' halfway
between shame and scowl, fit over his
face. He stood outside the rail. and in
response to the questions Of the Heuten-
anf said his name was Robert Hatch
Miller; his age, 30; his residence, Phila.
delphia: :-Dlace of birth, same What
was he wanted for g',l FAt this, addressed
TO Ketchum. sided upto the desk, just il
time 10 catch a wink and a pursing Of III
detectivc,s lips that linstahtly interpreteS
ssmum." Then ! knew that hetchum had
what be copsidered. no ordinary crimina
and, ransacking my memory for associa
tion of name and description, | concluded
rightly. as the sequel proved, that il wa.
one of the Bank of Commerce robbers
who had been "wanted'' for three months
orso. ~rsaE-sas- q ~ rs.-- s7fs a.
ale is not to De locked mp" says ket
chum, .'Gray will be around in an hour o.
so, ard maybe he will go down to the Cen
tral Station before morning.
1t was then after midnight, and knew
could not wait longer; our or'ice wastw'
miles avsly, and Watcher. 0ur managing
editor. was apt, TO growl il COPY came il
late. so followed Grady. ti, yatolman
out, warmed his innards It All all-nigh
house few blocks away, and got enongl
material 70 work mp four or I've "sticks
fulliAsE,matter. abonf the time and plac,
of arrest and conduct of the prisoner.