Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-26
MANY MISSING PEOPLE
THE UNKNOWN FATE OF THOUSANDS

THE UNKNOWN FATE OF THOUSANDS
"A Record of Mysterious Disappearance in
New Yerk-A Story by Which All Police
Forces May Profit.
The following article from the New
York Mercury contains many interesting
points in regard to the mysterious dis.
appearance of thousands of persons.
When Mayor-elec Edison visited police
headquarsers Thursday afternoon ne was
shown the elegant and comfortable oalces
in that marble palace, and treated to a
voluable recital of glittering generalitief
on police matters. There is one important
bureau at headquarters which is
supposed to look after missing people
which if Mr.. Edison had been admitted
into its mysteries, would have astonished
him as business man, by its utter want
of system, and complete, absolute use
lessness, as it has been and still is managed.
When it is stated that there are 1900 mys-
FERROUS disappearance reported every year
at police headquarters, the importance of
this branch of police business will be ap-
parent. In so many disappearance it is
certainly safe and fair to assume that there
are dark crimes connected with some of
them, especially that of young girls de-
coyed and maltreated, and then run into
dens of infamy, and of men in the habit
of carrying large sums of money about on
their person. or who may have gained the
bitter enmity of others, or whose taking
Off may be desirable in thousand ways
In metropolitan community of cosmo-
politan and rather fast character. It
should also be borne in mind that many
strangers disappear who have no friends to
report the fact to headquarters. Of course,
some of the missing cases reported have
nothing serious in them, are
the result of over anxiety on the part of a
timid wife and mother, who, if a husband
or son is couple of hours behind his
usual time for getting home from bust
ness, or who, through some of the weak
nesses of humanity and the temptations of
the city, will remain absent for q night,
will hasten in trepidation and alarm to
headquarters and make report. These
men may turn up in police court next
morning or may have spent the night in
observation of the imaginary transit of
some Venus. But the most of wives and
mothers get accustomed to these Temporal
airy, Eperiodical lapsss from reason, and
these cases cannot be more than small
per centage of the first disappearance.
Substantially, the fact remains that over
1000 persons mysteriously disappear each
year, as if the ground or river had swal-
lowed them up.
In the light of all the circumstances, the
callous Indifference of the police authori-
tiles in the matter of the sudden and mys-
FERROUS disappearance would seem little. if
anything short of utter negligence. The
following brief interview of Mercury re-
porter with the policeman in charge of the
shook of missing people" will fully prove
what has been said in regard to the utter
uselessness of this bureau, which expe-
rience and common intelligence point out
to be as important a one as there is in the
department, and which to be properly con-
Quoted would require men of some brains:
''Can see the book in which you record
cases of missing people?" the reporter
asked.
"No you can not,' the man answered.
''Why?''
because no person is allowed to see it.
Captain Bennett, who has charge of it, is
home sick, and can't show it without an
order from the superintendent. and he is
not here
suppose I am looking for a missing
person."
''That makes no difference. No one is
allowed to see it,
When person is reported missing what
does the police department do to discover
if a great crime has been committed or
not, or to find the absent persona"
Gin some cases an alarm is sent out to
the station houses with a description of
the person and clothing worn. This is
read to the patrolmen when they are
going out on the post.''
e'When the description is hurriedly read
to c platoon of men going out on post do
you think they pay attention or have
brains keen enough to form good idea of
the appearance of the missing party, or in
fact that they remember a word about it
when they are a half dozen blocks away?"
''No, don't think they do. I think it is
the merest matter of form, and I know
that the cases where officers find straying
people from the descriptions in the station
house are very rars indeed"
''The policemen do not enter the descrip-
ton in any memorandum book carried
with them?"
"No, of course not; and if they did it
would not be of any use, especially in the
case of boys and girls who all look SO
much alike"
''And is this all that is done?'
ooh, we look on the precinct returns
every morning to see if the party has been
arrested. We 60 by the name"
''Does the detective bureau do anything
in such cases?'
mo. except in important cases, where it
is some well-known or prominent per-
son.
''You say that in some cases you send out
alarms to the station houses. Do you not
do this in all cases p
No, there are cases where we don't let
even the police know of them"
sThat appears extraordinary. What is
the explanation ~
swell, there are some big people who
do not like even the police to know that
they have anybody missing, or that there
is anything wrong or mysterious about
anv of them ?''