Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1883-09-16
GEORGE n. BANGS DEAD.
Career OF Pinkerton's Famous super
intendent.

Career Of PInkerton's Famous super
Intendent.
PHILADELPHIA, September 15.-The sud-
den death OF George II. Bangs, General Su-
perintendent of Pinkerton's agencies,
causes profound surprise and regret, not
limited to the circle Of his fellow workers.
The dead mans career was an eyentful one.
He was native Of Maine, and when very
young man formed the business connec-
tions with Allan Pinkerton that have lasted
for over thirty years. Long before and
during the war he worked out important
cases that made him famous, and when in
1866 Pinkerton decided to withdraw from
the active duties of his brain-worrying
profession, he appointed Mr.. Bangs general
superintendent OF the Pinkerton agencies,
and from that day on he was assigned to
unrayel the most intricate and difficult
cases that came into the Office.
In 1867 he was engaged in case which
illustrated peculiar phase OF his charac.
ter-the faculty Of
Breaking Down q Criminal,
or extracting a confession from him. w.
Il, Wales, a young New Englander, and R.
l. Dudley, as was afterwards discovered,
had been engaged in rot bing the mails of
in the Government employ. To further
the success of his scheme Wales rented an
Office at 3D. Chestnut street, in this city,
under the name OF Cone. After working
on the matter for some time, Captain Lin.
den, now of the Philadelphia agency, dis
cIvered Cone and Wales to be one a1d the
same person, through the medium of blot.
ting pad. Wales had then left the city, and
Mr. Bangs started out TO trace him. After
al he N
ealth near Erie, took him INTO custody and
brought him to Philadelphia. The detec'
tive then set systematically to work, not to
only extract confession out to use the
prisoner as a bait TO land his fellow con-
spiratOr. For two days did Mr.. Bangs
viyidly portray to the young mans miud
the horrors of q prison life; the disgrace
that would follow and fasten itself to the
family Of the wrongdoer. He pictured in
glowing terms how q mothers sorrow and
a fathers shame might be avoided by full
confession Of the crime, and so lei young
Wales on that at the end OF forty eight
hours he was ready and anxious to tell all.
His companion in crime was secured, and
this led to other captures, revealing the
existence of an organized gang Of mail
robbers who had been defying detection
for months, so perfect were their methods.
The famous robbery of the Adams EX-
press Company at Cos Cob Bridge, on the
New Haven Railroad, was laid bare by N.Y.
Bangs and the perpetrators captured.
Bullard and Marsh, the bod train robbers,
who robbed an express car on the Hudson
River Railroad and escaped to Canada,
were traced to their hiding-place by the
detective on q clue that would seem no
clue ST all, and brought back and convicted
of the crime. That stupendous piece OF I
clever thieves work-the robbery of the !
SaFa Vrc nf
delphis, by the great burglar, Pete Burns,
the veteran cracksmsn Weishart, and the |
daring bank thief, Joe Calvert, alias But. !
ton Joe'-8aS worked up by Mr.. Bangs and |
the robbers secured although their tracks |
had been covered with more than usual care. |
The most recent piece OF
Brilliant Detective Work
performed by him, and which required un-
nCny in the famous Whitaker VIII case
that well.lsi plan OF perfected fraud, al
most without parallel. Mr.. Bangs secured |
the testimony link by li2k, and woye such |
a complete web about the arch conspirstors |
that there was no escape. Illustrations OF |
the wonderful success of this dead man in |
his particular line could be given
rradiSg more like overdrawn fc- |
ton than cold fact He was known, re- !
spected and even admired by every Grimi. |
nal Of note in the United States, and when |
Lis clear, piercing eye was csSt upon the |
face OF thief there was 5ut few attempts |
n ade to eysde question or TO tell an un. |
truth. IN the death of George II. Bangs,
the PinkertOn Agency loses one who can |
be truly called-tO repeat that hacSneyed |
slmile-a modern NidOcI, terror 20 the |
evil-doers, and withal an honest, great
hearted gentleman.