The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1883-08-08
STRANGE DISCREPANCIES.
Reasons Why so Many People go n1lssIns
iu New York,

In ninety-nine out of hundred cases the
result shows that the man or woman sought
for, especially the man, has usually disap.
peared through his own desire TO absent
himself from his home. Sometimes he has
had an important business engagement that
ae Is so interested in that he forgets to conn.,
municate with his relatives; perhaps he has
been out on little spree and won't come
home until morning or he may have found
an affinity. Perchance he is in debt or an
order of arrest is out for him. or there are
thousand and one little reasons why he
thinks that, for the time being, his absence
from his accustomed haunts is q consum.
nation to be wished for.
Usually the lower the station in life Of
persons reported missing the more likely
Are their friends to ascribe their disappear
ance to foul play. Every day two officers
detailed to attend to such cases are kept
busy searching records and telegraphing de-
seriptions of such cases, which number from
testo twenty day. Very often woman
will call at Police Headquarters and report
hat her better half has been missing for a
hight.
Does he drink Pr the officer asks
Never" is the reply.
g Ever been arrested ?"
" Never in his life."
Then the leaves of the arrest book arc
scanned, and the inquirer in the meantime
Inns into the ears of the searcher her fore
ooding that her better half is murdered
ind, perhaps, in the river, usually con-
cluded to be the receptacle CT all persons
not at home in time to suit their anxioup
friends.
No, madam" is the reply; "he's not
In the river, but across the riyer-ten davs
for getting drunk"
" Bad manners to him." is the explosion
that follows :" I've paid many tin dollars
to get him out, an he can stay there, for all
l care"
Then comes neatly dressed woman.
young and pretty, but possessing an awful
5ongue. For an hour she sits down and
talks at the dreadfully bored policeman,
Who Mt last comes to the sage conclusion
that the missing man had good reasons for
disappearing.
young man from Harlem next inquiries
for brother who disappeared in most
mysterious fashion three days before. a
man came to his shop, and he walked away
with him without saying word My
mother is terribly anxious" A search of
the records shows that the young man is
locked up in Jail ON the complaint of
young woman who says that he is the father
Of her child. Then an inquiry is made for
l business man who left his store but n few
hours before and has not returned home.
Tho telegraphie dispatches show that he has
been taken i'll in the street and taken to u
hospital.
An old woman who has been haunting
the Superintendent's office for week max.
ing inquiries about her son then reiterated
her inquiries for information. She SAYS
that she has not seen her son for month /;
that he did not live with her, but was in the
habit of seeing her once week. He IL d
laborer in furniture warehouse and she
says of steady habits. When he was last
seen he was bleeding, she says. from a club
bling received at the hands of some police.
man. Inquiries have been made about the
case, and her son proves to be young
loafer who while drunk insulted O woman
and was well beaten for his pains. The
police offer the suggestion that he is still on
the same old spree or perhaps locked up
under a fictitious name. But the old lady
will not accept this view of the case, and as
she goes out she says: " He is missing and
you ought to find him."
Although several thousand people are re-
ported as missing during the course of
year, nearly all are heard from by theb
friends sooner or later; but usually the
police are never notified of this fact. There
are often reasons why il is desirable to keep
the matter quiet. Occasionally missing
man is found in the river but it is rare in
deed that he is recognized from the de-
scription left by the friends, One reason
for this is that the list of people reported as
missing is not furnished by the police te
.he keeper of the Morgue.