Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-10-26
WORK OF DETECTIVES.
Why it Often Fails-SOme Notable
Failures.

Why 1t Often FailS-SOme NOta BILE
Failures.
Washington Star.
An old and experienced detective in
the employ Of the government, an edu-
Gated gentleman, ana one who has
| worked not only in this country, but in
Europe, commenting UPON the Rose
Clark murder mystery, expresses the
| opinion that the detectives now work
ing up the case were all wrong IN their
theories, and that no satisfactory results
| would be obtained, "People," says he
! "cOmp|a,n that the modern detective is
| not as good % the average detective Of
| past generations, but believe they are
| just as good as they ever we're. The
trouble is that the average detertive is,
! and always has been, a man Of little ed
ucatlon, aud, compared with his fellow
ctzens generally, very ignorant man.
| But with the advancement of science
and the spread of general intelligence
| among the masses, the criminal has be-
come more scientific and more INTEL
| llgent in his work. WAS struck with a
remark which Billy Forester. the man
supposed tor a long time to be the per
petrator OF the celebrated Nathan muir
| der, once made to me, There have
| been," said he, "rewards amounting to
| S5OD,UOO offered for my capture. I have
! known of at least 500 detectives who
bwere looking for me in this country and
| Europe. While they were dyelng their
lnustaches l generally left the city. The
trouble is that nearly every detective
does his work after system. There Is
set way for the tracing up of every
crime, and when the average detective
| has followed up every trail suggested
| by the usual rules for working up u GER
tain class of crimes. he is unable to go
| any farther and the criminal goes I'M
discovered" Why, there's Josh Tag
Enthusiastically into the Charlie Ross case,
and spent first $4,000 of his own money
and $1,000 more that he borrowed, and
| then died. Then there is Capt. Jourdan,
who spent his wealth looking for For
! roster, Of whom just spoke, and then,
ne, too, died. These men, stimulated
by the reward offered, tried
| the old. systems in working up their
| cases and failed, because the men they
| were looking for were too intelligent
! and outwitted their pursuers. The sci
| ence Of safe building, has developed to
| such All extent that the old style safe
| burglary Is lost art. There will be
| bank robberies in the future, but no
bank burglaries; connterfeltjng, too, is
| carried on only by few amateurs. The
! Old timers among the counterfeiters turn
their attention to other swindles, where
the outlay is small and the risk not so
great. Ask business man how long it
has been since he saw counterfeit note.
Ask your banker the same question.
! If a counterfeit comes out it is generally
better executed than the genuine, and
it is detected because it is good work,
rather than because it is poor. To do
detective work man must be ofmature
age, and must discipline himself against
arriving at conclusions too quickly. I
have general idea from closely read
Ing the newspaper accounts of the Rose
Clark murder, that it was not deliber-
ately planned aft ir. I think the MUIR
/ derer's object was at first, when be
probably came unexpectedly upon the
woman in the darkness, that he might
overpower her and crafty base pas
sion; but, finding he had used too much
violence; he made good the work Of
murder when once he saw he had gone
too far, and threw the body where it
was found. The vanishing Of the theo-:
rles OF the detectives shows that they
are all upon the wrong track" :, .