Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-21
BILLS OF DETECTIVES.
SOME CURIOUS CHARGES RY
PINKERTON'S MEN.
How they Swindled the Government
The Worthless Work they Performed
They Played the Part of Spies ana
Got Worthless Gossip.

How they Swindled the Government
The Worthless Work they Performed
They Played the Part of Spies and
Got Worthless Gossip.
Nss0 YORK Times Letter.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1.-THE govern
ment paid for the services Of detectives
during the two star route trials 81. $50 %.
| VI TINS amount So, 190 2S was paid to Allan
fihherton Tor the per diem and expenses
OF MS operators. l venture to say that
| the attorneys who represented the govern
ment IN these prosecutions did not receive
sc!ntllla OF information from these de-
| tectYes that was Of the slightest use in
| promoting the cause of Justice. The
! government was most inglOriously de-
Ieated IN both trials, and it has made no
! satisfactory explanation of its defeat. OF
what service, then, was the detectives?
Ihe ltemlzed expenses of Pinkerton's
men shows that they were about Wash
lngton during both of the long-drawn-Out
trlals; that they were continually riding
III street cars, hanging about saloons, al
ways spending money for drinks, visiting
drug stores, calling on doctors, going to
| places OF amusement, and every place
/ they went to cost the government money.
All sorts OF people were watched. fol-
lowed and Swallowed, to what endS EVERY
member OF the two iuries appears to
nave been watched, followed and shad-
! owed, but no adequate result was
achieved by the expensive system of as
plonage. The idle curiosity of the gov
ernment counsel was doubtless gratified
Dy the reports these spies made daily.
All sorts OF stories were undoubtedly re-
tailed by these people, Ii their caves
dropping did not give them the basis for
their daily amount of gossip, their imagi-
nations could supply what was lacking.
Ihey nad 10 earn their per diems and run
up bill of expenses.
The employment of detectives has be-
come great scandal, if nothing worse.
As rule, detectives in this country never
detect anything. They are EMPLOYED I'm
every case Of the slightest Importance.
and yet what mystery have they ever
solVedF In the investigation of the many
dark and mysterious crimes which have
been the subject of all sorts OF speculation
and yet remain unsOlVed problems. can
anybody truthfnlly say that the so-called
detectives afforded the officers of Justice
valuable service? The inefiiciency of de-
tectives is easily accounted for. As a
rule, they are men of no originality: they
are mere autOmatOns. They are
taught certain routine and follow a
stereotyped method. They can watch.
follow, eavesdr0p, scTape acquaintances
with bar-room lOafers and whisky guz-
zlers, but beyond that they are utterly
V.
the confidence OF men Of their own level
In life. and worm out secrets. They play
the confidence game-nothIng more or
higher. Whenever they come in contact
with scOundrel of superior ability and
address they are in deep water. If they
strike crime out of the usual order, and
about which there are not to be found the
regulation ear-marks, they soon come to
grIet. Nlnety-nine per cent. of them are
dishonest, and if you employ one you
have to employ two others to watch the
first one.
Great detectives are as rare as great
men III any other calling. The qualities
required are keen perception, the power
OF minute observation, the ability to rea-
son from few facts, profound knowledge
oil human nature, quick, retentiYe =
memory, and intuitiOn-a faculty that
cannot be described or accounted for.
Careful study and an intimate knowledge
OF the habits of criminals is absolutely
necessary in one branch of the business.
In the higher grades the detectives must
possess a knowledge of mechanics and Of
science.
The story about an Indian who found a
white man lying dead in the woods with
bullet-hole in his forehead is one of the
best illustrations of the habit of observa-
tiOn which a detective must cultivate.
The Indian came into the white settle
ment and told the settlers his story:
"Fnund white man dead in woods Had
hole IN his head. Short white man shot
him with long gun; ramrOd of gun three
inches beyond muzzle of gun. Wore gray
woolen coat. Had little dog with short
tail. Had waited long while for
dead man to come alOng.v GLOW
do you know all this! Did You
see itT was naturally demanded of the
Indian. ''Oh yesl me saw; now show
you" The settlers visited the scene of
the murder, and the Indian showed them
the spot where the murderer had waited
for his victim. He had set his gun against
the tree. 1t was long one, because the
bark was slightly grazed high up, and
about three inches above the mark left
by the muZZle there was a slighter mark
made by the ramrod, showing that it pro-
jected three inches. The man wore a gray
wOOlen coat, because where he had leaned
against the tree little particles of gray
threads had been caught by the bark,
There was the place where the little dog
sat on his haunches-his stump tail left a
mark in the yielding soil. The murderer
was short, because when he reloaded his
gun he set the butt good way from his
feet. The trail he left coming and going
showed he was white, because he turned
his toes out. Indians never did. The
trail also showed that the one coming to
the tree was older than the one going
away from thence, the murderer had
waited.
1t Is very evident that Pinkerton's men
employed in the star route cases had no
such powers of observation. Their ca
paclty for guzzling and street car riding
was remarkable. During the months OF
June and July eight Of them enjoyed 1,54O
car rides, charging the government there
for $71. 1t is noticeable that they always
charge their car rides at 70 cents.
Now, all the street railroads sell
six tickets for % cents. OF course
the detectives bought tickets, and BY
charging cents every time, they robbed
the government Of three-quarte-s Of a cent
every time, which, in the aggregate on
1,54O rides, would be $11 80. Each opera
tor swOre TO the correctness of his charges.
so that eight of them committed perjury
to defraud Uncle Sam of $11 55. A nice
lot Of detectiyesl The whisky consumed
by these detectives and paid for by the
government cost $106 80. The street car
riding and whisky drinking appears TO
have been divided up-One set appearing
to do all the riding and another gang
doing the drinking. One operator seems
to have rode, on an average, about $50
miles on street cars during 45 days.
From beginning to end these bills
rendered by PinkertOn's operators were
simply petty swindles, which in the ag-
gregate amount to considerable sums.
Seven Of them were paid $4S q day for
1907 days, and one S. a day for u days.