Barbour County index., 1885-02-20
MAKING DETECTIVES.
The Conditions Which Are Neoes-
sary for Success
resrisssoess. cooiness and ssir-csutroi
Absolutely Requlred-The DIRsreaes
Between Detectives I'm FIctaua
and Real Life.
rPiaIaaelphia rrme..I

cnotcc OF profession" remarked detec-
i've at one OF the city agencies yesterday.
"What ars the requisites Of . good detec-
hve:" asked a reporter.
"Feariessness, coolness and self-control.
without these q man can never be q per-
feet detective, for though he may be useful
In some branches Of the business he can
never attain 20 tho highest eminence In all
Of them. lie must also have strong per-
ceptive faculties and that power Of goner-s e
alization which win enable him TO jump at
once 10 correct conclusions. Memory 10 one
OF his most important essentials. One
sight of q face must imprint it % indelibly
upon bis recollection that he can never for.
get it, and he must remember not only the
face itself, but the time, place and circum-
stances with which IL Is associated. A
memory ef faces alone Is not sufficient
The detective must have q strong memory
for names, mum bers and dates az we'll He
must b intelligent, and there Is no knowI-
edge OF any kind that may not some time
be Of value to him in his profession.
Detectives in real life are very different
from those in novels and plays. The latter
are represented as wearing various dis
guises, such a. wigs, false whiskers, ETC.,
which they suddenly pull OF at the most
unexpected moments, thereby reveal
ing their identity. This is simply non.
sense. IL ID utterly Impossible for the most
skfilful hair worker 10 make up Q wig or q
set Of false whiskers that can not be de-
tected as false when worn, and every
theater- goer knows that the most skilIfu
artists in make up can not put upon their
faces lines and wrinkles which indicate
age In such q way as to deceive, even when
aided by the glamor OF ths foot-lights.
No detective in real life ever attempted to
wear any such guise. Detectives On the
stage are usually debonnair individuals, In
neat suits and mutton-chop whiskers. In
real life there is nothing distinctive in the
deep appearance aud manner of detec-
tives any more than there il in those Of
lawyers and merchants. For my own part
am more frequently taken for ''wsll-to-
do farmer than anything else"
"What is the salary OF detectixesfs
"That u . hard question to answer.
There II no business In which the price
varies more. Sometimes q man, after hav-
ing had an Apprenticeship on the police
force or in connection with some agency,
will set up in business for himself as q pri-
vats detective, and then he charges what
ever he pleases. Detectives are paid by
the day, and have known some OF these
private detectives, such as have men-
toned, to charge the unsophisticated SIS
and even mere per day.
"How do mon become detectivesfs
They don't become; they have nat-
ural gift In that direction Detectives,
like poots, are born, not mado Many Of
them begin ~ amateurs. For instance,
something occurs in their own lives which
causes them to turn detective for their own
purpose. They work up the case success
fully; they find that they like the work
and they embark in il as q business
"You would be surprised 70 nnd how
clever some amateur detectives are. know
. young Chestnut street merchant who
would make one OF the greatest OF al de-
tectives IL he would follow the business
He wanted to find out the whereabouts and
antecedents Of q young fellow whom he
suspected in q certain matter. He EN-.
ployed detectives, but they could discover
nothing. Finally he began to look into the
matter himself, and although the man he
was after had left the-city and covered up
his tracks I'm blest n he didn't End out
everything there was to hnd. He discov-
cred the address OF girl on Race street 70
whom the man bad been paying atten-
| tions.
"He called on her, represented himself as
q lawyer, said that her lover would In
horit a fortune IL his Identity could be e.
tablished, and In order to do that he'd have
| TO have some specimens Of his handwrit-
ing, and he persuaded her 10 let him have
two of the love-letters the fellow had writ
ten her. That was as neat q piece Of de-
tective work as I ever heard Of.
at often happens that a man fails to be Q
good general detective through the lack OF
some one quality. Thus, / employed O
young fellow once who / thought would
make a splendid detective. He had every.
thing in his favor, possessing splendid
physique and appearance, an elegant and
insinuating address, great shrewdness, re-
markable quickness of perception, and, il
short, every requisite of q great detective
except one, as afterward discovered. He
was lacking in self-control, having
an ungovernable temper, 70 which be
gave way on slight provocation- Thh
great fault was not apparent at first
however, and assigned him TO a number OF
| difficult cases, which he worked up very
satisfactorily. At last resolved TO test
his skill to the utmost, and set him to try
to extort q confession from young woman
| charged with infanticide. Now, In the
course of his interview with this girl, as he
afterward confessed to me, he fell in love
with her and took IL into his head that she
| was not only innocent of the crime alleged
against her, but that she was not the real
mother of the infant which she was &C.
cused of having destroyed, but that she
had meeely assumed tho responsibility oi
being It's mother 10 sbiold friend How.
ever, he resolved to do his duty, and feel.
| ing sure the result would be such earnest
protestations Of innocence as would con.
vines the whole world Of their sincerity, he
persevered in his sttcmpt to extort q con.
fession. He acted with so much tact that shs
| broke down completely and was about &
| confess tho whole affair, hut being satis.
fed, from her words and actions, that she
was undoubtedly guilty, he became % en-.
RACED to find that one whom he had al.
lowed himself TO love and believe in haa
beea, guilty Of such baseness that he bursi
forth into such q torrent OF oaths and In.
verElves against her as to seal her lips for.
l1sver on the subject Of her crime. The TO
/ suit was her prompt acquittal for lack Of
direct evidsnee. Thus you zee how inn.
portant lt 10 for . detective 70 keep hii
temper"
"Are nosths Innocent often nistshea fos
he EuIlty~
every often An innocent man wrongly
accused win always appear like Q guilty
,ne, while q hardened criminal, under the
most c,i,ninating circumstances, will sssna
the persouiAcation OF virtuous innoceucs.
{ remember q singular circumstances thas
occurred at the Smithsonian Institute IN
Washington, when I was doing special
iuty there some years ago. In one Of the
coin cases there was . rare old Roman
coin, supposed to be the only one Of the
kind in existence One day q gentleman
came with . written order from q high Of