The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-03-24

It Was Not Due to Byrnes's Superhuman
Smartness, but to Mrs. Hamilton.
New York Times.
1t is time that this air of mystery about the
confession of Alderman Jaehne should be dissi-
pated and the actors In the scene in Inspector
Byrnes's drawing room, last Wednesday night,
should be placed in their true light before the
gaze of the public. The Times is in position to
state on the most indubitable authority, that
Alderman Jaehne, on that night which has be-
come historical in the record of the Broadway
franchise sale, did make a confession to In
spector Byrnes. The Times is in position to
say that Mr. Jaehne was not ''entrapped" by In
spector Byrnes, as the result of ANY shrewd de-
tectiye work, but that he made his confession de-
liberately as choice of the lesser of two certain
evils, trusting TO escape from the punishment of
his crime in the courts, because he knew that in
case he refused he would be arrested on charges
from which there could be no hope of escape. In
other words. Inspector Byrnes put the twist
OH the Alderman, to use the elegant expression
of the detective vocabulary, and the Alderman
''squealed."
This result was primarily due to the action of
one public spirited woman, Mrs. Hamilton, who
was willing to brave notoriety for the sake of
doing her duty, and placed In the hands of the
investigating committee the story of the disap-
pearance of her silverware in the shop Of Alder
man Jaehne. Them for the first time the gener-
al public was notified that Alderman Jaehne was
"fence," but it was not the first intimation
that Inspector Byrnes had of the fact. The AL
derman had been engaged in the business of re-
ceiving stolen goods for nearly ten years, and
this fact was known at headquarters long before
Mrs. Hamilton applied to Inspector Byrnes to
aid her in the recovery of her silver The fence
and the detective have been friends, and Jaehnes
operations were we'll known to Byrnes. How
well known was shown in some degree by the
revelations in regard to Mrs. Hamiltons silver,
which placed Mr.. Byrnes in peculiar position
as the friend and adviser of Jaehne. 1t was this
position from which the Inspector determined to
extricate himself by throwing Jaehne overheard,
and the Alderman was given very distinctly to
understand that unless he united in the scheme
and diverted attention from the fence business
by confessing TO the bribery, things would be
made decidedly unpleasant for him.
Alderman Jaehne was not long in making up
his mind. He knew that Inspector Byrnes
could send him to Sing Sing if he chose in very
short order, and he preferred to take the chance
of trial for bribery, which gave him some hope
of escape. He consented to make the confession
which was to rebound to the credit of Byrnes as
a great work of detective skill, and he went to
Byrnes's house for that express purpose after ar
ranging bondsman to be prepared TO save him
from being locked up He knew just as cer-
tainly, when he came down town on Thursday
morning, that he was To be arrested as Inspector
Byrnes and his officers knew it, and his subse-
quent appearance in the district attorneys Office
and giving OF bail was part of the drama plan
ned and arranged in Inspector Byrness house
the night before
The full details Of the Alderman's confession