Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-04-25
A LIVE DETECTIVE.
Inspector BYrDes and How He
Catches Criminals.
mol Done in Dime Novel way---The Old
Adage There is Honor Among
Thieves" Found to be a False
Theory---Where Vice Holds
High Carnival.

New YORK, April l0-If anyone wer
to AJAX "Who is the best advertised mani
New York; it is doubtful whether on
we'll informed man in the first FIVE hun
dred would answer correctly, so we'll ant
ingeniously is the advertising done in thi
case. 1t is not P. T. Bsrnun, or Jak
Sharp, or Alderman Jaehne, or Ed Stoke
or anyone you would be likely to think Of
60 exquisitely is the publicity achieved
for the man who gets lions share of it
That man is Inspector Byrues, of the polio,
detective force.
For several years there has not been oil
important arrest in New York city, Il
speak Of to which his name has not beer
attached in heoric light. The hesdqusr
tiers reporter of newspaper telephones
down: "Byrnes has made a big arrest
will give out toe news at 8 o'clock to
night" Somebody is sent up to get The
news. Byrnes is chatting with the super
iptendent. The other reporters are there
Follow m q gents" says the great detective
and all the scribes do 90 through narrow
passage aud down three swinging doors in
to the eminent human sleuth bounds
private room. You are always led into il
in a roundabout way, and yet you are let
out Off through a door plump into the
main hall, That is part Of the business.
The reporters take seats and produce
pads and pencils. The Inspector Tolls on
a leather lounge. A marvellous tale Of
detective adventure, adroitness, persever.
ance and cunning rolls from his lips.
sHREwD AND ABLE.
The story is true, aud is printed with
more or less completeness. That is why
he ia the best advertised msuin New York
He is shrewd enough TO give trustWorthy
information to the p!ess interestingly
That ia next to the greatest secret OF his
success, whichis that he is a born politician
He is wellbuilt, brosd-shouldered man Of
average height, with round, heavy face,
low forehead, protruding check bones. and
g black, stiff mousteche. From being a
"sidevalker meaBurer," as they call the
patrolmen, he came to BIO sergeant, and
then a captain by excellent service and
knowing how to help himself along He
vas captain Of a station, then Of the Broad
wav squad, and next of the Central Office
detectives, and the first thing any one
knew he was made Inspector.
Somebody asked Inspector Byrnes one
day if he had read t life of Vidocq, the
great Partisan detective. NO. he said (;
but ! tried to It's all bloody guf-
regular French funny business, go up to
goose the public. If there ever was any
such business in our line the day for it hiss
passed by. We didn't do any stage pro-
perty, dime novel Disgusting nowadays-
unless it may bo TO put on beard or shave
off moustache. Nowadays we under
stand the crooks too well to need any such
Continuance. There's a job to be done;
it's such aud such kind Of job, and it's
done by an old hard or it's clumsy and
bungl;ng, az if q greeny had done it. Well
we va pot the CROOKS dead to rights on the
different lays fits bit OF sneak work
We look around among the crooks in thai
line, find out where they are and where
they were when the JOB was done. Then
we narrow it down to one, and when We
ret the dead wood on him we give him the
collar. Just 30 we do if it's job Of any
other sort. Each man has his own line
and we know the men in each line"
NO HONOR AMONG THIEVES.
A major part Of the detective work in
New York is based on the fact that the old
adage, There is honor among thieves, il
a fslsity. Certain criminals are under sus
D;cion; great many are under obligation;
10 the detectives in one way or another
Others snll are grAtuitouely dishoEorable
and make it business TO whisper to The
police. To these men the detectives &c
when they want to discover who did crook
ed piece Of work, or 10 fluid out the where
abouts Of criminal under suspicion. In The
pigeonholes Of the District Attorney office
are hundreds OF papers eliminating mel
engaged in crime who are not prosecuted
because they have political influence or are
helpful TO the police. -,
Then, again, there ore horrible dives anc
dens where vice holds high carnival every
night and about which the newspapers print
the most astounding disclosures. They are
never closed or rOided BY the police. Dc
you know wby2 1t is because they are The
sdiuucts Of the modern detective system
Suopose that Billy Porter is wanted. De
drops into one OF these places in disguise
Not one of the detectives who are constant
" going in and out is able 10 recognize
him, Before daylight be is arrested. Sap
pose that some young ruiIisn unknown tt
the police because he has just committed
his fret offense. or because he belongs II
some distant city drops into one OF these
nlaces; he too, is arrested before day break
In that den of vice? Oh. no. He leaves
there before midnight and he ia arrested il
bed in Jersey City Ct in tenement il
Harlem.
THE WAY 1T is DONE
How is il done Well ten minutes at
tsr he entsrs the notorious dive the propti
etor told OF his presence; is told, perhaps
,hs, the fellow is hard up and needs money
10 oct OFT of tom. The proprietor is 9
head criminal among criminals. He II
Generous. He hands out $40 and treats 4
ihe drinss. OF perhaps nothing of thu
sort takes place and only q bouncer be
longing to the dive or man who waits OF
the tables finds out.vho has come in; o.
quite likely one of the poor ou,csst Womer
w o hsun,s tie place to drink or smoke o.
gets hint from the man himself OF from
q comraie of who and what he il. II tn,
criminal is OF all well known he j recogui
xed Of course, and congratulated on al
sides for having kept out of quod 90 long
Strangely enough while he is eOioyiO!
himself man pops into police head
quarters is lost in sight behind doc
and presently shoots out and is next seel
entering the dive in question. Close o.
his heels goes a detective, who lounges o
a corner near the saloon or slips into III
door Of house opposite, to which be CA
,ies key, to an upper room commsndln
a view Of the front door of the dive. Th
criminal in time steps into the street an
IN akes his way to his hiding place. 1t b