The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1888-09-01
A DETECTIVES TALK.
AR Old Hand Outlines tho Requi~
sites Of Good Sleuth.

day with the head OF great uetectiss
agency Of National reputation, learned
more about the favorite dime novel heroes
detectives - than i have ever read or
imagined in the whole course OF my ex-
istence, writes q correspondent OF the CHI
cage Journal.
As all wac have ever had any dealings
with them well know, detectives in real life
are very different from, those in novels and
rlavs. The stage detective is neatly
dressed, llebouair individual with mutton
chop whi5hers. With the aid of wig and
false boards he assumes all sorts Il dis
guises, which he suddenly throws or tc als~
close his real identity at the most une3-
sec5ed moments. Dion Roucicau't, III one
ii his plays, represents detective VINO is
uuite . young man Us making himself up
for an elderly gentleman Of sixty years,
and going about holding conversations with
veople who know ;aial well without beng
Recognized. In many other plays and novels
detectives are represented AS doing similar
impossible things. The cunningest hair
worker can not make q Wi, or beard which
yyill DEFY the detection Of keen observer
in a bright light, and every actor we'll
knows that it is impossible to paint upon
the face the lines which simulate Old age
without making it perfectly plain 10 spectac
tors near the stage that they are painted
ana not natural. There is nothing peculiar
o. distinctive in the dress or appearance OF
real detectives, and the famous one TO
whoIo have alluded looks more. like q re-
spectacle farmer than any thing else When
asked MIN how men become detectives ne
replied that they don't become " but must
have a. natural gift for the profession.
Detectives must be born and not made"
he continued ;sMany Of them first lind
out their aptitude for the work by some
event occurring in their own private ex-
narience which causes them for the nonce
"a turn amateur detectives. That was the
case with the late Allen Pinkerton.
slHezvas farming IN the West, and was
much sanoyed by the depredations OF
qang Of horse thieves. BY the clevsrest
kind Of detective work he at length suc
ceeded il. bringing them to justice and re-
covering his naga. Els servicesswere then
sought by his neig!bors in similar cases:
and the final result was that he established
the pinkerton Detective Agency
nWbat qualities are most essential III a
Actective,' ] asked.
enact, GOODNESS. courage, good Judgment
nn6 self ccntrol The lack Of any OF these
will debar O. ll:su from attaining the highest
rank in the profession, though it may not
nreyent him from being fairly clever in
some branches Of it. I once knew and EN-
ulcvel q very bright young fellow who pos
sessad every requisite Of great general
Ae:.ctiye, save self-control, and the LACK OF
that guilty caused him to spoil some OF hls
hest work. Ire5olved to subjecthim to one
sf the seyerest OF all tests OF q detectives
skill. set him to try to extort e. coi'fes-
nion from young woman charged with in
ganticidc. In the course OF many inter-
views with this girl he fell in love With ner,
As he aftcrward confessed to me, end
b!jaued by mis- passion he came to belleve
hrmly in her Innocence. He also formed
theory thai she was not the mother Oh the
murdered child, but had assumed to % TO
pa>ossct the reputation OF her younger SIS
Es, Nevertheless, determined to do ms
X1it7, he persisted in his attempts to extort
confession, believing that tue result
Nould be the confirmation OF nus theory.
Ms played his part SO well that the glr]
broke down and was about to confess Ter
self a murderess, when he, realizing the
3ero state OF The case, was 80 angry at ind
Ma hiulself thus deceived in the character
81 this woman he loved, that he broke out
With such voliey Of oaths and reproaches
rs forever sealed the unnatural mothers
nDS Oh VIC SuOj0Ce ~ l1SA NJ A@Ao' 49, ~
sscuence she was acquitted for lack OF dl-
sect evidence. This shows how important
self-control is to detectsTe.
"Resides the qualities I have named,
stvoug perceptive faculties are OF great in1-
portanea to detective, as is also power
IF generalization which will enable him to
iusrp at once 10 correct conclusions from
suEht and seemingly trifling premises. A
good, reliable memory he must have, that.
having once seen face, he may be able to
.nytpntly recognize and 'place it, no mat
fe1. when. where Or under what clrcum-
stances he sees 1t again. He must not only
remember fnces, but names, numbers ana
dates as we'll There is no business or pro
Session in which intelligence-both natural
and acquired counts for more. KnoWl-
edge Of any kind may st some time prove
useful.
ga detective must have good eyesight
and good hearing, aud especially such a
bower Of quiet observation as will enable
him to make mental note Of every thing
that goes on around him without seeming
to do Sc. He must always bear IN mine
that appearances are often deceptive. An
innocent man wrongly accused viii almost
always apeear like guilty one, while hard
tned criminal. under the most eliminating
circumstances, will readily assume the bear
Ing Of injured innocence.
II can recall some striking illustrations
OF this. and OF the utter unreliability Of cir
cumstantial evidence. One occurred re-
gently in England. A farmer was tried at
the Yorkshire assizes for the murder OF
peddlsr. The only evidence against him
was purely ciroumstantial, and consisted OF
his having been the last person with whom
the peddler had been seen alive, and in the
fact that at the time of his arrest he was
wearing a wig which was identified as h a1'
Ing belonged. to the murdered man. The
accused accounted for the possession Of the
Wig BY saying that he had found it lying in
the road on returning past the spot where
he had parted from the peddler. His state
usnt wss not believed The jury found
him guilty of. murder in the first degree,
ana tie judge was about to pronounce sen.
tepse Of death, when one Of the spectators
a1ose ana. declaring the innocence 81 the o.'