Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1888-12-19
A DETECTIVES TALK.
An Old Hand Outlines the Requi-
sites Of a Good Sleuth.

IN = pleasant half hours tall the other
day with the head OF a great detective
agency Of National reputation. l learned
more about the favorite dime novel heroes
detectives - than l lave ever read or
imagined in the whole corrse Of my ex;
istencc, writes correspondent Of the Chr
cago Journal
As all who have ever had any deanpos
wi h them we'll know, detectives in res.i II. }
orc very dncrent from these in novels and
plays. The stage dc ectipe 10 q nea.iy
dressed, debosaair individual with nlli ton
chop whisKcrs. With the aid Of wig and
false boards he assumes all sorts of dis
guises, which he suda enly throws off 10 dis
lose his real identity at tho most uncx-
pcctcd rlomcnts. Dion Rouclcau,t, IN one
OF his plays, reprcsentsa Il detective who ia
quite q young nun as making hinse up
for an elderly gentleman OF sixty -yea:s,
and going about holding conversations {"!th
people who kAow MN wed without beng
recognized. In .:.,.ny other plays and novels
detectives arc represented as xlping Sin. ar
impossible things. The cunningcst a,...r-
worker can not make wig or beard which
will defy the detection OF a keen observer
in bright Ggnt, and every actor well
knows that it is Impossible to paint upon
the face the lines which simulate old age
without making 1t perfectly plain to spccta-
tors near the stago that they arc painted
and not natural. There is nothing peculiar
or distinctive in the dress or appearance OF
real detectives, and the famous one to
whom have alluded looks more like re-
spectacle farmer than any thing else. When
asked him how men become detectives he
replied that they don't become" " but must
have a natural gift for tho profession.
Detectives must be born and not made"
he continued. "Many Of them first find
out their aptitude for the work by some
event occurring in their own private ex-
perience which causes them for the nonce
to turn amateur detectives. That was the
case with the late Allen Pinkerton.
"He wa. farming IN the West, and was
much annoyed by the depredations of a
gang Of horse thieves. BY the clcverest
kind of detective work he at length sue
ceeAed in bringing them to justice and re-
covering his nags. His services were then
sought by his neighbors in similar cases,
and the final result was that he established
tho Pinkcrton Detective Agency"
"1ybat Qualities are most essential in
detectirei" asked.
"Tact, coolness, courage, good judgment
and selicontrol Tho lack OF any of these
will debar man from attaining the highest
rank in the profession, though it may not
prevent him from beng fairly clever IN
some branches of It. 1 once knew and en-
plevea very bright young fellow who POS.
ecsscd every requisite Of great general
detective, save self-control, and the lack OF
that rualty caused him TO spoil some OF hs
bost work. resolved to subject him to one
OF tho severcst Of all tests OF detectives
skill set him to fry TO extort COMES
sion from young woman charged with IN
fauticide. In the course OF many inter-
views with this girl no fell in love with hcr.
az he afterward confessed to me, ana
blinded by his passion he came to believe
firmly in her innocence. He also formed q
theorv that she was not the mother OF the
murdered child, but had assumed to be to
nrotect the reputation Of her younger sis
ter. Nevertheless, determined to 40 bis
duty, he persisted in his attempts to extort
4 confession, believing that the result
would he the confirmation OF his theory.
He PLAYED his part SO we'll that the girl
broke down and was about to confess her
self u murdcress, when he, realizing the
true state of the case, was so angry at ind
ing himself thus deceived In the character
of the woman he loved, that he broke out
with such volley OF oaths and reproaches
as forever sealed the unnatural mother s
lips on the subject of her crime. AS cob
sequence she was acquitted for lack OF d.
rect evidence. This shows how important
self-control is to detective.
..Besides the qualities I havc named,
strong perceptive faculties are OF great i'm
portapce to detective, as is also power
of generalization which will enable him to
lump at once to correct conclusions from
slight and seemingly tritiipg premises. A
good. reliable memory he must have, that,
having once seen u face, he may be able to
Instantly recognize and place it, no mat
ter when, where OF under what circuta-
stances he sees it again. lie must not only
remember faces, but names, numbers ana
dates az well There II no business OK pro
t,o., IN ,,,f.iili elLiee nee -not b natural