The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1889-09-06
POINTS FOR DETECTIVES.
Inspector Byrnes Claims That g Thief
Carries His Marks on Him.

Carries His Marks on Him.
Come round to the house and take
dinner with me-" said Chief Inspector
Byrnes to me one day not very long
ago There's always an extra plate
on the table and you'll be more than
welcome"
The Inspector lives in an unpreten-
tiOus, but handsome brown stone resi-
dence on West Ninth street. He has
charming family, consisting of a wife
and several daughters, and no happier
household exists in the city. After an
admirably dinner, over which
Mrs. Byrnes, a refined, pleasant-faced
lady, presided with charming courtesy,
the inspector lighted his cigar, and in
the conversation which followed told
me many interesting facts concerning
his calling. mainly in answer to my
questions, and among other things the
following:
''HOw is it, said /, that reputable
women, sometimes women of wealth
and position, are sometimes arrested
by private detectives for stealing
goods of triiing value from dry-goods
houses and other stores? Is it rot a
fact that an honest man or woman can
always or nearly always, be distin-
guished from the well-dressed, accom-
plished thief"
The inspector pulled vigorously on
his cigar moment, and after he had
blown the blue rings away, said with
considerable elaboration;
Yes, / believe the last to be true.
Tt undoubtedly is true. Many of the
unwarranted. A detective who can
not distinguish the difference between
a lady who, by sheer inadvertence,
absence of mind, or carelessness, has
appropriated an article (and I
have known of such cases) and
woman who makes it her business
TO steal-well, such a detective does
not possess the proper qualifications
for his work. But rarely is there an
excuse for it at all. There is always
something that distinguishes the thief
from the honest man or woman. 1t is
hard sometimes to say just what that
something is. but it is always there,
and the detective, and even the ordi-
nary police officer, should be able to
detect it. l suppose the quality to
which L refer is, in its essence, the
solf-consciousncss of innocence, which
the Almighty has intended for the pro-
lection of the guiltless.
In the first place" continued Mr.
Byrnes, 1.-The conscious thief is invari-
ably furtive in his or her glance and
more or less nervous in movement.
Accomplished thieves, especially wom-
en-, are able to assume a veneering, so
to speak, of innocence, but it is a
moral impossibility for them to sue
Ccssfully counterfeit it for any length
OF time If put to any proper test.
Take a thief in crowd" the de-
tcctivo continued. warming to his sub
ject: The invariably gives himself
away to the experienced eye. An
honest man plunges along the street
and doesn't care much whether he
runs into somebody else or not, so
long as ne docs not get hurt himself
or hurt the other mau-provi ded he is
polite and considerable, OF course. He
swings along, his eyes straight ahead,
bent on getting to his destination As
soon as possible, if no is in a hurry
II he is not, and wants to take things
easy, he doesn't care how long he
stops on corner or how sharply the
officer across the way may be cycling
him. He is conscious Of no wrong
doing or wrong intent, and he shows it.
On tho other hand, the crook is
in constant fear of apprehension, and
to save his life he can't help showing
it. Even when he is not out for BUSH
ness he manifests by his furtive air,
his CHANGING, suspicious eye, his gem
cral manner of being watched and
under surveillance that his conscience
is not clear and that he fears that he
may be pounced upon at any moment
by the officers of the law. OF course
il takes some experience to detect the
visible signs of a crook, but they are
nearly always there to be read by the
Observant eye, and every competent
police officer should have such an eye,
"a thief never crowds his way
boldly into n crowd. He never pushes
and struggles to get a good position
from which TO view street parade,
for instance. OF course, two or three
thieves may crowd and jostle in stree
car, but they always get of the cal
mighty quick"
No, l tell you" concluded tho in
spector, "a genuine thief can not hide
his colors, if you only know where tc
look for them."-N. Y. Star