The national leader., 1889-03-02
THEY COMMAND AN ARMY.
The PinkertOn Brothers and the 5000
Men They Employ.

The Pinkertons-Wi illIam A. and
Robert A.-better known as "Bill" and
"Bob." came to st. Paul recently and
put up in parlors 1 and K at the Hotel
Ryan. 1t would be hard to find two
brothers anywhere who think better of
each other than these two sons of the
great Allan Pinkerton.
Allan Pinkerton started the business
In Chicago before tie war. Bill and
Bob grew up in the business and the
business has grown up with them
Few people have any idea how big a
concern it is.
The Pinkertons employ 5000 men.
Besides the two head offices in Chicago
and New York, the st. Paul Pioneer
Press Is authority for the statement
that there are agencies in Boston,
Philadelphia. Kansas City, Denver and
st. Paul. They have force of patrol.
men in these cities known as ''Pinker-
tons Preventive Watch" They have
arsenals at Chicago and New York,
with uniforms and Winchester rifles
enough 10 arm five regiments Of men.
Pinkerton detectives are everywhere.
They are employed In nearly every
large mercantile house in America. in
hotels, in banks. following circuses and
watching suspected employees of rail-
roads and other big corporations. The
business has doubled in the last ten
years, and promises to double again
within the next decade. 1t is making
rich men of "Bill" and ''Bob." Their
joint income Is variously estimated at
from S150,0O0 to 100000 a year.
Either one of the brothers could prob
ably count more than S500.000 of this
worlds goods.
The secret of their success IN business
is that it has been run on business
principles. The Pinkertons do not
chase criminals IN the hope of getting
rewards. They charge their clients so
much day fer the services of an oper-
ator. Prices vary, but $S day is
about the average. The Pinkerton de-
tectives are not known to outsiders, and
very often they do not know each other
except as two or more are put to work
on the same case. ''Bill'' and bob"
hire all the new men themselves, put
ting their knowledge of human nature
and the world to use in making their
selection.
They have plenty of applicants to
choose from. Healthy young men who
are quick wltted, well informed and
have large bumps of secretlveness and
valor, are preferred. Usually the new
man goes to work as watchman or in
The Office until he has shown what stuff
he is made of. Then he is put forward
by degrees. The Pinker tons have gray
haired detectives In their employ who
have been there from boyhood. No
man who ever worked for them and did
his duty was allowed to go unrewarded,
and when death takes off a good man
the Pinkertons pension his widow and
orphans.
There are probably few men in the
world 80 well posted on what might be
called thievology as ''Bill" Plnkerton.
He has made it a life study. He has
in his library photograph, description
and record of every professional crimi-
nal of America, and the most i'm
portant of those of Europe. He has
cultivated a wonderful memory for
names and faces, and his brain is a
storehouse of knowledge Oh this subject.
He keeps constant watch of the move
ments Of professional criminals of all
kinds. and when any big crime is COM
mitted in New Zealand or Delaware. or
anywhere else, he can come pretty near
guessing who did it, If it was the work
of professional.