The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-08-08

Others, but they have frequently to be put
into operation under circumstances which
detract somewhat from their meritorious
character.
Perhaps no thief taker of prominence
bad such pains paid to his training as;
William A Pinkerton. For years before
Allan Pinkerton died, William was daily
| frequenter of The Store in Chicago This
WAS a saloon kept by Mike Mcdonald,
whose fame as boss of the gambling fra
ternity of the west attracted crooks beyond
number to the place Young Pinkerton's
! presence there was the subject of grave
comment for long period; it was said he
was throwing away the best portion of his
| life by lettering in The Store, and that he
would never become as famous as his
! father But William knew what he was
about. 1t was his fathers wish that he
should acquire familiarity with the faces
and manners OF the most notorious law
! breakers in the west, and while he was an
parently loa6ng and drinking with tough
characters, he was in reality LAYING the
basis OF knowledge which was to prove
Invaluable. With the probable exception
OF Inspector Byrnes, no one has a wider
knowledge OF criminals than William a.
Plnkerton 1t was gained in a manner
not altogether pleasant, but it was the
best way open for the task, and, as re-
marked before, a detective cannot afford
TO be too particular in obtaining informa-
ton.
In most American cities the force of spe-
cial thief takers is often recruited from the
ranks OF roundsmeu and patrolmen. While
this system works well enough in some re-
spects 1t is nevertheless open to objections
Appointments to the police force are very
often the outcome of political influence
and 1t does not follow that because a man
makes q good policeman he will show abil-
lty in the higher branches of his calling
Many policemen are naturally ADAPTED to
shine as detectives, but the training thew
receive is not always conducive TO success.
Shrewdness and sagacity do not follow as
sequence 70 an appointment. As one of
the detective novelists has said, detectives
are born, not made, and those who achieve
emInence IL their calling are few and far
between.
Ot course, In the detective as in other
business, there are tricks of trade which
are easily learned. 1t is simple enough.
when some enormity is committed. to rake
In all the suspicious characters and put
u S'NCeiI OOA pEOCtSS. JuSL
as likely as not one may stumble on the
criminal but number of innocent people
are subjected to indignities which are
scarcely in keeping with the spirit of the
constitution. But "fue work" comes in
when the chief has presented to him diff
hcuIt problem in the solving of which the
~ork OF half dozen or more experts is
needed.
nave in mind just such n case. Not
many years ago large banking institution
o. New York was swindled out of 500 OcO
on a forged check which purported to be
drawn 10y HE insurance company in pay
ment OF policy. The widow OF the in
sured received the genuine check and went
10 the bank 10 cash it, Before she arrived,
however, another woman had appeared.
accompanied by s supposed LAWYER. and
orawn the money. When the real widow
arrived the cashier took alarm and reported
10 the president the peculiar circumstances
az TIE case. IL was found that the bogus
check bore the same number as the Ieziti-
mate check. and II was AT once suspected
that the forger had coufederates
\ very delicate situation at once present
ed Itself The bank president was inclined
To believe that his cashier might have
guilty knowledge OF the plot The presj.
dent of the insurance company thought
that there was a leak In his own Office IL
was curious, 70 say the least. that wou,-