The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1892-08-26
CLEVER DETECTIVE WORK.
A EoveI Plan for Overhearing and Over.
looking Chicago's BoOdIers.


looking Chicago's BoodIers.
Several aldermen of the city of Chicago
have been indicted for accepting brides,
and the matter from it's similarity TO the
celebrated New York doodle" cases is at
tracing national attention. The evidence
against the aldermen was very skillfully
worked up by Detective John Bonfield,
whose device for overhearing the consulta-
tons of the conspirators is related by the
Chicago News as follows:
When Alderman johnny Powers read
that certain detectives had been watching
''boodling" operations through a hole in
the ceiling, he went into the business de-
partment of his saloon on Madison street
and looked carefully at the wall paper
overhead. He could not see any hole. AT
ter gazing at the wall paper long and
earnestly without finding a break or tat
ter he became convinced of his own limo
cence and said the story was lie. Johnny
Powers is not n specialist in optical illu-
sions. Detective John Bonfield is
When the saloon was opened on Madison
street by Alderman Powers and Alderman
OBrien it was the understanding that the
place was to be the headquarters for the
gang" Those who were watching the
operations of the crowd soon became con-
WINGED that much business was being trans
acted in the private Office of Powers &
O'Brien. Detectives made an examination
of the premises The saloon fronting north
on Madison street, had a cigar stand and
screen near the front door. The bar ex-
tended down the east of the room to the
tall ice chest. Behind the ice chest and
shut off by partitions eight feet high were
two private rooms, apparently intended for
wine closets. The room in front was kept
locked. Alderman Powers and Alderman
OBrien each carried key. Behind these
two private rooms was the partition sepa-
rating the barroom from the "stock ex-
change" bucket shop in the rear. An
offset in the west wall of the barroom mar
rowed the passage leading to the back
room. The private office had safe in the
northeast corner and table in the center,
The detectives gained temporary possess
sion of the vacant room over the saloon.
Election Commissioner Hutchings held the
lease. They found that the offset in the
west wall continued up through the second
floor. BY estimating the distances from
the angle of the offset they were able to
locate point in the floor Immediately
above the private Office. This was not
done, however, until frequent visits had
been made to the saloon and all of the dis
tances had been stepped Off by the
sleuths. Then the next thing was to get n
hole through the ceiling and watch the
transaction of business in the clearing
house.
1t was no easy task to make a hole in
the ceiling large enough to see what was
going on underneath and small enough to
escape attention. The new wall paper in
the barroom was of light shade and
black hole, even half inch in diameter,
would have been at once noticed.
The boards were sawed off between the
Joists, which We're sixteen inches apart.
Then the laths were cut out for space
about six inches in diameter The re-
moval of the plastering was a careful oper-
alton. A solution of glue and water was
used to moisten it, and it was picked out a
little at time. The detectives were ex-
pecting to come to the wall paper, but they
were surprised to find a layer of boards
under the plaster. When a hole was eau
tiously chiseled through the boards the
workers came to a layer of muslin. to
which the wall paper had been plastered.
This was piece of good fortune. Thestiff
muslin allowed G-inch hole to be cut in
the wood. The only things to be pen
etrated were the cloth and paper
Detective Bonfleld then decided to prick
a large number of very small holes through
the muslin and paper. Experiments were
made, and it was found that sheet of pa
per could be made as porous as mosquito
bar without marking it up. 1t was feared,
however, that in trying to put in so many
of the little apertures the paper might be
torn by the holes running into each
other" So the needles were fastened to-
gether in n comb and the work was done
with the holes very close to each other.
1t was found that the whole interior of
the Office could be seen and the talk could
be plainly heard. In order for the OBJ
server to lie down and keep his eye over
the sieve, neat little shelf was inserted
between the joists, All of this tedious
work was done in the few hours of the
night during which the place below was
closed
AS to what the man on the shelf saw
and heard and what was taken down in
short hand the grand jury will inquire in
good time. After sufficient observation
had satisfied the detectives, the hole was
closed up and the floor relaid. The reason
Alderman Johnny Powers did not find
the hole was that there were several hun
bred holes.