Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-10-06
REPORTERS AS DETECTIVES
Much Better Than Men in the
Police Profession.
SOME OF THEIR SPECIAL FEATS
How They Unearthed Various
Murder Mysteries.
The Men Who Made Burciard's "Rum,
Roinanism and Rebellion" Effective,
and Gave Tone to Governor Flowers
81 Don't Care Damn For Notes'-
Some Remarkable Pieces of Detective
Work.
Now YORK World.

New York World. ...........
The reporter is very often bcnefac-
tor, and it is his devotion TO fact that
makes him benefactDr The other day
Governor Flower saiL, with simple elo-
quence, abiding to the Fire Island
troubles: 81 do not care damn for
votes" This remark by Governor
Flower was not religious; IL had no
relation to higl-class literature ID was
not romantic and it was not Polished
Any reporter could have improved it in
many ways from religious standpoint
and from many other standpOints.
Walter l.. llawley, of the E0entMq SIM,
the reporter to whom the relnar; was
made, reported it verbatim, aud Ills
strict attention to business did the Gov
ernor more good politically than any
single event in his career. Everybody
Rebellion" speech by Burchard. Teas
OF thousands believe that those three
words elected Cleveland and defeated
Blaine. The world would never have
heard of them but for the strict atten.
ton to business Of Franklin Fyles, who
reported Blainc's meeting with the
clcrgymen ut the Fifth Avenue Hotel,
AS soon as he heard the words uttered
he appreciated their Importance and
everybody knows the result.
There is nothing more valuable to
society than the widespread belief that
murder will out and that criminals are
sure TO be hanged. This belief is almost
as useful as religion III keeping certain
class of men from taking Their fellow
mems property or stubbing their fellow
mon in the back IL is the newspaper
reporter who Keeps his superstition
about murderers and their certain dctec-
ton alive in the land. The reportcrdoes
far more in this direction than the detec-
tive, us Superintendent Byrnes would
no doubt declare if he thought it adyis-
able TO do So
THE DETECTIVES OF TITLE SMITHS
MURDERER.
All newspaper readers will remember
the celebrated rillie Smith murder in
New Jersey Tillie Smith, q young SCR
want girl, was killed in defending her
self against some man whom the police
gave up all hope Of discovering James
| Crcelman Of the World, and G. w. TYLER
of the Sun, worked together as dctcc-
tives OH the case. They convicted Titus,
the juntor of tho institution where
Tillic Smith lived. Hc was sentenced to
be hanged, but the sentence was after
wards committed to imprisonment for
life. In addition to the good detective
| work which these two brilliant reporters
did they wrote such simple, touching,
| straightforward accounts of the girls
| heroic defence and atrOciOus death that
the fearful public subscribed plenty Of
| money to erect monument to 'HilliC
Smiths memory. This was probably the
first money ever put up in honor Of a
\ murdered servant girl. II was certainly
q creditable monument to human sym.
pathy.
| The Dexter bank robbers of Maine
| who murdered the cashier, escaped de.
lection for 10 years. Morrill, Goddard
q reporter from the World, after 10 years
had elapsed and the police had given up
| the case, went TO work on il with slight
| clue, and the result of his work was the
arrest and conviction of the murderers
who are now doing u life sentence in
| the penitentiary, I'LL doubtless convinced
of the fact that murder will out.
MIR. r. II. DAVIS A BURGLAR AND RE,
! PORTER.
Richard Harding Davis, whose interest
in life must have diminished consider
ably since he took to writing fiction
and gave up good, noble reporting
thought that he would like to capture i
lot of Philadelphia burglars. Mr., Davis
was then reporting for II Philadelphia
paper. He distinguished himself Us !,
burglar and lived with the gang fol
two or three weeks. All We're arrested
and some of them are still in Jail. A
great actor was evidently lost to the
world in Richard Harding Davis. lie
| has a few of the burglars instincts and
doesn't look like q burglar, but he
played the part so well that when one
| Of the swindlers whom he had met in
the course of his criminal experience
| called ut his fathers house and bGheld
Davis arrayed in fine linen, lie gaHcd 1T
Davis in admiration and whispered his
curncst congratulations, thinking that
Davis had introduced himself into the
house rs butler with an eye To future
rascaliticS. The mans idea in calling
was to swindlc the servants of Tho
house in some way, Davis acquatnt
ance with the crook of course nude tAt
| unuertahlnS u lalluIC, Davis galhcu tlt
confidence Of the burglars BY represent
ing himself as burgiarfrom New Gorl
who wanted 10 keep quiet and out d
Byrnes' way for little while.
The Stony Creek murder case de
veloped into fine piece of reportorl
work. 4 man had been murdered ant
PIT on the track so that train nigh
run over him. The train did run 0yej
him and the Jury brought in verdict
accidental death. The World reporters
who investigated the event brought in ;
different verdict Their Investigation