The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1895-02-28
SUPERINTENDENT BYRNEs.

ty in six figures, remarks the New York
Herald. The story of the foundation Of
Superintendent Byrnes' wealth is an in
teresting one.
In October 1881, Mr. Gould received a
long, rambling letter complaining of the
way in which the Little Wizard han
died the stock market and winding up
with a threat of personal violence. The
letter was signed Victim" 1t was fol-
lowed by another and another until they
began to get monotonous and Mr.. Gould
got scared He was always a timid man
where a question of his personal safety
was involved He sent for Inspector
Byrnes who was then in command of the
entire city detective organization. At that
time Byrnes was in the heyday of his rep
utatiOn as detective.
This man is annoying me, r." said Mr..
Gould. Il wish you would do something
about it,.
Il will attend to it," replied the in
spector
Then he took all the letters to his office
and looked them carefully over. They were
ali alike in tenor and composition. The
writer threatened to kill Jay Gould if the
latter did not give him tips on the
market. This was a simple proposition
for the writer, but for awhile it proved a
rather hard one for the inspector On Dec.
80 he inserted the following personal in
The Herald:
If the person who sent an anonymous com
munication signed Victim" to prominent
Wall street broker, complaining of his losses in
stocks, will call at his office or state where an
interview can be had, verything will be ar
ranged to his satisfaction.
"Victim' paid no attention to the bait.
Therefore on Oct. 81 the inspector tried
the following;
Correspondent from Texas can receive advice
on security that will make good all he asks for
and name his own way of communicating.
have no desire to have personal interview.
To this came a willy answer, asking
Mr.. Gould if the decline was to continue,
but not suggesting any other means of
communication than through The Herald.
The letter also inclosed the following
cipher, which Mr., Gould was to use in the
formulation of his personals:
Western Union, Windsor; Erie, Spoon; Tex
as Pacific, White; Union Pacific, Asia; Manhat-
tan Elevated Salvation; Missouri Pacific, Tay-
lor D., l.. & W., Todd; Pacific Mail, Concord;
Hannibal and ST. 10, common, Wednesday !;
Michigan Central French; New York Central,
Berlin; Ohio, Hayes; Denver and Rio Grande,
Profit; Metropolitan Elevated, Dislike; Peoria,
D. & E., Command; n. P, common, Wheat; n.
P, preferred, Corn; Lake Shore, Exchange;
Canada Southern, Fulton; Bull, Up Town;
Bear, Down Town.
On Nov. Byrnes inserted the following:
Texas correspondent must not look for much
more decline. Select some other means of
communication. This is attracting too much
attention. Would rather give check.
Still the willy Texan" refused to nib
ble The offer of a check did not meet
with his approval In his own words he
preferred to continue to operate. Then
ensUed a series of personals with no salts
factory result. and on Nov. Mr.. Gould
said:
MY FRIEND-Your last is unjust. | warned
you not to look for further decline; also against
the two you said you had. Why should you
not trust me rather than ask me to trust you?
/ assure you that all you have sent will be
overlooked, and you have my sympathy and
will have my aid cheerfully given in the way
I have named. This way of communicating is
not quick enough to prevent accident. ! do
not intend to desert you Be more manly.
To this Mr.. Gould received the follow
ing reply:
DEAR SIR-Your object in inserting the
above personal surpasses my comprehension
Do you suppose that if our positions were re
versed you would think of calling on me2 If
you did, after what has occurred, you would be
arrested at once. l expect the same treatment
from you. Therefore there is no other way Of
your aiding Inc, if you really desire to do so,
as you say you do, than in the simple and easy
way have already set forth.
| fear that this letter will not reach YOU to
day, and which deeply regret, for must re
ceive from you favorable reply or none at
once. If / do not receive such reply by
Thursday, beg of you again if you will not
give it, then insert none. / shall sell out the
few remaining stocks that have, and you may
prepare for the worst. You will be too late in
giving me the desired information if you neg
lect this opportunity, and if you do you will
have no one but yourself to blame for it and
what is to follow.
This threatening epistle elected a
straight tip from Mr.. Gould:
Up town salvation Then let me know at
once how you stand.
This meant Buy Manhattan Elevat
ed" On Nov. s Manhattan Elevated
closed at 51A. Two days later it was 5SL,
and three days later it reached 5SA 1t
evidently pleased the crank immensely, as
he wrote letter of thanks to Mr. Gould
Another straight tip followed, and then
the trap of Inspector Byrnes was thor
oughly set. He had procured great num-
Der of letter carriers to watch the boxes in
the district of station E, where all Vic
tim S" letters were posted.
On Nov. IA one of the carriers saw an
elderly gentleman drop a letter in a box
and hurry away. He opened the box and
saw letter addressed to Jay Gould.
Detectives who were near by arrested the
man, who proved to be Colonel j. Howard
Welles, gentleman with a mania for
speculation. He had taken this means to
recoup lost fortune
This case was the basis of Superintend-
emit Byrnes' fortune. Through it alone
he claims to have made $3.50, 900 on the
very tips which Colonel j. Howard Welles
had sought in vain. 1t was a wise move
of Superintendent Byrnes to refuse the
$40, 600 cash offered him by Mr.. Gould.
He probably felt that sooner or later Mr..
Gould would express his gratitude with a
pointer