The morning times., 1896-02-16
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SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS
strange Police Mania Adduced by the
Desire To Make Record

Picking up suspicious characters is
peculiar buSin ess. Sometimes police
man. whose heart is so big that it makes
his coat bulge out until one would almost
believe he was wearing hip pads in his
handkerchief pocket, makes terrible mis-
takes.
1t is very difficult TO determine just
what is meant by suspicious character.
1t is largely discretionary with police
man as TO what constitutes suspicious
chara cter. a man may be a prominent
citizen in one precinct and when he gets
across the line may become suspicious
chara cter i have asked great many
policemen what they mean by suspicious
chara cter, but have never received IN
answer which curresponded to any other
answer.
Some policemen have awful queer notions
as 10 what a suspicious character is. II
is related of one policeman i'll the Fourth
precin CT that he ran man in as a suspicious
character who owns several rows OF
houses has a good record, never stays out
late, in fact never does any of the things
which almost every man does. Perhaps
it was because of this that the policeman
thought him suspicious character.
Wei. let's proceed with the story. This
policeman was passing through an alley
on his beat. II was dark. The sky was
overSprinkled with stars that seemed TO
twinkle, etc. etc. il man was moving
around a backyard with a lamp in his
hand. The man WAS not fully dressed.
The policeman. sometimes called "officer,
stopped lie looked. a suspicious charac-
ter was before him. He would arrest him.
You bet he would arrest him. The police
man climbed the back fence and collared
the victim The lamp fell from his
frightened grasp. 1t burst. Sparks went
up like 4 jewelled cloud. Flames splut-
tered. Still the policeman held his man.
Il live here said the victim.
.'Vell / doan knows dot said the cop
per
But come in Tie house and I'll prove TO
you that this is My home" insisted the
victim.
"noont Gift me 10 schteff, you schust
cunIs NIT me- replied tie copper.
At the police station, the man was oharg
ell with being n suspicious character.
Now, only night before last, Detective
Sutto!, ran in an en!poye of the Senate,
whose patron is Congressman Cummings,
ard detained him 81 the station as sus-
piciouC character. The man was not Il
private secretary; the charge of suspicion
was not sustained. The man said ne was
rot 2 suspicious character, that he had
never teen arrested in his life, that he had
never donc anything suspicious.
Now it is a well known fact, that every
suspicious character says tie same thing
Desk Sergeant EVERY locked the man over
and said. with his eyes, That's one of
the best developed specimens Of the sus-
pic!0us character that I've ever seen
brought in here Danny, who is an eX-
pert on suspicious characters, looked the
man oyeT. and said tie pIis onCr was suffer
ing from tie worst form OF suspicious
character in Tie tertiary stage. Then they
went through his pockets and he was
found To- Ice broke. That settled il. That
man was type of suspicious character; he
had very bad attack OF it.
Yesterday Congressman Cummings came
to the station and, ii is said, threatened 10
do up the whole reserve force of The First
precinct for having locked up Mr.. Owen
McMahon as a suspicious character.
1t only shows how opinions differ as TO
what a suspicious character is.