The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1899-12-09
Confined Next week.)
RAILROAD DETECTIVES.
Every Line Has Its Men--shrewd, Intslli.
GENT, and Brave.

Every railroad company has a small
corps of detectives-bright fellows, who
do not win big regulations in big cases.
but who are constantly employed in the
hardest aud most trying work. They
are travelling from III end Of the line to
the other, looking up all sorts Of depre-
dations except the work known as spot.
ting employees. That work is usually
done by detectives hired from an agency.
The reason is easily explained. The
railroad detective. in order to carry on
his work successfully, must have n large
personal acquaintance with the employees
of the road. 1t is a 1O-to-1 shot that X
any one of them caught him spotting a
friend he would be thenceforth useless.
But there is no eud of labor. The pro-
lection of patrons in large railroad sta.
lions from pickpockets and bunko men
Is a most important work.
1t requires Il detective with a remark.
able memory for faces aud a most ex.
tensivc acquaintance with sneak thieves.
He must carry the rogues' gallery in
bis br,.in. 1t often happens. though,
that a man possessed OF the real detec.
live intuition can come pretty near locat.
ing a thief by his appearance and man.
ners. For instance, while moving about
In q crowd at railroad station-a crowd
that changes constantly-he will per.
haps notice one man who remains there
after the departure and arrival Of several
trains. That mar is classified by the
detective Us a suspicious character. The
detective watches him carefully, and
then If he is not quite sure he politely
asks the man whether he is waiting for
u train. If the answer is unsatisfactorv
the detective will observe that the wait.
ing-room is not a public loniing place,
but is intended for passengers. In nine
out OF ten cases the experienced dctec-
tive will know whether the nan is ".
ing. Station detectives. as they are
called, must have II better knowledge Of
thieves than the average agency detec.
tive. for there is a great roar in a rail.
road Office whenever a pocket is picked
In a waiting-room. II is to be said, how.
ever, that such occurrences are com.
paratively rare. Tho green-goods man
who goes to meet his victim waits out.
side the station or OH the ferryboat.
There is m end Of the old days when
bad men could ply their work in watt
iug-rooms, men like Grand Central peto,
who got his sobriquet because he was
usually found hanging about the Grand
CeRtral station, says the N. Y. Sual
The railroad detectives work for the
most part is hunting out freight thieves
aud employees who have destroyed prop
erty and in detecting thieves who make
railroad property q mark. He is set on
the trail of the man who draws n spike
from the track or the small boy who
throws q stone through 4 car window.
When u switch isturned by m unknown
hand he investigates. Every loss, Ito
matter how small, is Investigated by
such large companies rs the Pennsyl-
vania and New York Central.
The theft of q ticket Office calls forth
talent which may have been wasted in
proiitless search for u boy who threw a
stone at the locomotive.
A duty that keeps railroad detectives
busy in times of labor troubles is the
hunting down of writer's Of anonymous
letters to railroad officers. Letters from,
cranks are thrown in The waste basket,
but letters containing threats to destroy
railroad property are held for inyestiga.
ton. During strikes the detective corps
is enlarged, the help being furnished BY
such agencies as Pinkerton's and Drum
mond's. Whenever a case involving
large Interests and requiring q special,
form of skill is to be handled the agency
is called upon.
Express companies usually employ
two detectives unless a special guard Is
required for large shipments OF money
IN sparsely settled regions. These men
are principally employed to keep track
of the messengers and to learn thei,
records and habits and to trace out
claims. Whenever a big robbery oc.
ours the company detective is in charge
over oil assistants that may be turn.
ished. They do not come into conflict
with railroad detectives unless there 10,
lawsuit between tho two companies.