The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1900-07-26

ret what rtmafkaDlG results you have
often accomplished for thc Daily Tenn
pest in detecting and following up
clews to which the official detectives
were blind. But, frankly. were not
your conclusions usually the result of
lucky guesses, which would have re-
manned comparatively useless as evil
dence had they not been subsequently
proved correct by direct testimony"
Let me reply toyour question 10y am
other, Sprague, answered Stargis
when YOU draw a check dc y he pay
ing teller at the bank rcqui e the les
timony Of witnesses 10 your signature
before admitting it, g,nuinyr,ss?
no: Of course not
"pr,ci<eiN lie probably noWs the
signature of Harvey NJ. Spl cue, the
dcpositor. better than he toes the
fac, Of Spraguc. the artist And yet
the evidence here is purely circum-
stautiaI know Of at least one re-
cent instance in which the officials of
a New York bank placed their i'm
plicit reliance upon cjrcum. tantjal
evidence of this sort. in spite of the
direct testimony of the dspositor,
who was willing to acknowledge the
gcnuincncss of a check to which his
name had been forged.
II suppose YOU refer to the Forsyth
case" said Spraguc: but YOU must
remember that Col. Forsyth was
actuatcd by the desire to shield the
A.
SON"
"That is just the point replied
Sturgis: another witness Will be
biased by his interests or prciudices,
blinded by jealousy, love or hatred.
or handicapped by ovcrZcalOuSncSS,
stupidity, lack of memory. or what
not. CircumstanCial evidence is al
ways impartial, truthful. absolute,
When the geOiogist reads the history
of the earth, as it is written in its
crust; when a Kepler or Il Newton
formulatcS the immutable laws of the
universe. as they are recorded in the
motions of the heavenly bodies. they
draw their conclusions from evidence
which is entirely circumstantial."
"les; but you forget that science
has often been mistaken IN its CON
illusions" interrupted Sprague. 80
that it has constantly been necessary
to alter theories to fit newly acquired
or better understood facts"
"Grantcd." rejoined Sturgis, but
that is because the interpreters Of the
evidence are fallible: not because the
evidence itself is incomplete. The
same cause will always produce the
same effect: the same chain of events
will invariably terminate in one and
the same catastrophe. The apparent
deviations from this law are due to
uurecogniIed differences in the pro-
ducing causes. to additional or miss
ing links in the chain of evidence.
Therefore | hold that criminal,
however clever he may be, leaves be
hind him II complete trace of his every
act. from which his crime may be re-
constructed with absolute certainty
by Il competent detective"
ain ShoiS, Murder will OUT" said
IA man who had been silent listener
to the conversation up to this point,
He spoke with a quiet smile, which
barely escaped being polite sneer.
Sturgis' keen eyes met his inter
locutor's as he replied grayely:
81 should hardly care to make so
sweeping an affirmation. Dr. Muir
dock. have merely stated that the
history Of every crime is indelihly
written ia tangible evidence. The
writing is on the wall. but Of course
blind man cannot see il. nor can
an llteratC man understand il.
Every event, however trivial. owes its
occurrence to natural cause. and
leaves its indclinc impress upon ma.
ture, The Indian on the trail reads
with an experienced eye the story OF
his enemy's passage. rs il has been
recorded in troddcn turf and broken
twigs: while he bloodhound follows
with uuerrin" Judgment. still surcr
though less tangible trail The lat
tcr's quarry has left behind Al every
yet unmistakablc part of itself, Per
hapS my meaning can be made clear
by an illustration. When photog-
raphcr in his dark room takes an eN-
posed plate from his camera il is APP
parently blank; but in reality there
is upon This plate the infinitely de-
I tailed history Of an event. which. in
/ proper hands. can he brought before
] the least competent Of observers as
! irrefutable evidence Here. the actinic
/ rays of the sunlight are the authors
! Of the evidence; but every natural
! force, in one way or another, con
/ spires with the detective TO run the
! criminal TO earth"
Unless" suggested Murdock, "th,
ability happens to be on the side OF the
! quarry; in which case, the conspiracy
of INJURIES forces turns against the
hunter"
All" retorted the reporter, 9Th,
game is not IN equal one. The dice arc
a 4