Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1901-09-11
SHADOW THE WRONG PERSONS
Amateur Detectives Put ON the. Trail
Of Suspected IndiYiduals who
Are Innocent. 49, "

.SS4fs:
Amateur Detectives Put ON the Tr.il
Of Suspected Individuals who
Are Innocent.
Hundreds Of Chicago people. who
have committed no crime, who pay
their debts, and against whom no COM
plaint can be made, are tracked wher-
ever they go, by the numerous tribea
of amateur detectives whose existence
in Chicago just now is one Of the mar
ve!s of the police department, says the
Tribune. .5.s
By the city police and by regular pri.
vate detective agencies: these men and
women who do the shadowing are
known as "kids.' This does not mean
that they are young. Many Of them
have white hair and earn their daily
bread at desks in Offices. Their de-
tective work is! done after Office hours
and is merely an additional way OF
earning living. There are so many
of them that the conclusion that more
shadowing is being done now than
ever before since 1893 is reasonable
one. -~t-
Not since 1893, when the news of i'm
pending crashes in the business world
on account of the panic made shad-
owing a common thing, have the police
known of so many cases in which in
nocent persons are continually under
the eye of other persons who are not
xx,ho - 4
simply because they are not.
A shadow, in police parlance, is a
man or a woman who follows a sub
ject wherever, that subject goes, and
who makes regular reports to third
person, for which reports that third
person pays.
When crime has been committed
and many persons are under suspicion
the detectives both in the city de-
partment and in private agencies who
may be interested in the case follow
these suspected persons. They note
with whom they talk, and how long,
where they go to dine and with whom,
whether they visit banks or clubs OF
parties, whether railroad stations are
on their calling list, and whether they
seem to be on intimate terms with
remorse.
Many times the wrong persons are
shadowed. In such cases the subjects,
as they are called, never know that
their every move has been under scru-
tiny perhaps for months. Again, the
subjects may reveal something that
results in their arrest. Even then the
shadow keeps in the background.
Rather, he tries to keep in the back
ground. If he always succeeded there
would be no field for ''kids," or anna
teur, shadows.
But the city police come to be known
quite generally, and with them the
trained operatives of the private agen-
cies. The necessity for adequate knowl-
edge about people continued, and there
seemed to be little chance of obtaining
it. The fact that the shadows were
known initiated greatly against their
usefulness.
Then the idea occurred to some de.
tectives to employ amateurs. 1t was
demanded, first of all, that these am
ateurs should be men and women of
irreproachabl BILE caution. For shadow
to talk is worse than treason. Next
to silence, 'alertness was placed, and
then faithfulness. It seems strange
that faithfulness should come last, but
tits logical. A faithful dummy would
be Of no use, while an alert man OF
woman who can keep silent can be
paid, enough money to make them
faithful.
They were obtained in the shops, in
offices, In positions of more or less pub.
lie character.
Saleswomen, many of them, make
good money after hours by trac.
ing people in whom they have no inter.
est, on behalf of people in whom they
have no more. Clerks also make good
material for amateur shadows.
AS soon as shadow is approached
by private detective or by friend in
the service of some client he or she is
told all that the agent knows about
the walk and conversation of the sub.
ject or person to be Swallowed. =
Then the kid" is left to his own
discretion. The more time he spends
with the subject the better the service
he is rendering. He often finds it nee
-essary to go to church with the sub
ject, and to follow him or her on shop.
ping expeditions, to the theater, and
to the summer gardens.
Everything that happens is noted
and the, notes are turned over to the
person who pays for the work.
The usual charge by private detec.
tive agency is from six to ten dollars
a day with expenses. The "kids" some
times work for less than this. They
always insist upon their expense
money: Most of them try to maintain