The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-09-17
AMATEUR DETECTIVE
Often Keeps Careful Watch on Men
Innocent of Wrong Doing.
Every Move of Suspected Persons
Under Close scrutiny for Months
at Tgme-secrets of the
Profession.

Hundreds of Chicago people who
have committed no crime, who pay
their debts, and against whom no com
paint can be mace, are tracked wher-
ever they go by the numerous tribes
of amateur detectives whose existence
in Chicago just now is one of the mar
wells of the police department, says the
Tribune.
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 a living. There are so many
of them that the conclusion that more
shadowing is being done now than
ever before since 1893 is a reasonable
one.
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
4 legalized officers and who are hired
simply because they are not.
A shadow, in police parlance, is a
man or a woman who follows sub
ject wherever that subject goes, and
who makes regular reports to third
person, for which reports that third
person pays.
1 When a 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 or
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
Swallowed. In such cases tie 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 know
r quite generally, and with them thu
e trained operatives Of the private agen
: cies. The necessity for adequate knoNl
e edge about pc op-e continued, and Their
j seemed to be little chance of obtaining
0 it. The fact that the shadows wer
: known initiated greatly against thei
t usefulness.
S Then the idea occurred to some de
D tectives to employ amateurs. 1t wa
). demanded, first of all, that these am
l ateurs should be men and women o
: irreproachable caution. For a shadoN
4 to talk is worse than treason. Mex
: to silence, a.ertness was placed. an
t then faithfulness. 1t seems strang
4 that faithfulness should come last, bu
a it is logical. A faithful dummy woul
be of no use, while an alert man o
woman who can keep silent can b
+. paid enough money to make then
faithful
They were obtained in the shops, j
offices, in positions of more or less put
lie character.
Saleswomen, many of them, max
S good money after hours by trac
T ing people in whom they have no inter
t est, on behalf of people in whom the
e have no more. Clerks also make goo
J. material for amateur shadows.
: As soon as a shadow is approache
: by private detective or by friendi
/ the service of some client he or she
e told all that the agent knows abor
the walk and conversation of the sui
a iect or person to be Swallowed.
h Then the "kid" is eft to his ow
e discretion. The more time he spend
e with the subject the better the serviC
s he is rendering. He often finds it ne.
/, essary to go to church with the sui
q ject, and to follow him or her on shoI
# ping. expeditions, to the theater, an
0 to the summer gardens.
d Everything that happens is note
: and the notes are turned over to IL
e person who pays for the work.
The usual charge by private dete
tive agency is from six to ten dollai
day with expenses. The 'kids" som
times work for less than this. The
: always insist upon their expeni
, money. Most of them try to mainta
:. the scale of prices charged by the d
tective agencies.