The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-25
A DETECTIVES BLUNDER.
,.d Indirectly to smithson's Promo
motion.
From the Chicago News.

Z ad Indirectly 10 Smfthsohs Fromo-
motion.
From the Chicago News.
.you noticed how Germany protects
..oda secrets by that case recently
finished in the newspapers, didn't
l.o,, % INQUIRED a Chicago business man
the other day.
well. that brought to my mind
oosa we had in Chicago few years
900 The proprietor or large manu-
Turing concern had in his employ a
.orfdential assistant whom he had
lion when a young boy and had
+rained in the business. Smithson was
80 name, and he learned the trade Sc
ra+n of the firm from start to finish
IL married and settled down in a pref
-, little home. He and his wife were
Ocular in society and their more init
lite social circle included several
Il., men who had worked their way
~, in their different lines; one was a
LIVER. another a prospecting wholesale
.ocer named Thomas, and the rest /
"Everything was moving along sat-
,sfactorily until Smithson's employer
Lyean. Roswell Kean, was his name
bagan to get suspicious. He was
Yankee who had come to Chicago and
,-ot rich. and he was so suspicious he
tyas afraid of his own shadow. Well,
Va got the idea that SmithSon was CIV
in, away trade secrets to business ri
, ~ in Milwaukee. His suspicious grew
an him until he went to Estey's detec-
1.-Two bureau and laid the case before
Est.v himself. Estey detailed two men
~ shadow Smithson. For three months
tHav logged his footsteps, but found i.
very dull trail.
PM at the end of three months
cr,ithson took flying trip to Milwau-
ice detective travelled with him.
In Milwaukee he had his shoes polish
cd Won't you come inside, boss? It's
cold out here, said the bootblack.
Smithson consented, but inside was
saloon. The detective saw him go into
a saloon and telegraphed back to his
confederate that the game was the cas-
lest he ever had.
"Srithson next kept an appointment
with a Milwaukee lawyer, first cous-
in with whose family his mother had
heen spending a few days. The detec-
tive Swallowed him and saw the lawyer
give Smithson his mothers brass trunk
check, the CLINT or Whlcn ne mlsIook
for a gold piece.
"This was enough. The detective
wrote his report and swore to it. 1t
was a cleverly constructed document OF
MANY pages, partly true and partly
false. Smithson was accused OF drunk
anness. Saturday afternoon Roswell
Kean called at the Smithsons' home
and asked Mrs. Smithson where her
husband was the preceding saturday
night.
Why, Mr.. Kean.' she replied, ne
was here at home with me-
~ don't blame you, Mrs. Smithson,
for standing up for your husband; it's
10 your interests to do so, but know
better exclaimed Mr.. Kean as he TOOK
his hat and left the house. kean, OF
roprse. was innocent. The detective
had said in the report just handed by
Estey to Kean that forenoon that
Smithson had been drunk in a hotel
on the Saturday evening in question
"Kean returned to his office and when
he settled with Smithson at 4 O'Clock
said. This will end our business re-
lations, Mr.. Smithson; you may look
elsewhere for employment.
"Smithson was completely stunned.
He walked home with that discharge
ringing in his ears, to meet and enter
tain a social company of nine or ten:
When the evening was over he dropped
upon the sofa and for thirty-slx hours
the fever burned at wrist and neck I'M
til he was almost insane.
His friend, Thomas, the wholesale
grocer, stood by him through all. When
Monday came Thomas had resolved on
a plan of action. At O'Clock he call
ed at Mr.. Keans office. lie ala not
know it. but two detectives were llsten-
ing during the interview. All the pent-
nm feeling of a friend for a friend, af-
ter thirty-six hours restraint, explod-
ed Mr.. Kean,' said he, 'Smithson
does not cherish one wrong thought
of YOU or of your business. l don't
know what evidence you may nave
against him, but my confidence In MIN
makes me believe some one mas peen
mistaken. Here is $1,000 against your
500 that Smithson is innocent OF DONG
you any wrong or even thinking OIL
wronging you"
Mr.. Kean made no reply; he simply
handed Thomas the typewriter report
from Estey's detective. That was
Just what Thomas wanted. he
read it over. Then he left and
had a talk with Smithson. They
engaged a lawyer and Smithson's cous-
in from Milwaukee was summoned by
telegraph as the star witness. Mr..
Kean was again interviewed ana ne
saw at once that he was facing a clear
case of defamation of character.
AT o'clock that same Monday night
Thomas met Mr.. Kean by appoint
'ment, and almost the first question
was, Mr.. Thomas, what do you THINK
ought to do under the circumstances
Thomas replied: The best thing you
can do Mr.. Kean, is to change your
firms name to Kean, Smithson & Co.,
as soon as the necessary papers can
be drawn up
And added the Chicago man, al
though that has never been done, that
is exactly what has taken place in
reality if not yet in name
THE detective was left to Estey TO
deal with. Estey tried him on some
other cases and found him unreliable;
he seemed to have mania for finding
people drunk. One day, just to try
him, Estey detailed him to watch
Esteys brother from noon until
o'clock at night on an excursion to
the beach. Estey himself followed.
The next morning. when the detective
turned in his report and told quite an
imaginative yarn about the brothers
QOingS, Then EsteV kicked him out"