The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-08-10
PROTECTION FOR THE BANKS
THE SECRET SERVICE SYSTEM

or the American Bankers Associa''oh Justly Dreaded By Burglars nnd Forgers.
 To guard the millions of wealth in American banks there has been devel- oped during the past five years per- feet system of protection according to the claims of officials of the American Bankers association. The workings or this secret service system are In the hands of three presidents of national banks in New York Orders for ar rests and prosecutions are signed as follows:
 Protective Committee,
 American Bankers Association. A secret, jealously guarded, is the names of the men who make up the protective committee. Even the presi- dents of other bank do not know who are the three members of the protective committee who have worked hard TOT five years to exterminate the bank criminals One of the committee IS president of a. $1O000,000 bank On his shoulders has fallen most of the Work. Step by step plans have been formed for breaking up gangs of bank burglars throughout the country. Detectives have been at work for two or three years following the movements of well known crooks. Every we'll known bank burglar forger, or bank sneak thlet who is at large is kept under surveil- lance. The only time they are not watched by detectives in the employ or the protective committee is when they are in prison, and sigh of relief goes up from the bank presidents when a skillful crook is landed behind the bars. Then comes the struggle to keep hlm there Not only is the prosecution Of the wrongdoer actively begun, but Tn many instances the bank presidents carry their efforts to rid the country or expert thieves, near to persecution Records are overhauled, indictments are watched and continued attempts are made to connect the captured crim- inal with other jobs. If sent to prison for term for the crime for which he was arrested when his term is nearly over the protective committee again be- comes active in his case The records
  have a large rogues' gallery of every bank crook, his habits, his whereabouts his style of work, his peculiarities, his associates, and details of his physlca annearance. The bank crook walks out of prison and counts himself a free man. He is met at the gates by oe- tective, who says;
 You are wanted for another crime The protective committee of the bank ers' association has taken hold of youl case"
 The heart of many an expert crimina has been broken and he has been fore ed to seek other fields of endeavol through the work of the protective committee. Many professional burg lars, forgers and sneak thieves wher pIanning to operate against banks look for the aluminium sign Member American Bankers association" and seeing this, abandon their proposed at tempt at crime.
 one of the three bank presidents wht has been active in the work of the pro tective committee said to Times re porter last week:
 ''There are many interesting things II this business. We hear greWsome tale sometimes Not long ago we learned through a stool pigeon we had at worl with a gang of burglars that an at tempt was to made to rob certai1 bank in Connecticut, near the NeV York line. I learned some of the de tails, and sent a. secret warning to tn president of the bank, signed by tn protective committee. That Connecti cut bank president was one of thos hard headed Yankees. The first thin he did was to hire a young, powerfr farmer. who was counted the bes hunter in that section of the country regular riot shotgun was ordere from New York, and then the youn farmer was posted as to his duties a follows:
 "I understand some fellows are gc ing to rob this bank. You just sit l that corner near the safe and never 2 to sleep any night. You will be we paid. If any one starts to break this bank, you let them break in. Whe they get in, you blow their heads O with this gum
 when I sent word to that bank, did not have the slightest idea or IT outcome. The burglars continued the preparations, of which we knew the at tails, but we sent no further warnln to the Connecticut bank president TIT burglars arrived in the town one nigh four strong, and when the opportunlt came. walked toward the bank in II dian file and in lock-step, so that thel would be the sound of only one TOO fall. One burglar stood on the shou ders of another and reached the tra1