Sunday morning globe., 1901-11-10
TROUBLE AHEAD
For the Professional BOndSmen Of
the Police Court.
THE HARKES MORGAN AFFAIR
Under Official Investigation by Tho Authorities
The Return Of Tho Detectives and Prison.
ers from England Awaited with Interest BY
Men on tho Inside Startling Developments
Predicted.

Predicted.
Somebody is going to the penitenti-
airy besides jim Harkes and John Nor
gan coming back from London in
charge of detectives Weeden and How
let said a gentleman who keeps tab
on Police Court methods of bonding
accused criminals to The Globe yester-
day
Inquiry along the lines Of this
startling announcement developed the
following astonishing alleged facts
1t appears that several very semi-re
spectacle citizens make a handsome
income as professional bondsmen for ac-
cused criminals i'm the Police Court
and that there is a regular scale Of
prices I'm accordance with the gravity
of the crime or the amount of the bond
In which the prisoner OF accused per-
son is held to the grand Jury. The
memory of man Tunneth not to the
contrary when any forfeited bond has
been collected, where the prisoner has
skipped. Why this is thusly, is. as Kip
pling says another story. For the
present we shall only deal with the
cases Of Harkes and Morgan. These two
criminals il will be recalled touched"
Mrs Hannah Lee, Of Atlantic City.
who came to this city to witness the
inauguration They secured her we'll
stuffed pocket book, but though expert
professional dips and "squarers" Of
fly cops, they were unable to beat Capt.
Boardman' S game and his trained, ex-
perienced and reliable men took the
two thieves into camp and prepared to
land them in Moundsville for "a
stretch" The thieves and their pals
finding the detective force of this city
incorruptible adopted the other alter
native Of the profession when its
members are caught dead to rights.
They put up a legal fight and were
! bound over TO the grand jury in bonds
or $1,000 each. Being now out Of the
hands Of the detectives, and having
to deal only with the Police Court on.
cials the two thives through their
friends opened negotiations with the
professional bondsmen who make the
handsome incomes referred to. It was
too serious a case for the more CON
servative Of this class to handle and
hence the price was raised to such a
figure that the friends of the thieves
were about to abandon the effortwhe
they discovered a bondsman through a
second party or friend, for it is we'll
known that the actual bondsman is a
reputable citizen and has no acquaint
ances with people Of the Morgan
Harkes class In fact the actual
bondsman who is responsible for the
forfeited bonds of Harkes and Nor.
gan is an honest citizen who works
for living wages, and has neither real
estate nor bank account to reimburse
the District either for the forfeitured
bonds or the expenses of Detectives
Weldon and HOwlet to London. The
actual owner of the real estate upon
which the bonds of Harkes and Morgan
were predicated seems to be ont of the
race on the face of the returns. That
is, his name does not appear as bonds
man, and hence his real estate cannot
be attached nor himself held financial
ly responsible for the forfeited bonds
or the expenses incurred in bringing
back the accused pickpockets
How then it may be asked. did the
authorities accept bail for the accused
dips where the law specifically re.
quiTes real estate security? If the ac.
tual bondsman had no real estate, how
comes it that the District authorities
accepted him as bondsman?
II is right here the kernel Of the
professional" bondsman business is
reached. In ordinary or in the aver
age Police Court case the name of the
actual holder OF real estate appears
on the bond, but in the case we are dis
cussing a departure, it is alleged was
made owing to the risk of forfeiture
and the consequent holding Of the
bondsmans property for the amount OF
the forfeited bond.
90 is alleged that the authorities
claim a transfer of property was made
through one or more parties and a re.
transfer back again to the original
holder Of the real estate on the same
day And that this transaction is now
the subject Of quiet investigation.
The Globe, because Of the fact that
no official announcement or action has
yet developed on the surface, refrains
from either publishing the names OF
the parties involved in this matter or
of making any specific charges OF inn
proper conduct or crookedness. But
the system or practice which has been
brought to such high perfection in the
Police Court Of the professional bonds,
man business. bids fair because Of this
Harkes-Morgan matter, to receive a
thorough airing and investigation,
which will result, IL is to be hoped, in
more stringent inquiry for the future
into the responsibility Of the bondsmen
Offering themselves as security for the
production Of accused criminals when
called upon for trial If there is the
looseuess alleged in this professional
bondsmen syndicate business. the auth