The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1901-06-21
A Smooth Detective Represents
Himself as a United States
Secret Service officer,
when in fact, heis not.
Arrested, Tried And jailed /!
sy United States Officials For
Violating Federal statutes-A
Plasterer by trade he tried
to organize Union.

81 want to see Jack, the Hugger.
/ believ he is the man am looking
for" is about the way very polished
specimen Of humanity put it to Chief
of Police Stealey Monday. "Who are
YOU 2" said Stealey. and the fellow
handed him his card, which reads,
HCaptain Chas. II. Cook, U. S. secret
service, dct.r They went to the jail
but Jack did not fill the description.
The next we hear Of Captain Cook is
a forced visit to United States Com
missioner I. S. Spates, with Deputy
MARSHALL. w. Law as his escort. This
time not his card occupied his atten-
ten but warrant sworn out by Thos.
G. Stealey charging Captain Cook with
assuming, pretending and represent
ing himself to be an officer in the
secret service Of the United States.
Unconcerned and unperturbed, he de-
liberately pulled out three cards Of
membership in H. c, Webster's
American Detective Association, Of
indianapolis Indiana, and slapped
them down on the table before the
commissioner with vengeance. But
the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, as the commits
sioner went right along and opened
the trial.
1t developed that Captain Cook
came here about two weeks ago, from
Parkersburg, he claims, and engaged
himself with B, f. Funk S Co. as a
plasterer. He worked several days
and during that time exploited him
self In graphic accounts Of his great
and daring deeds. He did not like to
spring it all on his auditors at once
and so he gradually worked them up
to the man point. BY his remarks
Thomas Stealey, a plasterer, was led to
infer that the Captain was an employe
of the United States Government and
finally he told Steady point blank that
he was an officer in the secret service
of the United States. he represent
ed himself as such, by his card, to D.
w. Kenney and also told ]. G. Foster
so as late as half hour before his ar
rest. The Captain had several long
talks with Mr.. Kenney about the kind
OF plaster the Government uses and
said be had been building inspectorO
for the government.
The Captain opened up his teSti-
moly with remarks about plaster and
unionism that led to the belief that
he was delivering an exhaustive and
scientific lecture on the subject, and
.steered away from the issue at hand
all he could. He said he represented
the international PlaSterers' Associa-
tion In the United States and Canada,
and that he had come here to organ
DE a union. His efforts to do this had
preiudiced the local manufacturers of
plaster against him and the proSecu-
tion against him was the result of
that prejudice. He claimed to be
registered engineer of the U. S. Cow
eminent under the civil service, but
produced no documetS to subStantiate
his statement.
The fact thathe distributed his card
SO promiscuously and his attempt to
influence persons by it led to the, in
yestigation. The matter was report
ed to Deputy Marshal G. W. Law, who
wired Monday night the following in
curry to the Chief of the secret service
bureau at Washington, d. C.:-"Is
there secret service man in your de-
oartnnent, nv the name of Captain z.
n. Cook, weight about 225 pounds,
fair complexion, age about So years.
Give information quick. An answer
came signed by WilIsie, chief of secret
service bureau, "No such party in
service"
Cook confessed that he was not in
the secret service of the United States
hut argued that his membership In
detective association exonorated him
8m the charge.
The commissloner however, thought
differently and held him for the fed
eral grand jury in bond of $500. In
de4~ IT he was sent to jail.
penalty is a fine of $1,000 and
not more than three years in the pent-
tentiary.
Deputy Marshal Law took the Cap
tain to Parkersburg Tuesday morning,
where federal court is in session.
The Captains scheme was to charge
every man who went into his union
one dollar, and have the union buy and
use patent he claimed to have on
plaster and pay him for the patent.
A lumber car aud eabooss jumping