The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-07-21
DETECTIVES AND DISCUSSES.

IN the government secret service make
up wardrohes have gone their way K
the old-eiothes man, and the wigs and
mustachios Of the veuturesome agents
now ind the limit OF their usefulness al
! masquerade balls. The .'lynx-eyed
sieuth. whom yelloW-covered literature
was wont TO picture always hot on the
| trail" is usually found. these days, quiet
and composed, behind a rOll-top desk il
an easy armchair. with a telephone al
one hand and push-bells at the other
| Here he transacts most OF his work with
out moving from his seat. He viii tell
you that stories ike Sherlock Holmes
the development of the police columns In
| the daily newspapers, and their devotion
! Of 50 much space TO the rascals and the
catchers of rascals have broadened the
criminal mind. as wei as educated" the
| reading public. and smashed the theory
! Of DISCUSSES 10 smithereens. This has
| revolutionized the whole business.
William P. Hazen, who has just become
/ the head Of a private bureau, after
! twenty years in the government service.
said the other day 10 the New York
| Evening Post that agents IN running
/ down criminals have 10 depend for their
/ disguise solely upon their own ability
/ to be one OF them" Often-times their
careers do not vary much from the life
I! Of commercial traveller. inasmuch as the
| object of each is 10 ingratiate himself
in the good VIII of the tradesmen in his
particular field Decoy letters and judi
cious use of the coin" have superseded
the bull's -eye dark lantern and the six
shooter.
The working force OF the secret ser
vice, up TO date, said Mr. Hazen, lis
picked from all classes in which crime
exists. This includes men and women of
all nationalties Some lead a nomadic
existence over the length and breadth OF
the country. under assumed names; 9TH
ers do not change their residence or their
names They live the life of the people
they hunt; they make them their friends;
the resorts of those wanted are their
resorts; their friends are mutual, and
they even share each others bread. When
a case is made against law breaker.
the secret service agent has been known
TO be the first TO extend his sympathies
10 the man whom his wits have placed
within reach of the law. Unless it can
not be avoided, the secret service man
does not reveal his identity by testify
ing for the government at a trial. That
is left for others, for just so soon as
the fnformer' gives himself away, from
that period begins his uselessness to the
government, and also his danger of be-
ing removed by friends or members Of
the family of the man he has run down.
There are those in other walks of life
who look down upon the secret service
agent on account of the work that he
performs. They say it is filed with by
pocrisy and deceit, which they think
would make the calling loathsome to any
man of principle but these well-meaning
persons know little of the people that the
government is pitted against. Violators
of the law lay great stress on trickery
and deceit To many of them a human
life is of little account and to match this
desperate cunning, nothing has proved so
effective as the very same methods
Chief Wilkie. who is now at the head
of the secret service, says that New York
maintains an unenviable pre-eminence in
the cOunterfeiting of coins During the
was less counterfeiting of notes in the
United States than during any similar
period since the adoption Of the present
system Of currency. THE counterfeiting
of coin has decreased all over the coun-
try. with the notable exception of New
York City and vicinity. In that district
are made more than 70 per cent of the
dangerous all-silver counterfeit coins in
circulation in the United States" This
opinion IS apparently shared by ex-Chief
Hazen. who says Of the maker OF bad
money:
"Counterfeiters give the service its
hardest trials. The making Of the
queer Will probably never be stopped
as long as the system of legal tender
notes exists. Up north here it seems to
be done mostly by foreigners, but in the
south it is distinctly a habit that seems.
like moonshining, TO confne itself to fam
lilies, from generation to generation. Men
with a genius for creating limitations and
a love for excitement drift into the life
of a counterfeiter are caught, convicted
and serve their time. They become con
hrmed enemies of the government. No
sooner are they out of prison than they
go straight at their Illicit trade again
seemingly intent upon but one thing. and
that 10 beat the power that broke them
Imprisonment does not seem 10 divert
them from their purpose. Between iron
bars and copper plates they use up their
lives, and when age dulls the eye and
nerve, they bring up their children, not
only in the trade, but with the principle
that the government is TO be a lifelong
The foreigners who operate in
The north are for the most part fugi- !
Iives from justice on the other side. |
Hatred of government seems TO be gener- /
ally bred in all OF them.
Because a counterfeiter curses the gov I
eminent. il does not necessarily follow 4
hat in his enthusiasm to preach his be- I
ief he leaves open a loop-hole by which /
ne might uncover his occupation. COun- 4
erfeiterS, on the contrary. are the closest /
nOuthed of persons. What grievances I
hey may have they keep 70 themselves, I
and they have such a professional Jeal- /
BUSY, lest their mechanical secrets and /
INVENTIONS should become known TO 9TH
srs of their kind, that they make no I
,onfdants It is on such men as these I.
hat the secret service uses up its sup {
by Of informers. Because Of the coun-
erfeiters natural suspicion OF ali men
md his consequent eXciusiveness. the /
,gent that runs him down is the only one
he government has TO go upon the stand
o give testimony that VIII convict In
ioing this. he gives himself away 10
,ther counterfeiters, and is useless any
more in that section Of the country. Re
liable. trustworthy informers are hard 70
ind"
The largest number of arrests made by
ne local secret service bureau was during
he year of 1861 when Mr.. Hazen
ounded up S42 persons wanted" the
ouvictons averaged eighty-two out of
very hundred.