The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-12-20
A DETECTIVES EXPERIENCE.
A Doubt Upon the Accuracy of Peo-
pies Suspicious.
(Washineton StarO

A Doubt Upon the Accuracy of Peo-
pies Suspicious.
washington Starr
THE experience of a detective leads
man to doubt nearly all statements
made to him as to the accuracy of
the suspicious of persons who have
sustained a loss of property, especially
Of money and jewelry," said a head
quarters detective sergeant this morn
ing, and one or two instances of re-
cent cases investigated Will serve as
illustrations, and prove warning to
those who are hasty in their judgments
as to the acts of others.
"A friend of mine came in one day
and stated that several valuable rings
had been stolen from his house. They
belonged to his wife. and she was posi-
tive that she had placed them in a Ger
tain place in the bureau drawer. There
had been no strangers in the house
since the rings were missed, and sus-
picion fell upon the servant girl, where
it seems so often to rest in such cases,
either justly or unjustly, though the
family were disinclined to believe her
guilty.
las the rings could not have disap-
peared without hands, l suggested the
usual known causes of the disappear
ance of such articles, such as sneak
thieves, a male friend of the servant,
etc. All were met with negative re-
sponses. Finally, l asked if they had
sold any of their old garments to deal
ers, and was told that a bundle of
clothes had been sent to the Central
| Union mission a few days previously.
Following this clew, l went to the mis-
sion and found the rings awaiting a
| claimant
e l., i
placed the rings between the layers of
old clothes as they lay on the shelf
in the closet, and had entirely forgot
ten about them. She had gathered up
the clothes in a bunch and sent them
to the mission without a thought that
! she herself had placed the rings in
them. Fortunately for her, they had
fallen into honest hands.
"A lady clerk in one of the depart
ments complained that she had had
stolen from the room in which she was
employed diamond ring. She declared
with the utmost positiveness that she
had left it lying upon the marble basin
at lunch hour, when she had washed
her hands, and did not miss it until
! she returned. While her positive state
ments, with suggestions as to her hav-
ing had the ring inadvertently drop
from her finger, or that she had lost
it elsewhere, failed to shake her belief
and placed the other clerks in the room
under more or less suspicion, it was
| thought that she was mistaken, or else
some stranger had come into the room
at noon hour and had picked up the
ring.
Although she declared that she had
made thorough search at home, we re-
quested her to renew it, and particu-
larly examine the clothes she had worn
on the day of the alleged theft. She
did so and found the ring caught inside
of one of the fingers of a long evening
glove she had Worn the night previous
to the day of the discovery of her loss.
In stripping the glove off her arm
and hand the ring had come with it,
and she had thrown aside the gloves
without missing it. Apologies were no
doubt in order at the department the
next dav
This last case shows what detect
i've has to contend with, as nearly a
whole day had elapsed with the. ring
off her finger and she unaware of it.
Being in the habit of taking it off at
lunch hour, she jumped at the conclu-
sion of having repeated the operation
on the day in question.
Il was called to an apartment house
in the northwest recently to investigate
complaint of an alleged theft of a
roll of money from the bureau drawer
in the fiat of one of the occupants. This
lady also stated with the utmost posi-
tiveness that the roll was in the drawer
at the time a carpenter and his assist
ant, boy, had been in the fiat repair
| ing a bookcase. She was very indig-
nant because we refused to arrest the
boy, as the man had been employed
/ for years doing odd jobs about the
house and was not suspected.
''She finally became really abusive to
us and called the boy thief with the
certainty of conviction. We declined to
go after him, however, upon mere sus-
picion, and our judgment was shown
| to have been correct when we received
at headquarters a few days after a
message that the money had been
! found 1t seems that it was found
| tucked away in the toe of slipper
| placed on the top shelf of a closet
! During all of the excitement and trou-
| BILE the lady failed to recall having
place it there out of the way in safe
! place. and only remembered doing SC
when the slipper had been accidentally
thrown on the floor in rummaging
through the closet the roll of money
! falling out
II am glad to say that the boy never
! knew of the suspicion so unjustly cast
upon him, and If he had heard the Sc
/ we're words the lady uttered he would
! have had good grounds for a damage
suit, which ought to. be brought il
such unreasonable cases of hasty anC
cruel charges of theft against innocent
! persons.
Detectives find that i is of little use
to argue with a woman as to her sus-
picions of guilt of a person she charges
with theft. IN all of these cases the
parties were of the better class. Mer
are more cautious and reasonable ii
their accusat lions and better appreciate
! what serious consequences attach tt
an unjust charge Of theft to the per-
son accused. but the ladies jump a
once to conclusions and refuse tC
! change their minds.
/ IF innocent persons wrongly accused
would make these hasty people pay
! good money for their cocksureness il
the shape of damages, and put them tt
the expense and trouble of a suit il
court. they would never repeat the op
GRAFTON in their lifetime This is the
only way to check hasty accusations o.
! guilt. as arguments and subsequen
proof of error are without avail, anC
the charge is repeated in other in.
stances.
He Had Not.
New York Times.)
At one of the public receptions at tn
White House during the second Clevelan,