The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-10-26
NEW YORK TOPICS
nRIFTs AND UNDERGRADUATES OF
THE METROPOLIS.
BYRNES IN A NEW ROLE.
FORMER CHIEF OF POLICE HAS
BECOME A PLAYWRIGHT.

The Remarkable Criminal DOcu-
,nents Owned by Byrnes and Ex-
chief of the Secret Service Drum
mond-A Man Who Earns His Liv-
ing by signing j. p. Morgan & Co.
IN Checks and stock Certificates.
The Latest story About j. p. Nor
Morgan David BeIasco's Queer
WAYS of Writfng-What the Au-
thor of 'Blue Jeans" Is Doing To-
day-TIow ThOmpsOn-Seton Might
Have Become Famous as Wolf
Thompson.
New York, Oct. 25 (SpeciaD .-Prob-
shlv the most extensive collections of
criminal records in the world are own
ed by ex-Superintendent Of Police
Bvrnes and ex-Chief of the United
states Secret Service Drummond.
f3vrnes is the author of half dozen
hooks of one kind or another all deal
ing with crime and joint author with
Julian Hawthorne of very nearly
dozen novels, based more or less on
fact. And now 1 can announce that he
will be co2author of a play to be pro-
duced in the spring. OF course, crime
will furnish the plot.
Many of the public criminal records
Of the New York Police Department
have been duplicated for Mr.. Byrnes
private collection at his own expense,
and he is personally on the mailing
list of most of the European chiefs of
police.
Chief Drummond's collection is of
different nature. OF course, he has du-
plicate records of his own work in the
secret service, but in addition to this
great collection of the literature of
crime he has obtained much more
through the courtesies of the chiefs Of
police and sheriffs of the United States.
He showed me some of these records
the other day and gave me copy OF
one in which was especially interest
ed because it was, he said, the most
extraordinary case of crime that he
knew about.
This particular record covers 15S
closely typewriter pages and tells the
official story of five murders, four ex-
ecutions and two life imprisonments.
This unusual series of crimes and pun
ishments was reported for him by the
sheriff of Oakland county, California,
and the report is not burdened with a
single unnecessary word. although it
contains over $4,000 words. enough to.
make a very fair sized novel. The
entire case, from beginning to end,
counts up nine deaths and two life i'm
prisonments. Three men were murder
ed in cold blood, two guards killed in
a prison fight and the four murderers
of these five men were executed.
This is only one of a vast number of
Of T111I41 f0<1J1H
has equally voluminous records.
There's a man in this city whose
extremely monotonous occupation so
racks his nerves that every few
months he is compelled to take an
ocean voyage on a slow going vessel
in order to quiet them. He has recent
ly returned from such a trip. This
man does nothing for living except
write the signature of j. P. Morgan
& Co. on their checks, stock certih-
Gates and bonds. His name is George
Bowdoin
Mr.. Bowdoin is young, not many
years over thirty, but he has signed
j. T. Morgan & Co. to so many tens
of thousands of checks and documents
and had his nervous system unstrung
so many times thereby that he looks
much older.
Mr.. Bowdoin was taken into the Nor
gan office soon after he left college.
His father is an intimate friend of the
great financier, and to the latter the
elder Bowdoin once talked about his
sons future
Can't you form some sort of a COM
pany and put the boy in as PRESIDENT"
the father loosely asked in the course
OF the conversation.
Mr.. Morgan owned up that he didn't
nave an idea just then for a new cor
poration. but I'll do this" he said.
1 need a sturdy young chap to sign
my name to the firms papers. I'll
give him the position"
Mr.. Bowdoin soon found out that he
mad no easy task, and each year it
grows. But he has been rewarded for
MS strenuous work by being made
member of the firm.
Not few big corporations have men
Who are similarly employed, and like
mr. Bowdoin they find that they have
10 take frequent rests to steady their
nerves. They say that no more mo-
hotonous work can be devised or imF
agined
Here is the latest story on Mr.. Nor
gan himself:
1t often happens that after banking
EOurs Mr.. Morgan remains at No. %
wan street for a chat with any of his
nm about closing time. The CONVEX
satlon invariably has nothing to do
win finances and many a good joke Is
S,IackRli Mr.. Morgan himself frequent
DOING the recital.
AT one of these gatherings recently
was a man who is noted about town
AZ AZ peer among the wittiest of wits.
Nothing pleases him so much as u
ss.ory well told and nothing disgusts
nln more than for Il man to bungle an
anecdote.
knowing the mans reputation sew
lH OF the members Of the gathering
drained from telling jokes, as was
sier wont. Not so Mr.. Morgan. He
p l right in, warmed up to his
IIuoJeet. and ended by provoking the
earliest kind of laughter all around.
When the merriment had died away
froulnclently for a voice to be heard, the
t,,an OF wit spoke UP, as he wiped away
ears of laughter:
-, we'll Mr.. Morgan, that was capt.
L. H. A story most excellently told. I'd
ash at that story even IL you were
"0' worth dolar!'
I'm London a large proportion of the
sttalers are leased and managed by
eoiSIs In New York playwrights are
Mug INTO the business more and more.
Tes,iiu Belasco not only manages Mrs:
bs~ ne Carter, but writes, or adapts all
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