Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-04
ONE WOMAN'S SUCCESS
MISS EDITH KINGS WORK IN DE-
TEcTIvE's ROLE.
The Terror Of Rough Men Who Defy
Uncle Sans Laws-Her
Methods.

zone of the slckest women detectives
with whom 1 ever came in contact is Miss
Edith King of Philadel Jhia, whose record
shows the capture of nearly a thousand
deserters from Uncle Sans land and sea
fighting forces" said Carl Flather OF the
local detective force today.
Miss King has been so successful in
tracing deserters from the army and navy
that she is kept doing this kind OF work
exclusively. She is only twenty-five years
old and frail. the daughter of gentle par
ents and a girl of careful breeding. She is
most attractive in appearance, has charm
ing southern manners, and looks better
suited to singing in a church choir or grac-
ing drawing room than tracing criminals
Yet she is the terror of the sturdy and
rough men who defy Uncle Sans laws.
"Once she gets on their trail there is no
hope. They can escape the vigilance of
male pursuers. but this clever. quick witted
woman is not to be denied She has strong
weapons than even a mans decision or
brute force. She uses beauty and guile.
And it is guile and beauty of a most Guilt
waited type, guile that passes from a
Skillful talent at disguise and impersonatlon
to a comprehension of the possibilities OF
an unusually pretty face and well studied
Irritation as means of outwitting the sus-
ceptible.
Miss King is well known to officials of
the army and navy. She is less known to
the public because she has kept in the
background. Publicity makes it more diff
ficult for her to follow her chosen calling
successfully. But once in while 1T hap
pens she figures in case so remarkable
that it is not possible to keep it from the
police reporter.
Her first case was to trace two deserters
who were said to be working for fruit
packing concern. She betook herself to the
place and applied for a position. They
laughed 1T her fine clothes and white hands,
but the insistence with which she pleaded
her case won her a chance, and she was set
to work on a machine that peeled and cored
apples. Her unfamiliarity with the machine
caused her to cut her hands until they bled,
and made her the laughing stock of the
other employees.
Among those who were particularly bOiS
ferrous in poking fun at her was one of the
two men she was after. She made no COM
plant, but stuck bravely to her work. Be
coming acquainted with one OF the suspects
she gradually wormed her way into his good
graces and employing that strongest
weapon which a woman has-firtation-
drew from him his secret. Within two weeks
after taking the position she had the salts
faction of seeing the two men arrested and
put behind the bars.
Her quick and complete success was a
revelation to her shrewd employer, and
since that time he has wisely confined her
to the same line of work. She gets a salary
that many a man in commercial lines might
Has Mastered the Methods.
Miss King has mastered every method by
which the sleuth tracks down the criminal
and gets desired information. She knows
full we'll the value of anger and Jealousy as
a means of persuading women to tell what
they know In many instances she has per-
suaded sisters. wives and even mothers to
give information that meant a term of in
generation for brother. husband or son.
''She is mistress of all the DISCUSSES pos
sible to a woman. She can so alter her fea-
lures that with the addition Of proper attire
she can pass for a habitue of the Slums.
This method has often proved efhcacious.
AS a rule the deserter seeks the society of
women of this type. More than once she
has got herself up messenger boy, the
slimness of her figure aiding materially In
making this disguise effective.
Frequently in her trips to the slums she
has been placed in imminent peril but there
is always nearby a male detective from the
office where Miss King works. He is ready
to come to her aid whenever it may be
necessary.
ION several occasions she had narrow
escapes. Once a sailor she had arrested
fired at her, but fortunately his aim was
bad and she escaped unscratched. On the
other hand men who have been taken have
served their time and been released, have
come to her and thanked her for having put
them on the path that led to reformation.
Although she has apprehended over LOCO
deserters she is looking forward with pleas
ure to increasing the list to 1000.