The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-17
THE SECRET. SERVICE man
MODEST, SKILLFUL WORKER
WITH A WONDERFUL SYSTEM.
Net Most of the Time, with Little
Chance OF Getting Out.
New York Sun.

New Workers got their first glimpse re-
Gently of the marvellous system under which
the men of the United States Secret Service
work, when the local police. helpless in the
face Of a particularly revolving and baf-
fling murder, were able to solve the mystery
only after the government men had fur
nished them with the identity of the muir
dered man, the names of the last men he
had associated with before his death, and
the probable motive for the crime.
The popular idea of the secret-service man
is that furnished by the stalwart fellows
who follow the President of the United
States on his travels. AS a matter of fact
these men are not detectives at all, but in
most cases men appointed out of private
life by political influence and useful only
because of their vigilance, their ability to
work hard and their courage under any
and all circumstances.
The real secret-service man is the man
that the public never hears of by name
The public hears of his exploits whenever
gang Of counterfeiters is broken up, or
an Illicit still is raided, but it doesn't hear
the names Of the men who did the work,
and it hasn't the least idea in the world how
success was attained. 1t doesn't know that
daily. for months and months, men who
work for comparatively small salaries have
taken their very lives in their hands to get
evidence against the most desperate class
of lawbreakers in the country, and have
finally got their men only because they were
quicker with their guns than the criminals
were, and were cunning enough to catch
them unawareS
In this age, when even policemen and fire.
men have personal press agents, secret
service man is refreshing novelty. No
matter how creditable piece of work one
of these men does he will never willingly
let his own name be connected with ii in
the newspapers He will give no Informal
ton TO reporters, although to do so would
be to bring fame to himself, and he will not
rest on his laurels after big piece of work,
but will start right out again on something
else as soon as he has reported to his chief.
MODEST MEN.
The personal modesty of the secret-serv-
ice men is quite remarkable. The three
men who really rounded up the gang that
perpetrated the recent barrel murder in
this city declined to give reporters their
names, and it wasn't until Agent Flynn,
the head of the local bureau, had been
implored for half an hour that he finally
consented to tell who his men were.
The work of the secret-service men is
confined to a very few classes of criminals.
Chiefly it is among coiners, counterfeit-note
makers and Illicit distillers. There are
other kinds of work done, but very little of
Ii by the crook men. New men attend to
thieving postal clerks, dishonest govern
ment employees and do the odds and ends
of the work of the department.
The first principle of the crack men OF
the secret service is to know every law
breaker in the two first-named classes by
sight, anyway; by name, If possible, and by
a number If not by name. This is a hard
task, but the secret-service men accomplish
it. The coiners and counterfeiters are
chiefly Italians. They are cunning, and 1t
is no small thing for men to match their
cunning against them and win out.
Night and day, month in and month out,
these Italians are shadoWed: Their Their every every
town the secret-service men learn some
how where they are going, and when they
arrive at their destination they are picked
up by other secret-service men. Day by
day their movements are put on record.
If, for instance, il became necessary to
know just what a man like Morello, the
alleged leader of the Malta, was doing on
any certain day, it could be determined by
just turning back the pages in Morello's
record to the day in question.
A new man appears on the scene. He is
seen with the rest of the gang under sur
Yeillance. In a second he is numbered,
and he stays numbered until his name is
learned. His face is photographed on the
brains of the secret-service men, a descrip
ton of his appearance is sent to head
quarters, and other secret-service men
hurry to where he is to be found to get a
look at him. The whole thing is done in
so skillful a way that there Is little or no
chance of the object of so much attention
suspecting that he is being observed.
The moment the secret-service men dis
covered the future victim of the barrel
murder with his suspected murderers in
Stanton-street butcher shop, they sent for
all the secret-service men in town at once
to see if any of them knew him. For sew
eral hours that afternoon secret-service
men were going in and out OF that butcher
shop making purchases, but really trying
to get a look at the newcomer" as they
called him. None had ever seen the man
before, so by night he was on record in
the federal building in this city With num-
Der opposite his description.
A PERFECT SYSTEM.
The value of this system of constant sur
veilance is not often made public, as 1t was
in the barrel murder case. But it's worth
is demonstrated to the secret service men
themselves scores of time each year. So
perfect is the system now that when bad
bill or bad coin turns up anywhere the
detective can tell by its workmanship just
who made it and about where it was made.
They can come pretty near also to finding
the men they suspect, and within twenty
four hours. After that it is simply mat
ter of making out legal case.
This is done by the closest kind Of watch
ing. sooner OF ldltT tie pdSSeTS Oh the
bad money, who. by the way, are rarely
molested until the principals are caught,
will lead the detectives to the plant Then
Il is a case of coming down on it suddenly
and bagging the entire outfit red-handed.
1t is dangerous work. AT shadowing the
secret service men are too clever to be
oornered by coiners, who would kill them
in a second if they could catch Them but
when a raid is made. the secret service man
takes his life in his hand. There is one
little secret service man working in the
local bureau who has been shot several
times I'm these raids and whose body is COW
erel with the scars of knife wounds re-
ceived in encounters with coiners and illicit
distillers. The story of this mans career
would fill book. and ii would all be inter-
esting reading, but ii is impossible to get
him TO say a word about himself or his
work for publication.
The secret service men have scores of
allies in every city in the country. In this
city ministers, lawyers, doctors and busi-
ness men are assistants of the secret serv-
ice. OF course, they are the most discreet
of citizens, but if they weren't they could
tell very little. for most of the work done
by outsiders for the secret service is done
by men who not allowed to know the
significance of the Information they are to
procure. They are told TO watch a man for
a given time and to report fully what he
hat or ar ord cd