The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1907-02-11
THE ENGLISH POLICE
HOW SCOTLAND YARD OFFICIALS
TRACE MISSING PEOPLE.

For Locating the Lost Ones. nnd
Every Detail OF How the Mysteries
Are UnraveIed.
Away along the ernbankment, close
to the houses of parliament, Is a big.
businesslike red brick building. the
headquarters Of those whose business
II Is to solve mysteries.
Scotland Yard is the home Of thrill
Ing occupations and has many tasks
undreamed OF by those who regard IL
merely as the directing office OF tile
army of blue coated London consta.
bles. and among those tasks is that of
probing the mystery OF lost PERSONS
mystery touched often by romance, Of
ten by tragedy and occasionally sur
rounded by black obscurity Int1
which no human ingenuity can pierce.
1t is part of the work OF Scotland Yard
to endeavor to extract from the he
wildering human continent Of London
those individuals who have suddenly
walked Off the track OF human knowl-
edge. who in ordinary speech with
friends and acqualntances in one hour
have in the next. for no reason and
without a word. disappeared.
Some of these mysteries never have
been solved and never will be solved.
but they are astonlshingIy few com
pared to those which Scotland Yard
unravels every week. Only one case
here and there is heard of. because the
work is In the ordinary routine Of the
yard and the force has 10 eye fog ro-
nance. rigidly restricting itself to prac-
teal thoughts and practical work.
Stretched over twenty square miles
Of London, with Its population of a ma.
ton. are the nervous tentacles of Scot.
land Yard. ever alert for the work.
responding in a moment to an impulse
from that center Of intelligence-the
red brick. businesslike building on the
embankment. Frequently throughout
day and night the agents of Scotland
Yard are securing London in the search
for missing persons. The great or.
ganlzation works like machine.
To give an idea of the work 1t will
be best to take an instance of what
happens in an individual case.
A prosperous middle aged civil serv.
ant living at Clapham is amazed and
alarmed to find that his son, a bank
clerk, aged twenty-four, does not re-
turn home one night after business.
He is a well behaved young fellow and
has never before stayed away all night.
In the morning his father hurries to
the branch of the bank In Kensington
where his son is employed and finds
that he left at about half past on the
night before in quite his usual manner,
giving no Indication that he was not
going straight home. From the time he
left the bank door he has not been seen.
His accounts are in perfect order: he
was young man on the way to pro-
motion.
The bewildered father takes a cab to
the nearest police station and relates
his story TO the inspector In charge.
"Oh, | dare say he'll be found in a cou.
pie of days" says the CHEEKY inspect
or. Wen get on to It at once. What
is his description
Thereupon the father gives descrlp-
ton Of his son, running. perhaps, some.
thing like this: Height. five feet eight
inches: fair hair. slight fair mustache.
gray eyes slim build. wearing silk hat,
morning coat, dark striped trousers
and giace kid lace boots. The inspector
enters this In a book, together with
some details as to the disappearance.
He hands the book to policeman
clerk and turns to give another word
Of reinsurance to the father. Within n
minute the latter hears the tick. tick.
tick" Of telegraph instrument in the
hands of the policeman clerk. The de.
scription he has given is being tele-
graphed to every police station in the
London area and is also being sent to
Scotland Yard. Thus within few
minutes the police depots from one end
Of the metropolis TO the other are on
the qul vive for the slim, fair haired
young man."
But the process has only just begun
As soon as the father has left the DO.
lice station the inspector calls out from
another room two special inquiry OH.
GERS" who are expert searchers for
missing persons and who have a won
derful knowledge of their district, with
its doubtful resorts, low class clubs.
boarding houses of shady character
and other places where lost people
drift They hear the details, and they
go out ON their quest. starting first
with inquiries at the hospitals within
their reach in order to make sure that
no accident has befallen the young
man.
BY the time they are in the street
headquarters at Scotland Yard has
the matter In hand. At intervals
throughout the day the private print.
ing presses Rt the Yard produce print
ed sheet with the latcst confidential in.
formation on police matters, and this
sheet is distributed hot from the press
to every police station in London, and
as there are three or four issues every
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