The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1907-04-19
THE ENGLISH POLICE
HOW SCOTLAND YARD OFFICIALS
TRACE MISSING PEOPLE.

1ethods Of London's Detective Force
For Locating the Lost Ones, and
Every Detail Of How the Mysteries
Are Unraveled.
Away along the embankment, close
70 the houses of parliament, is a big,
businesslike red brick building, the
headquarters of those whose business
1t Is to solve mysteries.
Scotland Yard is the home of thrill
ing occupations and has many tasks
undreamed of by those who regard it
merely as the directing Office of the
army Of blue coated London consta.
bles, and among those tasks is that of
probing the mystery of lost persons-a
mystery touched often by romance, Of
ten by tragedy and occasionally sur
rounded by black obscurity into
which no human ingenuity can pierce
It is part of the work of Scotland Yard
to endeavor to extract from the be-
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 acquaintances in one hour
have in the next, for no reason and
without word, disappeared.
Some of these mysteries never have
been solved and never will be solved.
but they are astonishingly 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 no eye for ro-
nance, rigidly restricting itself to prac.
teal thoughts and practical work.
Stretched over twenty square miles
Of London with it's population of ma
ton. are the nervous tentacles of Scot
land Yard. ever alert for the work,
responding in moment to an impulse
from that center of intelligence-thc
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
ganiZation works like machine
To give an idea of the work it will
happens in an individual case.
A prosperous middle aged civil serv-
ant living at Chaplain is amazed and
alarmed to find that his son, bank
clerk, aged twenty-four, does not re-
turn home one night after business.
He is we'll 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 cab to
the nearest police station and relates
his story to the inspector in charge
"Oh, dare say he'll be found in cou
pie of days. says the CHEEKY inspect
or. "We'l get on to it ut once. What
is his description"
1hereupon the father gives descrp-
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 glace kid lace boots The Inspector
enters this in book, together with
some details as to the disappearance
He hands the book to a policeman
of reinsurance to the father. Within a
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 n few
minutes the police depots from one end
OF the metropolis to the other are on
the qui 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 especial inquiry Off
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 at the Yard produce print
ed sheet with the latest 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
day only an hour or two elapses be-
tween each edition. AS result by
midday the description of the young