The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1909-07-22
He HAS MUGGEO
5000 CRIMINALS
Geo. E. Baker Always Treated
Crooks Like Gentlemen"-Tells of
Methods With Famous Prisoners.

/
tiers. bears the reputation over the
United States among police officers As
one OF the most successful portrayei .
OF crooks OF national and internatiOn-
al reputation. The Pinkertons have
Endorsed his work as being the oest
and his photographs the most natural
OF any.
For thirteen years Mr.. Baker has
been phCtographing criminals. and
while photographers IN other cities
have sometimes been roughly handled
by the rocalcitrant bad men. and have
taken pictures of them with closed
eyes and twisted visages. Baker has
always been able 10 get good pictures.
Il never failed 10 treat u criminal
sitting before my camera with as
much courtesy as II he were paying
patron in my private gallery. said
Mr.. Baker. When criminal was
brought TO me 10 be photographed l
politely asked him TO sit down. IL n;
was willing TO be photographed that
only made II that much easier for me.
But H. as Is the case in 80 out or 100
sittings, the prisoner protested and
|
the camera | was compelled 10 use
logic and persuasion.
His Course Toward Crooks
MIR. JONES' | would say. address
ing the crook. i have TO get good
picture OF you. It's my business. l
want 20 treat you like a gentleman,
and | hope you will treat me the same
way. IL you will be nice | will recip-
rocate and this will soon be over.
That line OF talk and my friendly man
ner generally brought II. But II they
still persisted in being balky | sat
down and went at them gently and
generally got them.
by following this line OF treatment
| | have been able TO make good nat
ural photographs OF desperate men
who had never been successfully
photographed before.
II recall the case OF Jim French,
the bank burglar An attempt had
been made in some other city TO
photograph him. When he objected
he was hanhandled by detectives. His
head would be held like a vice in the
! hands Of the detectives and turned
toward the camera with his features
so twisted that no one could have
Identified him by the picture.
When he was brought in TO me the
detectives with him told me that he
was a tough customer and that |
would not be able 10 get picture OF
him. | told them 10 leave him alone.
French vas an intelligent man. and |
sat down and talked TO him In rea-
sonable way, as IL he was not crook
there TO be 'mugged.' He had beon
choked and abused before and he was
suspicious. but he succumbed at last
TO my persuasions and permitted me
| 10 make good picture Of him.
Il have photographed about 5000 OF
the best known and desperate men In
the criminal world, and the men have
been picked up all over the world "
my pictures.
Their Value In Tracing.
IL made the photographs OF Lord
harrington by which he was identified
as an English convict by the detec-
tives OF Scotland yard. The photograph
made Of Bill Rudolph was the
means by which he was identified in
the Kansas penitentiary after ne broke
! jail in St. Louis. The Pinkertons, who
were securing the world for him had
never seen him and did not know him.
Copies OF the photograph | made were
sent 10 all the operatives and one OF
/ them picked him out In the Kansas
penitentiary, where he had had him.
self sent TO be- hidden from pursuit.
In my time | have met al! the big
crooks. After they were 'mugged' and
went away -Iwonld meet them on the
streets, but IL they remembered me
they did not show II.
Have | ever been threatened or
had a struggle with any Of them
Yes, have been threatened, but never
| by any OF the wise ones. IL was al
ways the cheap ones who would say
! III fix you for this when | get ou;.
! But none OF them has ever tried 20
modest me.
Among the desperate men who have
sat before my camera | recall Laugh
| ing Charlie Gallagher. Marion Hedge
peth. Ben Fitzpatrick. AL Rose and
Bruce Morris, the train robbers who
murdered several detectives who raid
ed q house at Fourteenth and Pine
SITS. where they were hiding. Some OF
them later shot their way out of the
penitentiary at Jefferson City, but
were caught and hanged. They wero
indeed desperate fellows.
Il made photograph of Louis Me-
| Dowell. a confidence man OF wonder
full DISCUSSES. He impersonated Will
liam j.. Lemp. Jr., and J. Pierpont Nor
gan and made lots OF money that way.
Gents Who Loot Banks.
IL have had large number of bank
burglars look into my lens. Jerry Fer
guson. who was yeggman; Big Ed
Rice, George Shine, an English thief
OF international reputation Stray
Waddell. Charles Arnold, Abe Sheen.
ey' Kahn, said To be the only Hebrew
bank burglar In the country, and many
others
Among the women | have photo
graphed was Stella Davis. who was
called the 'coinacker queen and the
girl with the hypnotic eyes. Mabel
and Jennie DELL two beautiful girls
who got into the houses OF rich peo-
pie on the preterse .uf being hair
dressers, and who either stole then or
planned future robberies for male Ac-
completes, were also among my Gus
toners.
The most skilful pickpockets have
been photographed by me. such men
as Rufus Wood Tim Murphy, Sam
Chuko, called the short pants boy be-
cause he posed as a boy and got EN-
nlpVfnpuf I'm dpna rfmput QfOras fr