The Detroit times., 1909-07-22
He HAS MUGGEO
5000 CRIMINALS
Geo. E. Baker Always Treated
Crooks Like Gentlemen"-Tells Of
Methods With Famous Prisoners.

. ters, bears the reputation over the
| United States among police officers al
one OF the most successful portrayers
OF crooks OF national and Information
al reputation. The Pinkertons nave
Endorsed his work as being the best
and his photographs the most natural
OF any.
For thirteen years Mr. Baker has
been phCtographing criminals, aho
while photographers IN other cities
lhave sometimes been roughly handled
Fby the rccalcitrant bad men, and have
ytaken pictures OF them with closed
eyes and twisted visages. Baker has
4 always been able to get good pictures
Il never failed TO treat a criminal
sitting before my camera with as
much courtesy as II he were a paying
| patron in my private gallery said
Mr.. Baker. When a criminal wes
brought to me To be photographed
politely asked him TO sit down. II ne
was willing 10 be photographed that
only made ii that much easier for me.
But If. as is the case in 80 out OF 100
uttings. the prisoner protested anc
,egan grimacing as soon as he faced
he camera | was compelled TO use
bgic and persuasion.
His Course Toward Crooks.
Mr.. Jones, | would say. address
ing the crook, L have to get good
picture OF you. It's my business.
want 10 treat you like 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 IL they
still persisted In being balky | sat
down and went at them gently and
generally got them.
by following this line of treatment
I have been able TO make good nat
ural photographs of desperate men
who had never been successfully
photographed before.
IL 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 vice in the
hands Of the detectives and turned
toward the camera with his features
% 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 TO get a picture OF
him. I told them to leave him alone.
French was an intelligent man, and |
sat down and talked to him In a rea-
sonable way. as IL he was not a crook
there to be 'mugged.' He had been
choked and abused before. and he was
suspicious, but he succumbed at last
to my persuasions and permitted me
to make a good picture of him.
II 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.
II made the photographs OF Lord
harrington by which he was identified
as an English convict by the detec-
tives of Scotland yard. The photograph
I made Of Bill Rudolph was the
means by which he was identified in
the Kansas penitentiary after he 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 to 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 l have met all the big
crooks. After they were 'mugged' and
went away / would meet them on the
streets. but II they remembered me
they did not show it.
Have l ever been threatened or
had a struggle with any Of them?
Yes, have been threatened, but never
by any OF the wise ones. 1t was al.
ways the cheap ones who would say
I'll fix you for this when | get OUT.
But none OF them has ever tried to
molest 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 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 were
indeed desperate fellows.
IL made a photograph Of Louis Nc
Dowell, a confidence man OF wonder
ful 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 a 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 tho
girl with the hypnotic eyes. Mabel
and Jennie Dell. two beautiful girls,
who got into the houses OF rich peo-
pie on the pretense OF 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 plckpockets have
been photographed by me, such men
as Rufus Wood, Tim Murphy, Sam
Chuko. called the short pants boy be-
cause he posed as boy and got en-
ployment in department stores or
went into them on bargain days and
made a specially OF picking women's
pockets OF dipping into their purses;
Z Country John Harris and Max &C.