New-York tribune., 1910-05-08
TOM BYRNES IS DEAD
Continued from first page.

to this country and came to New York,
what would you dor" he was asked.
I'D send for him." he replied. "and ask
him how he dared to come here and what
explanation he hao TO make. and I'd tell
Linn what I knew about him and what /
thought of him. SO there would be no non
sense in his head. I'd make him feel that
he didn't amount to much as a fly bu1-
zing around a tallow dip"
According to him. the thieves did not ex-
actiy hate him, despite tie net he had
/ thrown about them -'Tney know what
their business is,'' he said in this connection,
and they know what mine Is They usual
ly speak of me in terms OF endeaTment that
would not look well in print but they usu-
ally aGd that I'm square with them. Byrnes
wants to send some one 70 Jail, they say
but long as We don't steal in New York
he don't modest Us. and he don't take what
we've got except by process of law"
The opinion that Mr.. Byrnes thought the
criminals had OF him was undoubtedly III,
true one, for city was more free from
depredations than New York during his
regime
Thomas F. Byrnes was a plain young
lrishman when he UaS appointed to the
police force on December 10. 1853 He had
then Just come from the war, where he had
served In the same company with William
Murray whom he succeeded as Surerin-
tendent Of Police tMenty-nine years later.
Both were in ElIsworth's zouaves-
Came Here from ireland.
lie was born in IreIa nd In 1872. and came
to this country, when very young With his
parents lie did his first police duty in the
Mercer street station. where he was after
ward captain. to do the service which
made him head Of the force Five years he
put in ''On the sidewalk Then he became
a roundsman. and the following year. 1855
sergeant.
On July l, 1870. he was made captain,
and was assigned to the 92d Precinct, and
after being transferred several times came
back 70 the old Mercer street station He
did not leave that station house until he
was called to the duty of reorsa nizing the
detective force on March ID 1880
The immediate cause Of the promotion TO
this important work Was his campaign
against a band Of bank burglars, who, in
the fall of 1873. looted the Manhattan Saw
ings Bank OF 100000 The bank was in
ByrRes's precinct, and he took up the pur-
suit Of the burglars-the strongest and
most cIeveriy organized gang that had ever
worked in the cIty-wfth such skill and
run TO earth and scattered, Most OF its
members got long terms in prison. and
from that time till Byrnes left the force
bank burglars avoided New York
When Byrnes took charge the Detective
Bureau was a force of broken down po-
lcemen. holding their places by force of
pull and working. when they worked at
all. without system purpose. On the
day of his appointment he established an
office in Wall Street and announced a
dead line at Fulton street, promising i'm
mediate arrest on general principles for
any crook that ventured below 1t.
Made Money in Wall Street
In Wall Street Byrnes made many
friends. and through information given to
him by the rich men whom he protected
by his dead line" policy he accumulated
fortune. Before the Lexow Committee in
1924 he testified that he had made S350,G90
through Judfcioun use OF the information
he received in the financial district Among
the men who aided Byrnes was the late
Jay Gould
At headquarters he put back on post
twenty-one of the twenty-eight detectives
he found there. and brought in new men
TO take their places. He soon increased
the detective force to forty men. under the /
rank of sergeant. and made il the most !
efficient body of its size and kind in the |
world.
During the first four years of the newly /
organized Detective Bureau $500 arrests
were made. an unprecedented number.
The daring and dangerous criminals he |!
convicted or drove from the city were |
many. Bank burglars. bank sneak thieves |
forgers, panel hoUse thieves, confidence |
men, etc, were almost entirely driven from |
the city or compelled TO forego their voca- |
tions here. Whether as inspector. superin-