Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1910-05-11
THE VALUE OF
INSTRUCTION
By DONALD CHAMBER IN
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association

II Association.
Il was taught my business" said the
old detective.
Il went into Blifhn's Office a green
hand. The first job he gave me was
to trap gang of counterfeiters. Coun.
terfeiting is risky business. and those
engaged In it are therefore extraordi-
narily wary. They must have a place
In which to manufacture and to get
rid of the stuff when manufactured.
To do both of these without getting
caught is difficult. and it makes them
very skillful in covering their tracks
"Blitfn told me that q certain dis
trict was being flooded with spurious
coins and notes. l was to 60 and To-
cate the plant didn't know how to
begin. so be told me to find out some
persons who had recently come into
the neighborhood. l was also to 20
to the postoffice and learn If any mail
was being delivered to any suspicious
person. did as l was told and after
several days hunt was discouraged.
went to Blittin and told him there was
but one person who had moved into
the district. so far as could find out,
and there wasn't anything suspicious
about him. He lived alone, it is true.
in small house he had rented and
had put In what furniture he needed
on the fnstallment plan. Since he was
the only newcomer l had watched him
especially in the matter Of his mail
he went out in the morning after the
postman had delivered his letters,
reading them on the street. and when
he had finished would tear them up
and throw the fragments anywhere.
picked them up. put them together and
read them. There wasn't one in which
there was anything discriminating.
"'Let me see some of Them said
Bliffin.
Il showed him two or three letters
! had pasted together. He looked them
| over and said:
"Theres your man.
"What do you mean by telling me
that one who doesn't care who reads
DIS letters is my man:
1.-Two of them have been written by
himself to himself He has torn them
up and thrown them on the street to
be picked up by greenhorn detectives
"7ou could have knocked me down
with feather. l didn't say anything.
I went back and rented a room across
from where the suspected man lived.
One morning rose rather early and
| stood at my window. A milkman
drove up to the house opposite and de-
| dvered quart of milk. A cook took
the milk and handed the milkman the
can he had left the day before.
watched the house for a week, then
went to Bliffin and told him hadn't
got any further. He was working on
! some papers at the time and without
looking up from them asked me to tell
him anything l had SEEN | mentioned
the milkman.
"'You mean the postman.' said the
inspector.
"'No. the milkman.'
"That's the way the man you're
looking for gets his mall
81 said milk
"'And l say MALL
"'How did you come to think Of
that?
"'Oh, experience. suppose Youth
find the mflkman is newcomer
Il went back to my room to think
out plan for capturing some of that
mail. But couldn't find a way to do
this except by letting the young man
know 1t. This would spoil my game
concluded to capture the outgoing
mail. watched for my man to go
to a letter box to drop in a letter.
When he had done so l stood by the
box. not permitting any one to drop
in anything more. and when the post
man came along l showed him my au-
thority and demanded the letters in the
box. There were ten of them. and I
took them to my room, steamed them
and found one agreeing to turn over
green goods to a countryman. l kept
this letter and dropped the others in
| the box.
1.-THE countryman was to call at a
certain house not far from where the
young man lived at a certain hour on
a certain day. Bliffin told me that in
the house referred to the stuff was
| made. Why he thought so l didn't
know. He seemed to see things ahead
| without even thinking about them.
| would have sworn the plant was in
the house where the young man lived.
'"rhe matter at this stage was taken
out of my hands. Blif6n sent a man
to the house where the countryman
was to call for the queer supported
by enough men to surround the prem
Uses. They captured the gang. finding
the machinery for making the money.
Another force went to the house of the
young man l had been watching and
| captured him also. Among other
things taken was one of the milk cans
1t was made with a false bottom. ca:
pabIe of containing quite stable
mail. The milkman was not captured.
but of course he was one of them. as
Bliffin had predicted. His milk wagon
didn't belong to any especial firm.
though be did carry some milk in it.
| This was the beginning Of my In
otruction under Inspector Bliff1n. I
gained more in one year under him
than would have gained In ten years
alone. But it took me many years to
know things instinctively without
stopping to reason them out One.
| thing learned on that case. Ever