Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-02-08
"THE THIRD DEGREE"
Conscience Makes cowards of crimi.
nails, ls Police Theory.

Conscience Makes cowards of crimi.
nails, ls Police Theory.
Whenever the term Third Degree
Is mentioned in connection with a DO.
lice case, there is conjured up in the
mind of the hearer dark and gloomy
picture. It is a phrase that seems tc
embody all that Is mysterious and ter
rible in police administration, in at.
tempts, not to detect crime, but tc
fasten. responsibility for deed upon
some prisoner who guilty, has found
himself In the tolls of the law.
Whenever the police have failed tc
gather sufficient evidence to fasten g
crime upon some prisoner, we hear OF
the third degree. Whenever prison.
er Is obdurate, and fails to confess ir
face Of overwhelming evidence, again
we hear Of the third degree. What
then, is this mysterious and terrible or
deal through which man must pass
If suspicion sufficient to cause his ar
rest has fastened upon him?
In the first place, the third degree
originated in remotest antiquity, and
reached its greatest development ir
the Spanish Inquisition. Great was the
terror inspired by those terrible inquis-
itors in Spain, and frightful were the
expedients to which they, with fiendish
ingenuity, resorted to force confess
sion from their victims. This Is @
matter Of history and has been told
many times.
None of the expedients resorted to
by the inquisitors Of old, however, are
among the stock-in- trade Of the mod
ern police official in this city, says the
Philadelphia Record. Not that the
third degree is quiet diversion or a
pleasant pastime. On the contrary
the ordeal is terrible one. There
exists this difference between the mod
ern inquisition and the ancient one:
OF old the ordeal was purely physical,
today 1t is altogether mental. In
olden times resort was had to red-hot
pincers, to the rack, or the telescope
helmet Of steel. Today the third de-
gree is psychological and the con-
science Of the prisoner himself causes
him to fall upon his knees, and, ad-
mitting all, cry for mercy.
To begin with, let it be remembered
that conscience makes towards Of US
ALL" That is the foundation creed Of
the modern third degree. 1t is as
sumed an innocent man will never con-
fess to a crime he did not commit, no
matter what suspicion may have fallen
upon him or how conclusive the evil
dence against him. A guilty criminal
on the other hand, can seldom with
stand the ordeal Of the third degree,
when its inquisitors have properly
read his character and have made due
allowances for his disposition.
To. illustrate: About one year ago
church in this city was entered, des-
ecrated and robbed. The thief left no
clue behind. From the earmarks Of the
case, however, suspicion at once was
directed against one RED Nose Mike"
This thing had happened before, and
Mike, whose real name Is said to be
James Wallace, had served time for
the offenses. The city was searched
for Mike, therefore, and sure enough,
on November IA, 1908, Policeman
Smith arrested the man at Twentieth
street and Fairmount avenue. 1t was
one thing to suspect the man, however,
and 1t was an entirely different matter
to prove the offense.
It may be mentioned in this connec-
ton that the police Of the large cities
usually know who Is responsible for q
certain crime, from the manner in
which tine deed is done. If, for in
stance, a cellar Is entered through
a hole cut in the wall from an adjoin-
ing cellar, 1t is generally understood
either Charlie Blake, or one Of his pu-
pills has been responsible for the job.
Blake is now serving fifteen years.
In case an atrocious crime is com.
mitted twice, in the same manner
each time, it is a safe guess maniac
is responsible, for such is the way OF
madmen. In case the apparently un-
provoked crime is not repeated, then
there must somewhere exist a motive,
and the case narrows down. Find the
motive. So 1t goes.
To return to Red Nose Mike" This
man is Of the lowest type. He Is sui
len and defiant and will neither talk
nor answer questions. Sitting upon a
chair, he simply hangs his head, fur
lively peeping at his questioners be-
meath his brows.
Mike was placed under arrest and
locked up in a cell in city hall. None
Of the time honored methods for de-
tecting crime so prevalent In the ac-
ton Of the day could, Of course, with
sense, be applied. The only thing
that remained was to obtain volun-
tary confession from the man him
self. It will be observed here the
term voluntary" Is used. How, then,
was this done? Mike confessed, and
Is now serving eleven years and six
months in the Eastern penitentiary.
In the first place, Mike was placed
in his cell. He was not approached or
molested all that day, but was left to
his own thoughts. He felt rather sure
of himself also.
At roll-call the morning following his
arrest, the cell door was opened, and
he was led to the room in which all
the city detectives were assembled, all
wearing masks This Is the first step
in the giving Of the degrees and may
be called the first degree. AS Mixes
name was called he shuffled forward
to the bar in a confident manner. His
charge was recited against him, and he
was told to face the masked men. This
done, a voice said, Anybody know
him."
Many of the detectives present did
know him, and they were not bashful
about saying so. His entire police rec
ord was recited from memory Mike
smiled, for he had done time for all
tbaoa tbinos h,,t this WAS NOT DrOying