Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1911-08-03
The Great American Detective

Ed. Register-I want to say few
words about the great American
detective. I don't want to describe
him, for there is no language
lurid enough for that. l just want
to relate a little story that will IL
lustrate the character of the aver
age detective. / won't use any
adiectives, though much inclined
to do so.
1t was in the year 1894, during
the great A. R. U. strike, that the
railroad managers association
sent three of their sleuths into the
caboose of freight train that was
in charge of an official of that CA.
R. w. order. The men (?) were
sent there to kill that conductor,
not because he was a conductor,
but because he was an official Of
the A. R. U. AS l said, they en-
tered his caboose and "started
som ething" by knocking him
down. They evidently expected
him to 60 after gun, but were
not prepared for what followed
for he got up shooting and killed
two of them in the car and fol-
lowed the other fellow outside and
shot at him as he ran. Well, they
did not get their man as they ex-
pected, but they did get him sent
to prison for number of years, a
part Of which he served; but one
day the warden told him that Gov
ernor Altgeld wanted to see him,
and he was ushered into the pres
ence of the greatest of American
governors where he related the
whole story without any reserve.
Gov. Altgeld said, at it's conolu-
sion, I guess you have told the
truth, as the other fellow told it
the same way. Here is your par
don." 1t appears that the Pinker-
ton man who saved his life run
ming, had died, and on his DEATH
bed made confession telling of the
conspiracy to kill the A. R. U.
man. Then said the conductor,
"He had just as we'll have died
with that lie on his soul, for ii
there is a hell no Pinkerton man
can escape"
Well, he was free, but the rail-
road companies were not done
with him yet. The black list fol-
lowed him from one job to another
until finally he went into the Office
of the superintendent who had
placed his name on the black list,
with a loaded pistol in his hand
and told him, 81 am going to such
and such a road and get job,
and am going to refer them to
you, and you know I am able and
competent to hold the job; and if
l don't hold it l am going to come
back here and kill you. I ought
to do it now, but | am going to
give you one more chance" And
that was the end of the black list
so far as that man is concerned,
for he is now running a train on
the Cotton Belt railroad.
This Is one story out of thou
sands to illustrate the character OF
the average American detective.
Nine-tenths of his labors are di-
rected against organized labor.
To facilitate his work he joins the
union, and then on the least pro-
vocation he urges a strike, and
when the strike comes he ad-
vocates violence; and, rather thar
miss, he leads riot. In the great
A. R. U. strike he burned cars in
Chicago and cut the fire hose
when the department tried to put
out the fire.
Much more could be said, but
the above is a fair illustration o1
the average detective. He is us
ually pictured as piecing out a
case from a thumb mark, few
hairs, or foot print; but he gett
his so-called information through
the sweat box-the SPECIALIZED third
degree-where men and women are
tortured into insanity and confess
anything to escape their torment.
ers; a system that puts the old
Spanish Inquisition to shame.
F. P. HILBURN,
Malvern, Ark.