New-York tribune., 1911-02-26

FLOCK HERE FROM WEST
Police Say the Curtailing of Ex-
pense Accounts Makes 1t I'M
possible to Get Help of
Stool Pigeons.

Stool Pigeons.
To curb the exasperating self-suffi-
cheney of the horde Of pickpockets that
have gathered in this city from the West
and have robbed scores Of pedestrians
and ua ssengers on the strectcars, ele-
waited roads and subway during the last
few weeks detachment OF nearly
hundred Central Office men and precinct
detectives were sent out last night to
make a roundup.
Twenty prisoners We're brought to 70
lice Headquarters during the evening.
For DAYS complaints have been coming
into Police Headquarters from persons
who have been robbed Of their purses,
and for that reason Deputy Commits
sioner FIvnn decided last evening on a
general campaign against the pickpocket
faction OF "crookdom," and summoned
nearl- one hundred OF the cicverest
sIeuths To the detective bureau.
Some of the detectives were drawn
from Brooklyn precincts The detec-
tiyes known to be familiar with the faces
and methods of the sharpers were put on
the Job, and by o'clock they began 10
bring prisoners to Headquarters. Nine
teen of the suspected men were held for
court. and the twentieth was held at Po-
lice Headquarters for further examina-
ton. as one of the complaining citizens,
Isaac 2. Drew, who gave his address as
the corner Of Broadway and 26oth
street. declared he recognized him as one
| OF the three men who had jostled nm
on February Is, when he Drew was
robbed of $40 on 3ith street crosstown
car.
This prisoner described himself as
George Daniels. thirty-one years Old oil
No. 24O West Both street, bartender.
He was charged with being suspicious
person.
inspector Russell Leads.
Inspector Russell personally superin-
| tended the roundup. noteworthy iao'
connected with the evening campaign
| was that during the entire period OF the
| Hudson Fulton celebration only four
pickpockets were TAX TO headquarters
only one-ffth of the number rounded
I'm last night. Police officers commented
unon the contrast and recalled that DUR
ing the celebration hundreds of thou-
sands visited the city and helped TO
make the congested ,..oroughfares an
ideal stamping ground for the nimD'e
| fingered gentry.
! HEADQUARTERS men in trying TO account
| for the altered conditions and for "hat
! they termed the almost unprecedented
| thrush of pickpochcts and strong arm
mon raised the question OF expense ac-
counts. Several sleuths who aired their
op;nions agreed that the cutting down
! Of the police expense accounts had indue
II innossible for detectives TO handle the
stool pigeons as they formerly did, ana
il was because of that that all Kinds Oh
valuable information in regard TO the
doings Of dangerous criminals ana tile
smaller fry" was no longer at their dis
nosal They attributed the change 10
rbe new policy of the department as II
was established some time ago.
Shopkecpers, saloonkeepers and care
nroprietors who formerly kept the
sleuths primed with the movements oi
thieves and hold-up men no longer
handed over information, they said
These tradesmen and proprletors ol
| small resorts i'm certain localities mao
bfen invaluable in the past lhey
caught the whispered words or CROOKS
who freGuentod their places, or they
tnew their friends and their comings
and goings. and when certain criminal
u,as badly wanted one or another could
generally put the detective Onto the
| scent.
In return. as the detectives admitted
those stool pigeons We're protected wher
they fell from grace to the degree Oh
being caught by the precinct men oper-
ating a stuss game or something or tna'
kind II was a policy OF reciprocatloh
&C one detective expressed 1t, with
little money, a few dollars, to oil some
,rformer's tongue when thief who nae
mn 10 cover was being sought.
"New York the Soft Place"
eroun OF Central Office men whI
talked the situation over last hlsh
agreed that It was out of the question
IN think OF their going down into theii
own pockets to tip stool pigeons. The!
were nc longer in a position TO pay o
protect their informers.
They were open in declaring that tn
now order of things, as far as the polio!
of the department was concerned wa
responsibIe for the inpouring OF western
criminals. AS one put ii: The wore
has been passed that New YORK is TN
soft place." Case after case Of recen
robbery and assault was cited. and
vas nointed out that the more desperat
criminals seemed to have thrown caution
~ the winds or thought that 1t was N
longer a necessary commodity
That Second Deputy Commissions
F1vnn is taking strong hold on III
situation IS evidenced by the heavy dc
tachment OF detectives he sent out las
night after the dips
When the suspected men, To the mum
her Of nineteen. were arraigned befor
MAGISTRATE Butts in the mems nigh
court seventeen of them were dis
charged, much TO the chagrin OF the de
tectiyes. Magistrate Butts in the case
of the seventeen declared there was III
,ueicieut evidence that they had at
tempted TO pick anybody's pocket
| rhe two who received different treat
+, | ,,ort said they Were Bert Winston