The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1912-09-05
MY FIRST CASE
~osttIns" the Man Who Hung q Jury

Up to the day that the manager Of
the New York office OF the Burns De-
tective Agency handed me an order
for $50 expense money and started me
up the Hudson river on my first man
hunt, I had never done anything in
my life that might have been suspect
ed Of even remotely resem bling detec-
tive work. | probably knew as little
about the business as anybody In the
country, and ] had never had any
yearning or intention 10 become a de-
tective. But / was 36 years old, out
OF work, almost broke-in New York!
had a family to support and. most
important of all, | happened to have
met the celebrated detective who Is
the head of the agency by which
came to be employed, the largest rep
utable private detective agency In the
country. That was why | became.
and am, a private detective.
One morning / found myself at 42d
street and Broadway, looking at the
newspaper bulletins and wondering
how long my money would last and
where in the world should turn for
job. One OF the bulletins read:
Detective Burns Nabs More Bril-
bers."
That bulletin did the trick.
He may remember me-" / thought,
and he may know Of a job to fit me-"
l went straight down town to the
office OF the agency of which the big
man is the head and asked II he was
In.
What do you want of him." asked
the Office manager.
l was desperate / said: II know
him, and | want a job"
He looked me over, went into an
inner Office for a while, and reap
peared, bearing an application blank.
The office, and everything in 1t. was
just as it would be in an up-to-date
business office. The business of the
place might as well have been selling
insurance as hunting criminals. The
application blank had all the conven-
tional questions Of such a paper, and
In addition these:
Were you ever connected with
any police force, CT any detective
agency? Are you acquainted with
any police officials, or any one en-
ployed by detective agencies?
Were you ever employed by any
railroad?
DO you know anything about the
newspaper business?
Have you a large number of &C.
quaintances, and can you keep your
occupation from your friends and ac
quaintances?"
Fill that out" said the office man.
ager. He had not even asked me If
wanted to become a detective, and
but for the last questions on the blank
I would not have known that he was
considering me as an applicant fol
such a position.
I've never done any detective work
in my life," said
Good" he said. eff you, had, we
wouldn't have you. Fill out the
blank"
When it was filed out he took II
and disappeared again. He was back
in three minutes.
"All right" he said, sitting down al
his desk and picking up some papers
There's q man up in Peeksville Ga
small town on the Hudson river neal
New York;, who hung the jury in 8
damage suit. Want you to go up and
get him. Here's the dope"
He began to read from the papers
In his hand The gist Of 1t was thai
one Kellner, New York contractor
had done 100000 worth of work or
the water supply system of the towr
80 De-
for him to render his bill he had beer
approached by one Of the towns Do
htical powers, Bruley by name, ant
commissioner OF public works, wht
let 1t be known that If he would max,
out bill for $4,000, 1t would be al
lowed in full without protest or cues
ton, and that $1,000 of the $4,000,
overcharge would go to him as a re
ward for placing certain officials IL
the way Of lingering $4,000 of tn,
peoples money.
Keilner had refused. When he ren
dered his rightful bill for 100000 tn
powers in the city hall calmly cut
to $4,000, claiming that portions O
the work were poorly done; that part
Of the contract had been awarde,
illegally, but in reality merely gel
ing even with Kellner for refusing t
assist them to some easy graft.
Kellner promptly sued. He had
case so strong, and public opinio
was so strongly aroused over the 81
posed scandal, that recovery OF hi
$4,000 seemed foregone conclusion
But the would-be grafters had manaf
ed to place the niger in the woodpil
in the shape Of one Of their clan o
the jury. Eleven of the 1urymen o
the first ballot had voted for fu
judgment for. Kellner. The twelft
man had voted mo" on that ballo
and on the second, and the third, an
on every ballot for the next twent,
four hours. He had hung the jur!
and the case was q mis-trial. Tn
mans name was Harry sDonlin. q res
estate agent.