Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1913-08-01
Santa Fe Railroad Has One Of
Finest DetectiDe Systems in World

something sious nanacr 81
Railway Detecilsr.

escape
stlll another class n the person who
has what allenisis cnn "a homicldal
tendency SUCH man apparently
may be- "a good citizen 50 home or ~
tontnct with his fellows. but Tor one
reason or another he may steal away.
place an obstruction on the track.
and wreck train. Some 81 these
men do this only because ~ NOR
hid desire 10 witness The disaster.
others will pile ties on the track
and then siEnHi the train ~ time 90
prevent an accident. seemingly wish
lnK 10 be acclaimed heroes and re-
warded still others Wlll stand he-
hind tree or a wall and shoot az a
passenger train aa II ruHl,es past. re-
gnrdless ~ whom they may KIN The
special agent may have 10 hide for
days IN an unhealthy swamp 20 catch
his man
The agent must be an expert in re-
covering stolen property from pawn
shops. ana az the same time retain
the good Of their proprieturH. lie
must know how 10 handle juvenile Of
fenderH-b0ya who ennnngcr life ana
property ignornntiy and wlthouth
thought of malice tie must see that
these boys are fnught such o lesson
that they win not repeat the offenso,
and yet do 80 without 'unduly dis
pleasing their parents He mus@ pre-
serve the hest relations between his
department and al other depart
ments % the railroad We must
maintain helpful corporation be-
tween his department and the local
police departments on his division.
The special agent must be ready on
the Instant TO jump into the breach
for any duty. no matter how delicate
or dangerous. Frequently he VIII
work "a 20 as hours at stretch.
When his life Is IN ranger he must
When his life Is In danger he must
involve his company IN u civil suit
His Investigations and his conduct
must be- sa guarded that his company
n protected from damage suits.
The wages Of the average special
ugent are not large. There is no fix
ed scale among the various railroads.
A. rule. the salaries 81 the rank and
file of the department DO not amount
20 more than 500 month. The sal
aries OF the heads and assistants vary
with each road. Some receive as TIT
tie az fi2b month. others draw
double that sum.
Each road organizes It's special
a gents department IN It's own way.
There Is no Standardization In the
methods OF the service. Local condi-
tions vary. and the object -, with
every CHIEF. to see that he and his
men deliver the goods
Some OF the roads operate an
agents or detective department. and
police department. Will these may
be under one head. each u separate
and distinct. other lines have only
detective department.
one Of the most diffisult tasks OF
the special agents was the eiimina-
ton OF the card sharps that infested
the railway trains A lot Of persons.
then aud now. like "a while away the
hours of travel by playing cards. The
special agent had 10 be absolutely
sure he was right before he could
take any action. The man who al
lowed himself TO he drawn into
game of cards for money with
strangers always resented the inn
putation that he was victim OF
professional Tie usually protested
against any Interference Of the rail-
road detective. Seldom would pas
senger appear against card sharp "
one was arrested.
Month after month the railroad
specials" travelled To and fro, IA
miiiarizing themselves with the faces
and the methods of the crooked card
players In most eases they actually
engaged In card games with them
Finully. when al the evidence was
ready and the cases complete. they
swooped down on the sharpers. it was.
a remarkable cleanup and extended
almost simultaneously over every
railroad from one end Of the country
"a the other
The harvest was particularly heavy
on the western roads, whore the
gamblers travelled IN groups OF four
u was exciting work. hut the trains
were cleared and have remained so
ever since.