Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-09-04
SOCIETY GIRLS ARE
SUCCESSFUL SLEUTHS
Mystery Of Disappearance Of Money
in Bank Is Solved and Innocent
Mans Life Saved.
SUBJECT ONLY TO SPECIAL
DUTY IN DETECTIVE WORK
idea of Getting on Force Originated
From Reading Lurid Tales Of
Sherlock Holmes.
UNITED PRESS LEASED wIRr.l

budapest, hungary Sept f'-'oOcle-
ty girls of Budapest suffering from
ennui are turning detective" in
search of excitement and mental ex.
filtration. This latest stunt of young
women in good social circles has just
been disclosed in love romance in the
police department, which has led to the
discovery that considerable number
Of prominent girls between IS and %
young women of means and highly
educated-are on the regular roster of
the police as female "Sherlocks"
The announcement of the engage
ment of bank clerk to a prominent
society girl, has resulted in the dis
closure of the fact that the police have
corps of lady detectives from the
best families.
Recently thousand dollars disap
peared from the cashiers window in
one of the largest banks. Two clerks
were present at the time. They asked
to be searched. In the coat pocket of
one If these was found a large new
pocketbook containing the missing
money. He professed his innocence so
earnestly that the bank turned ,he ease
over TO the police 10 unravel the mys.
tory. The regular detectives failed,
and finally the chief called in a young
girl of IS, daughter of a prominent
family, who had secretly joined the
"secret police" ont of desire "to
have something for her brain to dc"
Locates Thief.
This young woman had upon sever.
al occasions unraveled mysterious
cases, and was the best detective on
the force. She quickly discovered
that the pocketbook found in the pock.
ct of the accused bank clerk came from
a certain store. She obtained work in
the store, discovered that one of tile
store girls was in love with the sec.
ond bank clerk, had presented him
with the pocketbook the day before
the robbery,
With this information, the police
confronted the other clerk. lie con.
fessed. The accused man, who was at
liberty, had disappeared. The girl was
set at work to find him. She discov.
cred him on the bank of Danube writ,
| ing a farewell note before Jumping n.
to the water, The denoument was the
announcement Of an engagement and a
wedding in September. Tho bank re.
fused to prosecute the other clerk, and
has enabled him to 60 to America to
start life anew.
1t was admitted at police headquar.
ters that there are number of young
women from some of the best families
in the city, on the "secret roster"
The idea originated with a young
woman after reading Sherlock Holmes.
She thought it would be "great fun -
to be a detective, She let several girl
friends in on the secret, and they also
became regular police detectives sub.
ject only to special duty.
Tired of Social Doings
Now, that several of them have be.
come known, their usefulness is gone.
One of these, handsome miss of 10,
declared that she turned SherlocI,
Holmes because she became tired of
social doings, and, as the status of her
family made it impossible to do any
work without disgracing" the family
aad herself in the eyes of her friends
she wanted some "brain exercise -
Speaking OF her work, she said. "[t
is splendid to think and think over tbe
mysteries of q case, try to pnt Your,
self in the place Of the criminal and
sense his way of thinking; to theorize
and put your wits against those of
some one else think women, be.
cause of their higher developed intui.
tiOn, are particularly ndanted for "a >,