Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-01-14
pIlEICE FLIRT WITH
aRLS WHILE MERTON
ATCROOKS' MERCY
tIold Feasts, Take Maps"
md Have Good Time in
General, Citizens Probe
Shows.

a
teh' .t when he announced that
~ deteotlves had been working at
bp, sor ak weeks was augmented last
hs.iV special meeting of the board
hlsns hls..ora Of the association held at
q ollsra d. Il. Darby's residence, at
hsll0I f,ot announced that it was decided
,.sska ago to ascertain Just how
~ s@a,.a, were the Lower Merton Town
~ nolicemen. There are supposed to
y,.,o w officers at night and one during
dsv. The Burns Detective Agency
y. engaged and some OF Its brightest
,asu we're put on the job
-. nen we're employed to "shadow"
usr,on during the daytime TO see now
,sasa, was the day officer. During the
NJ % days there we're IL days
80 .hs officer was not seen at all or
- ~. once. and during the 10 days OF the
W ,,onth he was seen two or three
a-.s. one of the officers of the Merton
la.ss Association then patroled every
In Merton for eight successive after
ssor. and only met the day officer one
nm. IN. night officers came in for the great
y "showdown." however. A Burns man
"a detailed at the railroad station every
elrht on a special piece of work." and
- soon became "chummy" with the
Wsr,on officers He was soon told that
n would be introduced to some chick
.rsD with whom he could have "all kinds
N tlunes." These "chlckens" turned cut
= be seryants employed in some of the
bsst houses in Merton, and every house
MA Of the little suburb is now all agog
q 10 what evidence is in existence against
their servants.
POLICEMEN STEAL FOOD.
WITH these servants the police on duty
vent regularly to their employers homes,
lad feasts and enjoyed themselves with
ths expensive food and drinks of the own
m OF the homes. When they could not
art food in this way, they would, as they
dd one evening, deliberately break into a
fsfrigerator Of one of the Merton homes
and steal food. After week. or two, the
Burns detective was put down by the
inIy Merlon policemen as an easy mark"
aad good fellow" and he was sent into
lown and to neighboring inns for whisky
md food. These were brought to the rail-
Toad station at Merton. n cozy fire was
nade In the waiting room, a supper was
hid and then, regularly each night, after
he last train was in. the policemen and
ihs detectives lay down on the station
benches and went to sleep. often being
awakened by the railroads trackwalker
tior5a. m.
TELEPHONE GIRLS COOPERATE.
Meantime, goodIy procession OF girls
came to the Merton station and the place
became veritable trysting place for
them and the police.
One Of these was a telephone operator.
Hhe was handy to the police and stood in
With them" so that instead of being COM
rslled to break their sleep each hour and
90 to the boxes in the Merton district
shf report to the Ardmore station, as
shsy are required to do, this girl at the
Hehange would ring up the Ardmore sta
non and report for them, leaving the po-
aes to their undlsturbed sleep. Recently,
noWcyer, the telephone company has been
aolng everything possible to cooperate
With the residents of Merton In putting
stop to this practice.
hoDberies and runaways might occur,
y they did; an automobile skidded one
nsnt and came crashing down the rail-
Iuaa embankment almost into the sta
uOn Where the police were sleeping; but
MsE sleep was too deep to be disturbed
FIIn a little incident of that sort.
TOT weeks this went on and each morn
Mg The easy mark" of a detective re-
poIed to his employer the doings of the
hight before.
OFFICIALS VERIFY EVIDENCE.
when all the facts were carefully coll
1ea several of the officers OF the
Asnon civic Association got out OF their
spliortanle beds for a few nights at /
: y. ana continuously went down to the
sauon At exactly the hour of 1 the
.'ssuSe inside the station would stand
me glass door and strike one or two
M..cnes' indicating how many police
Asa were inside asleep. The resident
na.eners would then look in the windows
: me sleepers and watch until they hur-
10y came out OF the station at 4 or 6
z u Inis was done for verifcation evil
TRAP is SPRUNG.
TT sE weeks the investigation went
nc then Chief Donaghy. the head
*Rss Rns police Of Lower Merton; George
-, president of the Lower Merton
sssa commissioners, and Mr.. Still
= chairman OF the Police Commit
were taken into the confidence of
y Investigators and the facts were laid
~ them. To satisfy themselves of
~. ssnuiuon sn as reported they each in
49,, s,slted the Merton stations, be-
les~sa.a ana a M. and found the uni
1lsu tieeper5. The telephone authori-
~ 1efe then taken into the matter
IL y instituted a test wire with
- s,su, uI that the charges against the
nllrssIf involved were proved. The
~ sa authorities were then noti-
- tne manner In which their prop
= ,,s peing used and they also made
= nfestigation.
49, the trap was sprung. The ex-
"a n. III was isnominously "hred"
4sn-ts shure force OF the Lower Merton
~ T. police was called to a hearing
se,sas ne presence OF their fellows the
fss.sss fa otneers were likewise ''hred." An
zssssA4 feature OF the hearing was the
zsols -. eers onneers' contention that the
matter was frame up"
PoLIcE ON "TIP-Ton."
saieal change was at once made
zss-s-s police assigned to the Merton
s-eY ana not knowing when another
- suon may be made. the police, not
snsh,.s sierion itself but all through the
- ap, are on "tip-toe."
- Yestisation In the Merton suburb
Essisasta aoected quietly and when the
III u IeAd about IL this morning Il
= surprise to all OF them except
Few investigators, that Burns de-
Hsi ss IN nave literally lived In their beau
httie suburb for weeks.
TO ENLARGE FORCE
result Of this excellent piece OF civic
- opened the eyes OF the Lower
Hss township Commissioners to the
ey OF their police service. and
viii be taken at the next meet
-. increase the force from 10 70 Is
zafzsi. peats'' viii be shortened. and an
II, 80 ss ana direct service Of report