New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-07-09

Y ERNOUS, exhausted anu De"lluei0N'
~ the man with the blue scar across his
4 right check bone loped around the
corner of Broadway and Twenty-third Street
and all but upset the policeman into whose
arms he ran.
"S-s-s-ay," he suffered, 'c-can We t-t-tell me
which way to go to get too the Battery"
The policeman's deliberate gaze took in the
inouirer's close cropped hair, his fiat nose, 'he
blue scar across his right cheek bOne-and then
repeated the process. But he finally decided
the nervousness and peculiar antics were the
outward evidences of a morning after night
before and indicated southbound Broadway
car telling the man to remain on It until ne
got to where he was going. At which com
prehensive directions the stranger loped away
as rapidly as he had arrived
But around the corner change suddenly
came over the nervous one. His nervousness
fell away from him. his stoop disappeared MS
furtive look gave way to the bright look Of a
wideawake man, and as he was joined by
companion his hating manner of speech was
supplantcd by a most busincsslike manner Of
address
"I'm afraid we hung it on him, Lutte" ne
said. "He didn't get me at all, although !
could see he was sizing me up from the first
He put me down for a subway mucker who'd
had a bad night and was hurrying down %
work two hours late
81 guess he didn't read the lookout that de-
scribed YOU to every detail yesterday and set
Won down as wanted for murder replied the
- hot
hear about this
All Of which would indicate that a murderer.
knowing himself to be fugitive and sought
bv every policeman n New York. had dchber-
atelv presented himself TO this particular pa
trolman IN an effort to try him out. But moth
ing Of the kind had occurred. 1t was lesson
No. I Of Police Commissioner Arthur Woods
practical police instructions. The patrolmsn
at Broadway and Twenty-third Street had been
given his test and 10y all the rules of the de
partmcnt. he had failed miserably. A man
with face. scar and general appearance that
tailed in every particular with DESCRIPTION
that had been printed in the police records as
much-sought murderer had talked to the
policeman and had been permitted to depart
unmolescd.
The fugitive-murderer test is but one Of nu-
n,crous ingenious methods devised by Commits
sioner Woods to keep his force up to the mark
and always keyed up to an emergency. The
usual police belief that his opportunity for real
action comes but once in lifetime has been
dispclled by the Woods method, under which
opportunity is sent around to knock at the
front door Of every member Of the force so
often that he has learned to keep his ear con
tinually at the keyhoe in order to avoid pos
sble slip-up in responding to the call.
The usual manner of working the escaping
murderer test is through the use of rookie
a new policeman whose face is unknown TO
other members Of the force Whenever pos
sbe a man whose face bears scar or other
easily distinguishing mark is selected to play
the role OF fugitive His description is printed
among the police "wantcds' and he is sen,
forth the following day.
In the case described here the bait handed
out for police consumption would read this
way
WANTED FOR MURDER-Frank Grow
ski. thirty years old. 5 feet 10 inches in
height, cose-oropped hair, blue scar over
right cheek bone talks with slight stutter;
works As laborer and may be found about
the Battery.