The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-12-16
Frederic Haskiin's Letter
Watching Wall st,est Worker,.

made . mistake which would -
cost the firm $4,000 had n &
been discovered In time, during +
period that his wife was putin =
cherries. Any serious illnees p
home. Of course. Il always -,
tered by q mans lack OF coucrS
tration on his work.
Having proved this curious ~
to its own satisfaction, Wall 49, Il
does not conflne its surveillnSee e
new employees. but has recsufy y.
tended its Investigations II II Y,
the homt conditions Of eIsrlrIss L
long connected with it. Th6eS ~
about ten thousand of theoe 20
ployes by over four hundred m
Some o: them are gfay-hairsd ~
stoop-shouldered from long Pc.
vice, but they are to be invee6ni. 4
ed and card-indexed just ~ -
oughly as the newest ofice ~,
Most Of this work, however, b ~ \
being handled by individual soesl
service divisions. but by the burrs s
of Investigations Of the Naiiu1i
Surety company, which has ~ !
engaged for the purpose by the g
ISOLATED stock exchanges. Sd
An Espionage System.
This bureau Of investigates -
had its stat of investigators n u
field for several weeks. Thsy q
working quietly but fairly, and n
trying to avoid embarrassing N.
one. This information is obtains1
from any reliable source at hand
the corner grocer, the apartnat
house janitor. the neighbors or ~ \
mailman. Upon uncovering an
suspicious circumstances, the n
vestigator Immediately reports 70
headquarters and waits for furthef
orders.
Some surprising facts have ben
brought to light in this way. For
example, In investigating the rec
ord Of an employee Of large Wall
street firm, not however, in tie
stock exchange business, the h.
quiref was informed by the youae
mans landlady that he left the
house carrying q satehel around 10
o'clock every evening, and did not
return until l or 2 o'clock In The
morning. The young man was CO..
sidered a model employee. and hs
former employer had testified TO
his honesty and efficiency. For
week or two the matter remained
battling mystery, at the end q
which time the young mans en-
ployer suggested that it be drop
ped, as he was sure it was unim-
portant. But in the meantime the
bureau had placed detective q
the young mans trail, who follow.
ed him in his nocturnal wander
ings and brought to>light the amss-
ing fact that they were devoted to
burglaring. He was caught in the
act, and confessed quite coolly, en-
planning that his Wall street job
twas held merely as a blind.
I'VE do not expect thefts and
entertainments to cease entirely
because. of this work." says the
National Surety company. but We
do expect to protect ourselves -
far as possible. Wherever there d
| room for suspicion our bureau Of
investigation will use every means
to get the facts. but we know BE-
fore we start that the great ma
jority Of Wall street employees arr
honest people. Is
!, I'VE know. too, that human M.
ture is a thing that cannot be re-
duced to mathematics or filed away
for reference. But we do want to
I! know how these people live al
home, where they spend their rec
/ reation h. urs, and something a
their habits generally, for it no
only has a bearing on their hon
esty, but on their efficiency as EN-
! ployes." Il
j In other words, if you woul
break into the sacred precincts
high finance, you must be willin
to submit to a constant secre
!, espionage upon your private an
personal life. You must sell
your employer not only your tim
and energy, but also a considerabl
part of your personal liberty an
privacy. You must be willing t
live in>the knowledge that you al
being watched every minute. Onl
those at the top it would seem, al
immune. But are not they the one
who handle and control the gree
sums of money? In fact, are the
not the real custodians of the NE
tons funds? Would it not be tn
logical development of their sy'
tenn to create some sort of govern
ment espionage bureau to see ho'
the great men OF finance spen
their leisure and their money,
regulate their associates and mo-
ais? After all, it takes goc
, many defaulting Office boys al
, messengers to do as much damaf
, as one Mellen.