Arizona republican., 1921-09-27
By Herbert Corey

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26. - Billy Burns has an ideal. Maybe it is an inspiration Anyhow, he wants to make the United States Secret Ser vice the best detective service in the world He wants to make all crimi- nals feel like Davy Crocketts coon. When he was a boy wicked folks might steal apples or break into stores or occasionally forge and utter. But if the mark of govern ment ownership was on a portable piece of property it was the Indian sign No one thought of touching it. There was a superstition that secret service men followed their prey to death or capture.
 Now" says Billy Burns mourn fully. people just tear into govern ment propertys It's been easy.''
 The chances are that Billy Burns will realize his ambition. For one thing. he is chief of the United States Secret Service. after having been an operative in it years ago and since then the head of one of the largest Independent agencies in the world. For another, he has Attorney General Daugherty behind him. and Daugh- crty not only has the liking of an efficient business man for an eff csent instrument. but as a lawyer he believes in the enforcement of law. The secret service is part of Attor- ney General Daugherty's department I Justice. Back of Daugherty is ir-csident Harding. who has known fslily Burns ever since the days of The Tally Sheet Forgeries.
 Every One Called Him Billy
 Just moment here. Maybe you think I'm unduly familiar with Billy Burns. calling him by his first name like that. Well. every one called him that in Columbus, Ohio, where he came from, and where I came from, too. on part time. He began his career there as a consulting detective. Really. now I come to. think of it. his early days as a detective sound Ike a character in fiction. His fath- CT was Columbus's best good tailor st that time. and incidentally was police commissioner. It often hap pened that Columbus's detectives were stuck so fast in the pursuit of crime that they could barely wave their arms. It was common saying in those distant days that a Column bus detective couldn't find an ele- saving originated, although since then Kansas City and Cincinnati and Washington and New York have pla- giarined it.
 Anyhow, when a Columbus detec- tive had lost sight of everything but pay day in his pursuit of crime he used to go around to Commis ssioner Burns tailor store and tell it to the old man. Young Burns, then and now known as Billy. was doing some very powerful sitting around in his fathers store do not seem to recall that Billy Burns ever had any per sistent call to salaried duty, which ought to be a tremendous encourage ment to other hard-working fathers. Young Billy listened to the flat-feet tell their tremulous tales. By and by, as he listened, he began to get an idea of the middle Ohio underworld and the relentless sleuths and the cross-country roads and the railroad schedules Then he began asking little questions of the puzzled and tired Nemesises who were standing around in the road of Police Com missioner Burns paying customers.
 Burns Asked Questions
 Why" he used to ask. don't yol 20 here or there? Or look up So and-So? Or try this or that?'
 '-Thass right" the discouraged de. tectives used to reply. They didn' dare come right out with a sharI answer to old Man Burns son. Bu lltN pflNdttil W4SnGQ tAittl LIE lOuilf Irish patriot would find a secluded lane somewhere and lie down in i and die But eventually one brain. hero got a glimmer' of an idea. H. went and did what Young Bill. Burns told him to do and came hom with the bacon. It got to be fat to do what Billy Burns suggested Any time that a crime wave began to lap around the civic beach o Columbus the detectives would b waiting at the dcor for Young Bill. Burns to come downtown to kill an other day at his fathers shop. De tectives elsewhere heard of Youn Billy Burns and sent for him. Som one should have written a nove around him. He became a govern ment operative. Then he was calle back to Columbus by "Cy' Huling- still going strong in Columbus-an told to ferret out the authors of tn Tally Sheet Forgery.
 That was the most important crim fnal case ever heard of in Ohio u to that time. But it and other sue cessful items of Billy Burns's caree will not be set forth here. It shoul be explained that nowadays if yo call Burns Billy" it may mean ths YOU belong to one of the F. Els Columbus, or it may mean that your merely one Of the bourgeoisie wh has heard other people call him tha There is cult of his more particuls