Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1922-01-28
True
Detective Stories
IROQUOIS MURDER

II Cuitu the IeInOuS Dy WHICH
Craig Kennedy. Sherlock Holmes
and other master sleuths Of fiction
have arrived ut their infallibly correct
conclusions by deductive reasoning or
by mechanical apparatus which regis
tiers every fraction OF u heartbeat or
every minute change In the suspects
respiration.
But every now and then these same
methods are used by detectives In real
life, frequently with great degree
OF success.
| For example. there was the Hotel
1roquois murder case In which Police
Commissioners Dougherty Of New York
applied mixture of the Holmes and
! Kennedy rules In such a manner as to
make the guilty man practically con-
Wet himself. although at the time he
was ignorant Of the fact that he was
doing II.
William II. Jackson, wealthy guest
Of the hotel, was found dead In his
room one morning. stabbed through
the heart. His gold watch and sew
ernl other pieces Of jewelry had not
been touched. but the only money I'm
his clothes We're three twenty-five
cent pieces in one of his vest pockets.
AS Jackson was known to have car
rled Il good deal of money. the sup
| position was that he had been muir
dered by someone who had either lost
his nerve or who feared TO take the
watch and iewelry because they could
be too easily traced
| Even Commissioner Dougherty's
knowledge Of the working Of the
criminal mind could find little that
could be- digniiied by the term "clue"
Jackson had evidently returned 10
his room rather late the night before
in fact one Of the clerks recalled
seeing him enter shortly after mid
night-but the elevator boy said that
he had come up alone. and that no
one had gone up or come down from
the same floor for several hours after
wards.
THAT means nothing" Dougherty
pointed out.
After careful examination OF the
room and the body of the murdered
man, Dougherty returned To his Office
and contentcd himself with seeing
that the machinery of the police was
kept carefully oiled But to no effect
As days passed without further de.
velopmcnts, the public began to crlti-
cize and find fault.
Finally when the wave of criticism
had reached height that he could
no longer afford to overlook 1t. Com
missioner Dougherty decided to try n
method which. rs he phrased 1t. "was
shot In the dark-and n hundred.to-
one shot at that"
"All we've been able To find out"
he said to one Of his lieutcnants, as
that jackson was stabbed by left
handed man. standing behind him and
slightly 10 one side of him. Jackson
dropped without sound and the muir
derer was able TO lift his roll with
out disturbing the body in the slight
est. The whole thing probably didn't
take more than sixty seconds. Now.
excluding the guests In the hotel nj
the time-most of whom It's manifest
~ impossible to reach--I want you TO
round up every person who was In the
IroquolS that night. Find out which
ones are left-handed, and bring 'em
down here and let me talk to EN-"
Third degree. chief?"
mo-" snorted the commissioner.
THAT wouldn't do in this ease AZ
least the old-fashoned kind wouldn't.
I'm going to try something new It's
"A gdmblc, hut we've got to take
chance"
One by one the ieft-handed brigade
was marched into Doughcrty's office.
One by one he put 10 them set Of
questions, one of the first OF which
regarded their health and the state of
their pulse. Once he had his finger
on the suspects wrist. he never lifted
II until the final question had been
asked and answered.
II was not until the commissioner
commenced to question Pau! Geidel.
the elevator hoy who had taken Jack
son up To his floor the night that he
had been murdered. that he noted any
material change In the pulse beats Of
the persons he was examining. When
he asked Geidel what he had done i'm
mediatey after Jackson had stepped
out Of his car. the boys pulse hesi-
tated and then commenced to race.
But his voice was quiet enough as he
replied thar Jackson had asked him
for some Ice water. that he had
brought II. placed II outside his door.
ami gone on with his work.
Instantly thought flashed into
Dougherty's mlnd-"IackSon opened
the door, produced roll Of bills,
asked for change for Il dollar. and
tipped GeIdel quarter, slipping the
other three into his vest packet.
Geidel. seeing the money. murdered
Jackson either then or later At
least he knows something about the
crime. His pulse is proof of that"
But. alnud the commissioner only
said; you're lefthanded aren't