davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1927-11-20

for acquittal in a Federal court case
brokerage firm.
Fallon was promptly indicted and
brought to trial. He put up a magnif.
cent defense. He asserted that
powerful newspaper and political in.
terests were out TO cruelty him. He
declared that he was just pawn in
a battle involving Wall Street and
Tammany.
He summoned me from the press
table to the stand. He showed me nu-
merous newspaper stories l had
written and asked if l had not been
instructed to get the defendant
Fallon. / denied the charge. Of course;
insisted / had merely been told to
report events as they occurred and
as they appeared to me. was his
witness and he couldn't impeach me.
The jury didn't remain out very
long. It brought in verdict OF
acquittal for the fine. clean-looking,
curly haired young lawyer. Fallon.
Bills friends wanted to carry HIM out
on their shoulders. He vetoed the
plan. About IS friends. including
many authors and actresses. ATTENDED
a testimonial dinner.
A day or two later Rendigs was re.
leased on suspended sentence. General
Sessions Judge Alfred j. Talley told
the ''squealer" he believed his confes.
sion was true and ordered certified
COPY Of the record in the County Court
proceedings sent to the bar association.
The grievance committee wrlnkied
it's brows over the problem for many
sessions. But clinching proof was
lacking. However. word passed III
the underworld that the eye" was on
Bill Fallon, and the brilliant young
man with the Supreme Court mird
gradually drifted into oblivion and
eventually into the grave.
Evening star., 1927-11-20

will rush in. If he shoots and I
go down you will have time to make
sure of him."
THIS desperate venture in cold blood
= did not, as events turne1 out,
prove to be necessary. On the very
night selected for the arrest the oil
for the lamp, which was the solitary
illumination of the room. gave out.
The man and woman peered into the
street. 1t was as quiet - death.
There was not soul to be seen. Fran
co.'s determined there was nothing to
fear. He stole silently out and was
quietly shadowed to a small general
shop by one detective while another
maintained the vigil on the house.
This was a few minutes before the
time that had been fixed for the raid,
and Melville himself was taking few
hours rest. He came ere Francois
had returned from his mission and
instantly followed up the opportunity.
AS the anarchist emerged from the
shop detectives flung themselves upon
him and q fierce struggle began. with
dynamic fury and mouthing strange
French oaths, Francois wrested him.
self free and drew his revolver. Mel.
vile knocked it up just in time. and
1t exploded, harmlessly. Again the
beset man fired with deadly purpose.
and this time the bullet whistled
among the detectives. Some one
twisted the weapon from his hand ana
in a twisted, snarling heap they strug.
gled on the ground till numbers told
and a pair of handouts was forced
upon his wrists.
Overcome, but still defiant like q
trapped beast, he was escorted away
to the nearest police station. Mel
Vile was not among those who ac'
companied him. The inspector-for
he had not yet become superin'
tendant-still had work to do. There
was Nine. Francois to deal with.
Back, accompanied by single col
league. he went 10 the house where
Evening star., 1927-11-20

man always carried a revolver, and on
the rickety table of the ill-furnished
room t'.ere was another pistol and a
dagger to the hand of the woman.
Seldom 1t was that either man or
woman left the house, and for police
Fofficer t. walk up that narrow stair
to arrest them gave promise of in
stant death.
Melville was not man likely to
be daunted by any physical risk; but
neither was he q man TO throw away
valuable lives If he could attain his
ends otherwise. He tried many meth.
ods of catching them off their guard.
He disguised himself as a rate collec.
tor: he posed as man in search of
lodgings. He ransacked his fertile
mind for other devices. Always the
vigilance of the pair frustrated him.
Day and night detectives lurked in
the neighborhood hoping that one or
the other of the besieged couple might
be tempted into the open. No one
could say what supplies Of food they
had. The thing became a quiet siege
of which no one but the olice and
the two in the bare room at the top
Of the staiis had any knowledge. 1t
was q test of patience, but 1t could
| not go on forever. Melville resolved
that an assault would have to be
risked.
I'VE WILL" he told his assistants,
"try to get them to open the door.
Evening star., 1927-11-20

sufficiently solid to act upon without
verification. The situation was lit.
tie delicate, for the detective was dis
inclined for any overt move which
would betray to the fugitive that his
retreat had been discovered. He
wished to take the man by surprise.
His first move was to borrow a
sheet Of notepaper from the local
municipal authority. On this he
formal letter, informing her that
complaints had been made Of some
person suffering from an infectious
disease on the premises. and that,
therefore, he would have to look over
the place. He signed this with a
fictitious name as sanitary IN
spector."
lizard upon the delivery Of the
letter he appeared himself in
the borrowed uniform Of local Of.
ficial He was suave but firm in
spite of the indignant protests OF the
woman who received him.
The whole thing, she asserted. was
q calumny. 1t was unthinkable that
there could have been infectious dis.
ease in the house. The report must
have arisen because a very dirty
French family had stayed there for
a time. She was relieved to say that
they had gone now, and she believed
that they had sailed for America.
II sympathize with you, madame"
said the urbane detective. This is
| no doubt a piece Of malicious gossip.
AS a matter of form I will look
through the house."
He made a portentous scrutiny OF
| the sanitary arrangements and sats
| isfied himself that Francois had in
deed eluded him for the time. More
than that. few adroit questions
showed him that Francois must have
been joined by his wife, virago
| believed to be even more reckless
and dangerous than the man. The
| third member Of the party was mon.
grel dog which Francois called GarnOt
| in obscure satire Of the then French
/ President.
Within a couple Of hours Melville
saw to 1t that a description of this
dog was broadcast to the 10000 men
Of the London police. The willy
/ Francois might remain under cover.
He could scarcely keep his dog con-
cealed all the time.
This animal proved a valuable
asset in following up the hunted man.
Francois was trailed to Hoxton. a
lOw.class quarter of London. Melville
threw his subordinate detectives into
that quarter in an intensive search.
J 1t was officially known that the police
were searching for a man suffering
| from an infectious disease who had
| escaped from quarantine.
1t was found that after two days at
Hoxton Francois and his wife had
fed to Poplar, another mean part of
London. Here, at last, Melville 10.
Gated his man. Francois and his wife
occupied one reom at the top of a
dingy house, where they passed as
Mr.. and Mrs. Muller. Before the po.
lice could act they became aware
that "Vile Melville" was at their
heels and they were exceedingly alert
to prevent that dread officer from
catching them unawares.
The boards OF the uncarpeted stairs
had been loosened so that warning
might be given Of any visitor, The
Evening star., 1927-11-20

, shreWdest detectives in the country.
| He is past master of the art of
| undorcover shadowing. His fame was
won largely in the Oregon landfraud
cases in 1909.
| One Of Burns most sensational con-
| victions was obtained against Willard
n. Jones. The latter was pardoned
on June ., 1912. by President Taft
after Attorney General Wickersham
reported to the President that Burns
had largely controlled the selection of
! jurors.
| Mr.. Wickersham reported to Presi-
dent Taft that Burns operatives had
| investigated prospective jurors in the
counties from which the jurors were
J to be drawn and that only men who
were believed willing to convict We're
permitted to be chosen for jury
service. He said the Department of
Justice had original reports which had
been submitted to Burns by the detec-
tives and an original statement of
Burns containing names of men on
whom adverse reports had been made.
Some of the names, according to the
report, were in Burns handwriting,
while others were typewriter.
eff there were any doubt regarding
Burns connection with the affair and
what he actually accomplished" said
Mr.. Wickersham's report to the Presi-
dent. lit would have been set at rest
by his own telegram in cipher to W.
Scott Smith, secretary to f. A. Hitch
cock, then Secretary of the Interior.
on August 10, 1909. the very date the
jury box was filled and on which the
grand jury was drawn
1 Mr.. Wickersham reported that the
| telegram read:
Jury commissioners cleaned out
old box from which jurors were
selected and put in 500 names, every
one of which was investigated before
they were placed in the box. This
confidential"
r. X
COL. HOWE of Howe G Hummel,
~ never went into court without a
complete report upon every talesman.
Evening star., 1927-11-20
BY GEORGE DILNOT.

Foremost Authority on Scotiano aAro.
= LAST met William Melville q lit.
tie before the war at his neat ana
comfortable house in Orlando road,
Clapham. He protested then that
he had finished with Scotland
Yard. but knew, although he was
telling the strict truth, that he was
drawing a retainer from the home
office and that there were many diff
cult and delicate missions on which ne
was still to be engaged.
This was the man who won his spurs
in detective work OF an exceptional
nature. The special branch OF the
Criminal Investigation Department
very rarely comes into the niiensnr.
II deals with things that are not otten
the subject Of a charge in court. Spies,
nolitical offenders, anarchists, revolu'
fionaries and such characters are It's
nreoccupation. Its men have to act
with the most supreme caution ana
vet on ccca sion have to take the most
desperate risks.
Melville spent a lifetime in this de.
nartment and for many years was at
its head. .'he full story OF many re.
sourceful and audacious things tnAt
were done by this gentle.voiced ana
uuiet.mannered man can never pe
told. He was in the commence OK
kings, princes and statesmen. Again
ard again he was engaged on high af'
fairs OF state, and there was none VINO
could better keep his own counsel.
While he lived he WAS probably the
hest hated and most feared enemy OF
militant anarchists in the world, ana
IL was his energy and astutencss IN
fightinS them that earned for him the
epithet among the brotherhood or
"Vile Melville"
He was smilingly contemptuous OF
those with whom he wased war. Ihey
fhreatened-well, he could take care
OF himself. He knew very well That
there was always a chance that some
fsnatical half.wit. armed with knife or
revolver, might one day catch him un'
awares. That was an inevitable risk
and I do not think it weighed on ms
mind for an instant. He had ms oWI
vavs. One gentleman who ventureo
a swift attack from behind dragged q
limp and battered body back TO ms as
aociates. Another, even more caring
audaciously attempted to win mar
tvr's crown by boarding the detective
in his lair at Scotland YARD. he op
tanned admission on some pretext, pu'
before he had chance to fuinii ms
real purpose the quick eye Of Melville
had discerned a bulge in his pockei
which he diagnosed as Smith ana
Wesson. With his two hands Melville
administered justice. He could not Il
ford to waste time in prosecuting sucn
small fry.
Melville was full of prompt resource
II came to him on the day OF the re-
ception of a. foreign visitor that ar
anarchist employed at a wine store
meant mischief. There was no time
10 probe the truth OF the story. sc
Melville went to the store, and, pos
jns as a customer. got his man to take
him down to the wine cellars to show
him a certain brand of champagne
The man went first with light ano
unlocked the door of particular eel
lar. A quick push from behind SEM
tim headlong into the wine bins. Mel
Vile cooly turned the key, put 1t ID
Evening star., 1927-11-20

, Investigation of court records 20 10
SIS. eo,,a
Intimidating a witness or influencing
witness not to prosecute, $50 to $2oo 1
MOT long ago the writer was sittihs
in the chambers of judge OF the
Court Of General Sessions IN New
York-a man learned both in life ana
in law. Crooked lawyers were the
subject of the moment. The Jufisi
blew a puff Of smoke in the general
direction of the Tombs and remarkeo'
II have given directions to my secre-
tarv and attaches of the court 10 par
from my courtroom Attorneys \. ana
Y. Recently | ordered one OF these
men from the court. I had no leeai
proof but | had moral proof that ne
had sought to tamper with a juror.
If either ever seeks to try a case pc
fore me l shall refuse to hear MN
and state my reason from the bench
II he invites an explanation.
"Do you expect him to ask an expia'
nation?" =,
The Judge smiled-a rare. quizzical
smile
Evening star., 1927-11-20

| a description. The hunted man made
| himself up as hunchback, and conf
dent that he had assumed an tmpene'
trable disguise, resolved to make a
dash for the boat train at Victoria
| Station.
Now, 1t may be taken as certain that
| there were few continental boat trains
at that time at which Melville or some
of his staff did not take glance. IL
| was unlucky for Meunier that at the
particular hour he had selected Mel
ville himself was at Victoria by the
merest chance. He was. in fact, es'
corting his wife to theater. The de-
| tective caught a glimpse of the face
of q we'll dressed hunchback at the
ticket office and with quick word of
explanation to Mrs. Melville slipped
after him.
"As l drew nearer and nearer" he
said. doubts increased as to whether
he was really Meunier. He headed for
the Continental departure platform.
and that circumstance, flimsy as 1t
was, renewed the confidence Of my
first impression"
The detective saw the other take
his seat in the corner of f1rst-class
compartment. One final glance ana
he was sure. Now. he knew that Meu-
nleF was dTIIleu anu liett IiC "Ouiu liCS
hesitate to use his weapon. Melville
had left his pistol at home. He did
not even carry a walking stick. To
enter the small compartment in an en-
deavor to make the arrest would give
Meunier such an advantage as TO
make the attempt almost suicidal. He
would have to be lured into the open.
Melville walked nonchantly on and
summoned a railway official. II am a
police officer" he explained. There
is hunchback in the fifth carriage
from the engine. I want to get him
out of the train without arousing his
suspicious. Will you inspect his
ticket and tell him that he is in the
wrong train?"
THE ruse worked. Meunier, little
concerned at the mistake he had
made, sprung hurriedly to the plat
form. AS he emerged the detective
leaped at him. The anarchist, with
swift movement, drew a pistol, but
Melville gripped it by the muzzle and
then they toppled to the ground, the
anarchist. underneath, fighting like
mad dos. Amazed passengers gath
cred around. while the two writhed
and twisted for mastery.
ClTOnS illdH lHOuSu MSlN4iic was, hC
had all that he could do to retain his
grip. AS the other found that he
could not loosen it, he strove with all
his strength to drag his captor under
the wheels of the train, which was on
the verge of starting. At that mo-
ment Mrs. Melville appealed to the
crowd for help. Even against the
dozen men who Immediately respond
ed Meunier struggled desperately. He
was overpowered and Melville got him
to a cab.
He seated himself opposite to his
prisoner and placed one hand on his
knee. Look here, Meunier," he said,
I'VE have had our fight and you have
lost. Suppose you make the best Of 1t
now"
"Who are you?" asked the other.
I'm Melville" said the detective.
"The mere mention of the name"
said Melville. telling Of the arrest.
"whirled him into passion which
made him assume more fiendish look
than anything l had ever pictured
possible. His hideous stare. livid com.
plexion and the tightly drawn muscles
Evening star., 1927-11-20

among lawyers concerns peppery
old Federal judge who hated jury
tamperers a. st. Patrick hated snakes:
Although he had no proof. ne sensed
something wabbly In the attitude OF
jury In a clear.cut mail.fraud case.
So in his charge to the jury he
marshaled his troupe OF trained ad.
jectives and cutting verbs and laced
into the defendant. Whew! You could
smell birthstone. The very Sarnish on
the bench curled!
AS the jury was filing into its room
to deliberate the sleek young lawyer
for the defense rose timidly and ven'
tured:
"Your honor. you have neglected to
charge presumption OF Innocence"
"Oh, have II" roared the court.
Marshal, hold the jury just a mo.
ment."
The Il men paused and looked at
the red.faced old jurist, spellbound.
Gentlemen" began the court, 1.-The
attorney for the defense--that young
man there-reminds me that I have
forgotten to inform you that you must
give the defendant the benefit OF any
reasonable doubts that may lie within
your minds and conscience. He is
Evening star., 1927-11-20

right. / shall so charge. Gentlemen,
take a good look at the defendant.
good look. Now go to your room.
And if you any Of you have the slight.
est doubt of his guilt. for Gods sake
acquit him."
The jury brought in verdict OF
guilty in 10 minutes.
All over the country, in county.
State and Federal courts, scandals pop
up now and then in jury cases. One
worthy in Chicago admitted that his
ring had a recognized price scale for
jury fixing. Field work" on muir
der trial--that is. the task of selecting
proper (?) material for a jury venire-
was worth from $4,000 to $4,000
Fixing" a murder jury brought from
SIS 900 to $4,000. The price list in
other cases was as follows:
Larceny, assault and robbery. 5000
to $1,000.
Fake witness before testimony, $40
to $50.
Fake witness after testimony, 500
to $500.
Framing" jurors, investigations,
ETC., $50 to $3.50.
Evening star., 1927-11-20

she was waiting. 1t was in his mind
that she would be expecting the re.
| turn of her husband and that so
there was a chance of taking her by
surprise.
Only the footsteps of single man
sounded on the stairs as they crept
up to the apartment In which she
was waiting. Madam heard tap
at the bolted door and guarded
voice calling to her in French to
open. For once thrown off her guard
she stole to obey.
In the gloom she had no oppor.
tunity of recognizing the intruders
before their grip was upon her.
Even then with the arms OF the burly
Melville encircling her she managed
to pull herself within reach of the
table and seize the pistol and dag
ger. 1t was no time for mistaken
chivalry. Before she could do any
damage she was thrown to the
ground and the weapons taken from
her. Then she was held while she
was securely manacled.
This part Of the story may well
end here. Both Francois and his
wife were extradited to France--to
the CONSERVATION of others of their
kidney who had come to look upon
England as safe sanctuary for
murders. Francois was chiefly
disgusted because he had been af-
forded no chance of 'immortalizing
himself by some act Of assassination.
For some reason they escaped the
scaffold, and were instead sent to
penal servitude for life. But that
did not concern Melville. His part
Of the business had finished when he
arrested them and handed them over
to the French police.
There remained Meunier. He was
less slap.dash type of villain than
Francois but he had a greater fund
Of cunning and he covered his trail
with considerable cleverness. AS
soon as one retreat had been dis.
covered he would bolt to another. He
was as suspicious and elusive as
fox ard he had a resourceful capacity
of di.: .:suise. Patiently. unhurriedly.
rfelville kept him on the move. Time
was on his side. He had photo
graph of his quarry always before
him on his desk and he knew that
one day they would meet.
TIME came when Meunier ran short
l. of funds. He was then living
under an assumed name in rooms at
CamDerWelI and MS lanuldoy was
troublesome about the rent. So he
took a chance and made his way
to notorious anarchist club in Soho
to attempt to borrow money from
some of his revolutionary friends.
Naturally this move was not long in
filtering through devious channels to
the ears Of Melville.
Meunier did not find 1t easy to
raise funds. However, he managed
to coax sufficient to carry on for the
moment. But the menacing shadow
of Melville was ever drawing nearer.
England was no longer a safe place
for a redhanded murderer. as the
fate of Francois had proved, and he
decided that after all he might be
more secure on the Continent where
there were not so many pertinacious
detectives of Melvilles character.
Easy though 1t had been to get Into
England, Meunier felt that it would
be more difficult to get out. Although
he had eluded Melville for 50 long. he
had not shaken him off. He knew that
the detective had his photograph and
Evening star., 1927-11-20

hi, pocket and held the other a pris-
oner-quite illegally-until the process.
sion was over.
TN those days Great Britain was wide
open to aay scallaway who called
himself a political refugee, and az
consequence London was the center OF
clubs" to which doubtful chara cters
OF all nationalities recorded. Melville
as inspector and later as superin.
tendent. harried these clubs with all
the resources at his command. A spe'
cial study was made of them and little
that happened within their walls was
permitted to pass unreported. Precau'
tions were taken to watch dangerous
men and women who resorted to them,
and many plot was frustrated ere
it was fairly concocted.
81 had a very extensive auxiliary
force" said Melville once in chatting
about his methods. Thus he referred
to his spies in the inner councils OF
anarchy. With a slow smile he added
II was perhaps the most heartily
hated detective ever known"
It happened on a day that nearly
half a ton of dynamite was stolen from
quarry in France. Hard upon this
came a series Of dynamite outrages
The author of some OF these, man
named Ravachol, was betrayed by a
waiter at the Cafe Very, and to avenge
his arrest q desperate crook named
Meunier wrecked the cafe with a
bomb, killing several people. The
French police notified Melville that
Meunier and another tigerish charac
ter named Francois were suspected oi
having taken refuge in England. They
added that both these men were mur
derers who had given proof that they
would stand at nothing.
There was some doubt as to the at
titude the British government OF
that time would take, for not many
years before they had refused to per
NIT the arrest of persons strongly sus
pected Of having been concerned In the
murder OF an Archbishop of Paris
,, But Melville found that there was
some likelihood Of a change of mind
on the subject. and he therefore SCI
quietly to work to track down the
fusitives.
He departed so far from his usua
habits as to sometimes carry a revol
ver--and you must remember tha'
Scotland Yard men hate to be bothered
with firearms. for many reasons. Day
after day, in quiet spots In outlying
parts OF London. he fell in with mer
who would talk and listen earnestly
No one in the suburbs was likely Il
guess that a serene. silk-hatted gentle
man, with neatly rolled umbrella ant
a velvet collar to his overcoat. sip
ping a cup Of tea with companion
was one of the most dreaded detectives
in the world receiving reports and giv
ing instructions to his emissaries. An!
one of these latter ran the risk OF {
stab in the back on some dark nigh
IL 1t became known that they wer'
holding communication with Melville
For weeks London was secures
without success. Both Francois ant
Meunier had friends and they seldom
stayed long in one spot. Again ant
again Melville followed false trails
At last, after many weary weeks, on
Of his spies brought to him rumo
that Francois was lodging at hous
in Soho which was held by some per
sons Of foreign name.
Melville was inclined to- think tina
this might be another mares nest
In any case the infoEmation was no