Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-06
BY WILLIS J. BALLINGER.

| ~ what they thought was
| a speak easy. Three flights
down they proceeded eau
! tiously. At the foot of the stairs
| was a large room. In 1t were seats
| with arms. A blackboard ran
around the four walls The floor
was strewn with chalk. And on the
! blackboard were detailed drawings
| on how to bomb q safe most effec
/ lively or force the door of a house
| noiselessly. One of the policemen
picked up an abandoned notebook.
| On it's first page was scrawled:
| First principle of crime-beware of
| fingerprints."
| A college for crime with professors,
! students, blackboards, notebooks and
| lectures!
| l was on a Long Island train
| rtlmbling toward Setauket to have
luncheon with Craig Kennedy
| Americas most famous scientific de-
tective-the Sherlock Holmes of this
part of the world and the rival of
| the superb Lecoq of France.
! Later, as we sat in the sitting
| room of Mr.. Arthur B. Reeves beau
! tiful home, which he calls Lasaola,
| | found my gaze torn between q
curiosity to look the famous creator
| of Craig Kennedy over thoroughly
| and the tendency to let it wander
out of the windows and view the
/ wonderful scenery-an inlet with
| the water only a few strides from
the window. a great expanse of bay
! at the mouth of the cove, rolling
hills, fresh breezes-a paradise of
! nature.
| Cheerful Sleuth" and Normal Man.
I Cnnoah1rrr 7 u,
| detective would resemble the pattern
| of Sherlock Holmes-a wiry indi-
| vidual, tall and gaunt, with a long
drawn face rendered particularly
! impressive by q material frown-a
lean, hungry, morbid look in ensemble
| OF one who loves trails of blood and
| the terrible. l was very much taken
back when I saw Mr.. Reeve. He
| looked far too normal and healthy
to come up to my preconceived no.
| tons of a sleuth. He is stocky with
a mirthful, boyish face. You would
put him down as one raised on plenty
| of cream and milk, whose chief in
terests in life are sport and health
The frequency of his laugh, it's
jheartiness, his general enthusiasm
remind you of the college youth just
off the campus. 1t is only by a use
of will power that you believe that
you are talking to a detective and
a famous criminologist.
Few know it, but Reeve is one Of
| the Nations ablest criminologists.
Before he ever wrote about Craig
| Kennedy he had done an enormous
! amount of research and investigation
| of crime. He had been called in con-
| sultation with many of the ablest ex-
| perts of our day, including William
j. Burns, whose picture hangs in his
| office. In three great murder cases
he has played the part of an indepen-
dent Investigator who has turned up
| with unexpected clues.
Out of this experience, supplement-
led with his work as scientific editor
| Of Public Opinion and a Phi Beta
Kappa key from Princeton, he created
the immortal Craig Kennedy, whose
exploits are followed eagerly by mill
lions of fans. When Theodore Roose-
welt was i'll in a hospital his REQUEST
was:
III Reeve has new Craig Kennedy
story get it for me quick"
College for Detectives.
"What do think about the school
| for crime you speak OFF," said Mr..
Reeve. well, why not a college for
| detectives. Crime is no longer the
| simple matter 1t was few centuries
| ago when youngster like Oliver
Twist was broken in by Fagin with
a few clever tricks of pocketpicking
or window climbing. The modern
criminal is making use of science.
And those who are after the criminal
| must do the same. Catching criminals
is no longer q matter of Drawn and a
| little common sense. Today the sue
cessful unraveling Of a crime may in
volve the chemists test tube, the lab
oratory of the scientist, a knowledge
| of botany or of physics. An ink spot,
a finger print under the microscope of
| the scientific investigator become
| laxative witnesses.
'Why, therefore, should not detec-
tives be given good training in
science? There is no reason why be-
| ing a good detective should not be a
very much respected profession. I,
! for one, would look very highly upon
a profession that stood between mo
and murderers, especially If they
| were trained men with intelligence
and education. We have q very ia
nous school for detectives and police
| men already in California. 1t is
very successful experiment. Why not
add to its good work by having our
universities provide special courses
| for the trailing of crime?
Murder Army Loose.
| Murder is getting to be no joke
In America" said Reeve.
"Why do you say that?" / asked
| "a very noted American jurist-
| Darlington Tanner Marshall-chief
| justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio"
said Mr. Reeve, says that there are
loose in the United States at this min
ute 1876 900 murderers who have never
paid the penalty for their deeds. He
| reckons that number as follows: 1t
| is safe to say we have had IFS, 900 un-
lawful murders in the last 20 years.
| Our annual average is 10000. Have
we had $4,000 convictions and exc
| cutions? Fact is, that less than 1900
| men have paid the death penalty in
| 20 years. Take 1000 from It's, 900 to
/ be generous, and we have $4,000
| murderers to account for .still. To-
day there are less than $4,000 muir
derers in our prisons. One hundred
and seventy-three thousand minus