,,practical ,,instruction ,,for ,,detectives ,a ,complete ,course in ,secret ,service ,study ,,by ,,emmerson ,w4 ,,manning ,manning ,national ,detective ,institute ,,chicago ,,frederick ,j4 ,,drake ,,co4 ,,publishers ,copyright #aiba ,,frederick ,j4 ,,drake ,,co4 ,copyright #aiaf ,by ,,emmerson ,w4 ,,manning ,printed in the ,united ,states of ,america ,,preface ,having been connected for many years with two of the largest and most successful private detective agencies in this country1 both as an operator and as an official1 and having been requested to outline briefly and concisely the most modern and up-to-date methods employed by leading detectives and private detective agencies of today1 ,i shall confine myself in these pages to facts and a few personal experiences4 ,i will endeavor to show that any person possessed of average intelligence1 and who will use good common sense1 can become a successful detective1 regardless of his present or previous occupation4 ,this country today stands in need of more and better detectives than ever before in its history1 and if one be inclined to doubt this statement he need only pick up the morning newspaper of any city of any size and be convinced that this is true4 ,hundreds of crimes of all descriptions are committed daily and statistics show that more than fifty per cent of persons committing crimes go unmolested and unpunished4 ,besides1 there are the thousands of employees on our various transportation systems1 in banks1 stores1 and in mercantile establishments1 who are daily committing thefts of various kinds from their employers and whose nefarious operations are rarely uncovered1 when one considers the actual number of thefts committed4 ,one may wonder why such conditions exist1 or why so many criminals can operate without detection4 ,it is because of the lack of sufficient trained detectives to hunt down the criminals and to ferret out the crimes4 ,it has been said that every criminal1 no matter how careful he may be in his operations and regardless of the nature of his crime1 will leave some trail or clue by which he may be detected4 ,all good detectives will vouch for the truth of this statement4 ,for the real detective no case is too complicated nor too difficult4 ,more trained detectives are needed1 and until we have them1 undetected crimes and unpunished criminals will continue on the increase4 ,every large city1 every corporation1 transportation company1 mercantile establishment and manufacturing concern is constantly in need of detective service4 ,there are thousands of concerns1 also individuals1 who are ever on the alert for the opportunity to employ good detectives4 ,to the young man who may wish to connect himself with some reliable detective agency it will be well to keep in mind the following3 ,that when making application for such position he very likely will encounter such inquiries as3 ,what can you do8 or ,what do you know about detective work8 ,in order to secure a position in any line it is essential that one have not only a talking knowledge1 but also a working knowledge of the line4 ,careful study of what ,i shall set forth should enable any ambitious young man not only to secure a position as a private detective1 but to make good as well2 and if he so desires1 to start and successfully conduct a private detective agency of his own4 ,,detective ,,agencies ,with regard to starting a private detective agency1 laws pertaining to the granting of licenses to individuals and companies to engage in such business vary in almost all of our states4 ,in order to engage in the business1 in some states it is necessary to secure and pay a business license1 the rate per year being approximately the same as is paid by any other business concern4 ,in some states licenses to engage in private detective work and to conduct private detective agencies are granted only by the courts of the county in which it is proposed to establish the main office or headquarters of the agency4 ,ability and fitness to hold such licenses must be established before the court granting them4 ,this usually is accomplished by the applicant having several persons of responsibility vouch for his good character1 fitness and ability4 ,in some states bond must also be furnished to the state as a guaranty against misuse of the privilege that such license affords4 ,where such licenses must be secured ,i would advise that a reliable attorney be consulted4 ,it must not be construed that every private detective must have a license issued in his name or secured by him in order to operate in the state wherein licenses are required4 ,in such states an agency must necessarily have a license1 but as a rule agencies employ as many operators as they may require4 ,operators work under the licenses of the agencies that employ them4 ,in starting a detective agency it is by no means necessary to engage a suite of elaborate offices4 ,i have known many successful agencies to have been conducted from one or two modest office rooms1 for which only nominal rentals were paid4 ,when starting an agency one of the first things to be done is to announce to business concerns1 private persons1 and the public in general the fact that the agency is open for business1 at the same time advising of its location and how it may be communicated with by telephone and telegraph4 ,letters of announcement should be mailed direct to prospective clients whom it may be desired to reach4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i ,,shadowing #ac ,,ii ,,burglaries #bd ,,iii ,,identification ,,of ,,criminals #ch ,,iv ,,forgeries #da ,v ,,confessions #ec ,,vi ,,murder ,,cases #ee ,,vii ,,grafters #eg ,,viii ,,detective ,,work ,,in ,,department ,,stores #ff ,,ix ,,railroad ,,detective ,,work #gb ,x ,,detective ,,work ,,for ,,street ,,railways #gf ,,xi ,,other ,,kinds ,,of ,,detective ,,work #hj ,illegal ,liquor selling--,anonymous ,letters--,roping--,detective ,work in ,warehouses--,express ,companies--,conspiracies--,testing ,retail ,business ,establishments--,divorce ,cases--,arson #hj-id ,practical ,instruction for ,detectives ,,chapter ,i ,,shadowing ,shadowing1 or more correctly speaking1 keeping under surveillance some person1 building or premises1 is one of the most important branches of detective work4 ,i know of many private and other cases wherein shadow work proved to be the only means of securing results4 ,in my experience in handling and placing shadows1 and in directing cases which necessitated shadow work1 ,i have found that if one is to have any degree of success at shadowing1 he should in the first place be a person not above medium height1 of medium build1 and preferably smooth shaven4 ,while at work the shadow should give out no intimation of being interested in what may be going on around him1 although he should be at the same time alert and watchful and alive to everything that may transpire near him4 ,the shadow should wear no conspicuous clothing1 shoes or jewelry4 ,patience is the most important requisite to insure success in this branch of the work4 ,while at work the shadow must never for an instant allow his attention to be detracted from the person or place he may be watching4 ,to my own discredit1 ,i will relate how ,i once shadowed a woman for five weeks1 hoping to be on hand when she would meet a certain person4 ,i was purposely occupying at the time a room in a house across the street from where the woman lived1 and from which point of vantage ,i was enabled to observe1 unknown to her1 when she left or entered the house4 ,on the opportune night1 when ,i should have been watchful and wide awake1 ,i found1 no doubt because of my long vigilance1 that ,i had slept for ten or twelve minutes4 ,later ,i learned that the woman left her apartments during the few minutes that ,i had slept1 and1 with no intention on her part1 gave me the slip4 ,in these days of fast trains1 street cars1 high powered automobiles and taxicabs1 which offer swift means of travel1 the detective when shadowing should be prepared at all times to cope with such conditions4 ,he should ever keep in mind the fact that his subject1 whether he or she be a criminal or not1 is liable to travel in accordance with what his or her means will permit4 ,on another page ,i will take up the matter of shadowing criminals1 but will state here that the detective1 unless he has had experience1 should not undertake to shadow a person who may have reason to suspect being shadowed4 ,it has been my experience that boys can accomplish the most when such persons are to be shadowed4 ,i have in mind a case where it was desired to have shadowed on a certain day1 a woman who lived in an exclusive residential section of a large city4 ,no man could have remained in the neighborhood in view of this woman's home longer than half an hour until he would have attracted the attention of every person in the block4 ,for this particular case two young boys were selected to do the shadowing4 ,they proceeded to a point near the woman's home1 and apparently paying no attention to anyone1 engaged in a game of marbles4 ,when leaving her home the woman passed within a few feet of the boys and of course did not suspect their purpose4 ,three blocks distant the boys boarded the same car with her1 and were thus enabled throughout the day to observe the woman's every movement1 and without having attracted her attention at any time4 ,we will suppose that it is desired to keep under surveillance an employee of a bank1 office or store4 ,it is advisable in such cases that the person to be shadowed shall at no time see the detective if it can be so arranged4 ,in my experience ,i have found that under most conditions the following plan will be most feasible for taking up surveillance of such persons4 ,the plan applies also to any other occupants of such places4 ,a detective other than the one who is to do the shadowing should visit the place where the person to be shadowed is located4 ,when making such a call the detective may use the pretext of having called to solicit insurance1 or he may use any other pretext that will be suitable and which will not arouse suspicion4 ,while making such a call the detective must make the best of his opportunity to scrutinize the subject closely1 and should make mental note of any peculiarities of the subject4 ,the color of the subject's hair should be noted2 the shape of his ears1 nose1 etc4 ,the detective should look for the hat rack1 and according to the season of the year should endeavor to note the kind of hat1 overcoat or coat the subject will wear when he or she leaves the building4 ,immediately after coming away from making his call upon the subject1 the detective should convey to the one who will do the shadowing1 a complete detailed description of the subject4 ,detectives should immediately write down such descriptions and should never trust them to memory4 ,the reason for this will become apparent when the detective undertakes to pick out of five or six hundred1 or possibly a thousand employees1 some certain employee when he or she leaves a large factory or office building4 ,the detective who has seen and talked to the subject should remain near the logical exit from the building and when the subject comes out should designate him or her to the detective who will do the shadowing4 ,subject will then be shadowed by a person whom he or she has never seen1 and whose purpose will probably not be suspected if noticed4 ,should the streets be crowded1 the shadow1 under ordinary circumstances1 may keep quite close to the subject1 but must at all times be governed by the number of pedestrians on the streets at the time as to how close to remain to the subject4 ,the subject must not be lost sight of for an instant1 as invariably1 in private cases1 clients expect to be advised of every movement of the person being shadowed4 ,therefore1 should the subject stop in the street to talk to anyone1 careful note should be made by the detective of such persons1 so as to be able1 at the end of the day's work1 to render a detailed description of every person with whom the subject may have talked or associated4 ,care must be exercised by the detective when subjects board street cars4 ,the detective should always endeavor to secure a seat in back of1 and on the same side of the car that the subject sits4 ,for the detective to sit anywhere in front of1 or opposite the subject in a street car or railway coach would give the subject an opportunity to study his face and features1 and which must be avoided4 ,i know of a great many cases1 however1 when detectives boldly sat beside their subjects in street cars and by so doing were enabled to read letters and papers in the hands of the subjects1 and even to engage them in conversation4 ,when shadowing is being done in large cities1 detectives must pay close attention and use the best judgment when subjects enter large office buildings or department stores4 ,as to office buildings it is usually desired to know at what office a subject may call1 and in order to ascertain this to a certainty it is necessary that the detective enter the same elevator with subject and leave it at the same floor that subject does4 ,while the subject proceeds to the office he or she intends to visit1 the detective may pretend to have gotten off at the wrong floor1 or may busy himself scanning the names on the various office doors4 ,in cases of emergency it may become necessary to make a fake call at some office in order not to attract the attention of the subject4 ,after having made note of the office that the subject has entered1 the detective may take up a position on the street or the main floor of the building and await the reappearance of the subject4 ,should there be more exits from the building than the detective can properly cover he should endeavor to obtain assistance4 ,when subjects enter large department stores1 which may have from one to four entrances1 it is of course essential that the detective keep in close proximity to the subject at all times1 whether a man or a woman4 ,if the subject stops to make a purchase1 or to make inquiry at some counter1 the detective should do likewise at some nearby counter so as not to attract the attention of floor walkers or sales clerks4 ,often it becomes necessary for the detective to make purchases1 but it is better to do this than risk losing the subject4 ,i know of countless cases wherein it was desired to have women shadowed in order to learn of their actions during an evening1 but because of their having visited department stores in the afternoon detectives lost them and were not on hand to observe their movements in the evening4 ,occasions often arise when subjects visit theaters while under surveillance4 ,very often it is desired to know with whom subjects visit such places4 ,when a subject purchases his or her ticket the detective should make it a point to be next in line at the box office so as to see or overhear the kind of ticket bought4 ,if successful in learning this1 the detective can ask for a ticket in the same section1 but one or two rows behind the subject1 or in any other location that will serve his purpose4 ,should the subject have previously secured his or her ticket and if it is necessary for the detective to ascertain if the subject is alone while in the theater1 he may have to purchase several tickets until he locates the seat occupied by the subject4 ,if a man or woman enters a theater alone1 it must not be taken for granted that he or she is enjoying the performance alone4 ,i have known many prominent men and women to meet clandestinely in theaters1 although they did not enter or leave the theaters together4 ,this is usually brought about by the man purchasing two tickets one or two days ahead and sending one by mail or otherwise to the woman2 then1 on the appointed night1 they can occupy adjoining seats without entering or leaving the theater together4 ,when subjects visit railway ticket offices the detective can easily arrange to be near enough to overhear the point of destination1 and then if desired can purchase transportation to the same point4 ,in cases where subjects board trains without stopping to purchase tickets1 the detective1 if he cannot learn the subject's point of destination from the gate man or through any other source1 should be governed by the kind of train the subject boards4 ,if the train be a local one it would be advisable to purchase a ticket to the end of the run and leave it at the station where the subject leaves it4 ,if it be a through train and the destination of the subject is unknown1 a ticket should be purchased or fare paid to the end of the first division2 then1 if necessary1 to the end of the next division1 and so on4 ,if it be desired to have a person kept under surveillance for any length of time1 it is advisable that the detective secure lodging near the home of the subject4 ,from there it will be possible to observe the subject going to and leaving his or her home4 ,if practicable it is always best for the detective to remain off the streets and away from public view4 ,in the apprehension of criminals of all classes1 records of private detective agencies and police departments in this and other countries show that in most cases more or less shadowing was resorted to in order to effect the arrest of the criminals1 and also to establish their guilt4 ,i know of a good many cases wherein careful and diligent shadowing was the only means by which yeggs1 hold-up men1 pickpockets1 store thieves and others were caught in the act or caught with the goods on them1 which in most cases is essential in order to insure convictions4 ,some of the leading private detective agencies and most police departments in cities of any size1 maintain and keep up1 to a wonderful degree of perfection1 photograph galleries which are commonly known as rogues galleries1 and in which are kept photographs of all known criminals1 provided an opportunity has been had to photograph them or to secure pictures of them4 ,along with these photographs detailed descriptions of the criminals are kept1 also what are known as criminal histories which show the date and place of any previous arrest1 the nature of crime committed1 method of operating1 term of sentence1 etc4 ,after a criminal has once been photographed his picture usually is well circulated and retained indefinitely1 regardless of whether he remains in or out of prison4 ,we will take for instance a pickpocket1 who in detective vernacular is known as a dip2 or a safe blower1 who in the same vernacular is known as a yegg4 ,if he has been arrested or convicted at any time for one of these crimes his photograph very likely appears shortly afterwards in the rogues galleries throughout the country1 it is reproduced on reward circulars and mailed broadcast over the country1 or is shown in police and detective magazines published for the purpose4 ,if1 after serving a prison term1 the criminal ventures to some large city1 the chances are that he will not be there many days until he is spotted by some city or private detective1 unless he is cautious and keeps under cover4 ,as a rule1 when detectives see and recognize him1 yet know of no crime that he may have recently committed1 or of no charge that can be brought against him1 they shadow him to ascertain where he hangs out2 then endeavor to have him kept under constant surveillance4 ,i might state here that in my opinion there are very few detectives or police chiefs used to dealing with criminals1 who believe a criminal can or will reform4 ,but regardless of this1 it has been found by detectives long ago to be a good plan to keep track of the time of release of criminals from prison1 and then to watch them closely until they may commit another crime4 ,i know of a good many cases where by this method detectives were enabled to catch their men in the act of committing a crime1 or if they were not on hand or nearby when the crime was committed1 as a result of their shadowing they knew just about where the criminal was at a given time and who would have been likely to commit such a crime2 therefore they knew whom to look for4 ,a good detective will make a study of the records of criminals and their methods of operating4 ,it is a well known fact that every criminal has a distinctive manner of operating1 and these distinctive features should be studied by detectives4 ,detectives should also make it a point to know1 as far as possible1 what known criminals are in their city at any time4 ,then if a store1 warehouse1 or residence is burglarized1 if the picking of pockets becomes prevalent1 or if a safe in a bank or office is blown1 the wide awake detective can know from the nature of the crime1 and the method employed1 whom to confine his attentions to4 ,if for instance a safe has been dynamited1 if feasible1 arrangements should immediately be made to have all known safe blowers in the city shadowed4 ,in this way criminals have often been caught in the act of either dividing their loot1 or in disposing of it4 ,careful and systematic shadowing has also been the means of bringing to light the identity of many a thief who1 until found out1 enjoyed the utmost confidence of his employers4 ,i recall the case of a young man of good family who was a trusted employee of a certain large business concern4 ,sums of money ranging from ten to fifty dollars disappeared weekly from the firm's cash1 the thefts having covered a period of about three months before the identity of the thief was established4 ,four persons had access to the firm's cash1 and all were in turn shadowed from the time they left their respective homes in the morning until they retired at night4 ,this plan of systematic shadowing developed the fact that the young man in question was the only one of the four possible guilty ones who was not leading an exemplary life1 and in addition it was found that once a week he visited and made deposits at a certain bank while away from the office during the noon hour4 ,investigation at the bank developed that the young man was depositing each week more than the amount of his weekly salary4 ,upon being shown detailed reports of his every movement for a period covering four weeks1 and upon being questioned regarding his deposits at the bank1 needless to say there was no difficulty in obtaining a confession from this young man4 ,i was once called upon to place under surveillance for two weeks a young man who lived in an exclusive residential section of a large city4 ,it was not feasible to have the detective obtain a room in the neighborhood or cover of any kind1 and to have had the detective stand on the street in this particular neighborhood would no doubt have exposed his purpose in a few hours4 ,i made arrangements for the services of a uniformed messenger boy1 provided him with a few novels to read1 then had him sit under a tree on a lawn not far from the subject's home4 ,in this way when the subject would leave his home to go into the city1 the messenger boy would signal to the detective who was stationed some three blocks distant at a logical car station1 and where the detective's presence did not attract attention4 ,the messenger boy's real purpose was not suspected1 and this surveillance was continued successfully for a period of two weeks4 ,when conditions are similar to those in the case just mentioned ,i frequently have provided the detective with a pair of field glasses which would be used from a room that the detective would rent4 ,i have handled many cases wherein it was desired to keep under surveillance persons who visited the city each day1 but who lived in the suburbs1 or in thinly settled outlying sections of the city4 ,in such cases two detectives were used1 one to remain out in the suburbs to observe the car or train that the subject would board1 after which this detective would telephone to the other one1 stationed in the city1 the number of the car or train upon which the subject would arrive in the city4 ,in this way the subject can easily be picked up and his movements covered during the day4 ,shadow work properly directed and properly executed never fails to bring good results4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,burglaries ,private detectives are frequently called upon to investigate burglaries of banks1 offices1 stores and residences4 ,if the burglary has been committed in the city or in the country1 or in a large or small town1 the detective who investigates the case should proceed to the place as soon as circumstances will permit4 ,if the burglary presents the appearance of having been perpetrated by outside parties1 a thorough investigation should be made and nothing overlooked4 ,i know of dozens of cases of burglary in small towns in which no results were secured because of the fact that only perfunctory investigations were made1 and these were not conducted along proper lines4 ,in cases of burglary1 especially where safes or vaults have been dynamited or wrecked with nitroglycerine1 the detective should conduct an investigation along the following lines3 ,notes should be taken and a record made of the name of the bank1 store1 firm or individual suffering the loss2 the date and hour that the crime was committed2 date and hour discovered2 by whom discovered2 and a descriptive list should be made of all articles known to have been stolen4 ,if the theft consisted of cash1 the respective amounts of gold1 silver or currency should be ascertained4 ,if possible1 secure the numbers of any missing bills4 ,if papers1 checks or negotiable notes or securities have been stolen1 banks or other places where they are liable to be cashed should be notified promptly4 ,a careful investigation should be made as to how entrance was gained to the building4 ,if a safe or vault has been blown or opened1 note should be made of the name of its manufacturer1 whether or not the safe or vault was old or new1 whether equipped with double or single doors1 whether opened by key or combination1 and from whom it was purchased4 ,note should be made as to the kind of explosive used1 or if tools were used4 ,if holes were drilled it is important to ascertain the exact size1 and if possible the kind of drill used4 ,if other tools were used the detective should endeavor to establish their nature1 which usually can be done from the marks left by their use4 ,professional burglars nowadays do not travel from place to place with tools on their persons1 because suspicion might be aroused or arrest invited for carrying them4 ,they often purchase or steal their tools locally at some hardware store or blacksmith's shop a few hours before the time set for the burglary4 ,the detective should endeavor to establish1 at least to his own satisfaction1 whether the burglary is the work of a professional or an amateur2 also if any known burglars or yeggs live in the vicinity where the crime was committed4 ,if so1 their most recent movements should be traced and checked up4 ,if possible1 names should be secured of any persons who may have been seen loitering in the vicinity4 ,if the names of such persons cannot be learned1 detailed descriptions should be secured4 ,if the burglary has been committed in some small town1 the hotel registers should be looked over and any doubtful persons investigated4 ,finger and foot prints and measurements should not be overlooked1 providing any are found at the time of the burglary4 ,photographs should be made of finger prints and measurements made of foot prints4 ,professional burglars1 or persons representing them1 disguised as umbrella menders1 peddlers or beggars1 often visit and look over the place it is proposed to burglarize4 ,any such persons should be given consideration by the detective in the course of his investigation4 ,proprietors of nearby garages and livery stables and their employees should be seen and interviewed2 also ticket agents and section hands on any nearby railroads4 ,conductors and crews of passenger and freight trains should be interviewed2 also crews of street cars4 ,if any known criminals likely to have committed such crime are believed to have been in the vicinity1 their photographs should be shown to nearby residents and others4 ,should a photograph be identified1 the detective will have something upon which to work4 ,when taking descriptions of criminals or of suspects1 the following details should be embodied1 if possible to secure them3 ,nationality2 age1 height1 and weight2 color of hair1 color of eyes2 build2 complexion1 whether smooth shaven1 moustache or beard2 moles1 marks or scars2 kind of clothing worn1 including hat and shoes2 whether or not the person walks or stands erect or stooped2 any jewelry or lodge emblems worn1 and whether he has the appearance of being a business person1 a clerk1 a mechanic1 or a laborer4 ,in cases of thefts of jewelry1 silverware1 clothing1 etc41 from private residences the detective should first endeavor to establish to his own satisfaction whether or not the theft has been committed by an outside party1 or by some member of the household4 ,if it is believed that some member of the household is responsible1 a servant for instance1 such persons should be questioned closely regarding their movements1 when they last saw or handled the stolen articles1 if they knew of the existence or location of them1 what they were doing and where they were about the time the theft must necessarily have been committed1 etc4 ,a descriptive list of the stolen articles should be made up1 and if the same consists of jewelry1 silverware1 cut glass or clothing1 pawnbrokers and proprietors of places where such articles would likely be disposed of should be seen and questioned4 ,a descriptive list of the stolen articles should be left with the proprietors of such places and arrangements made to be notified promptly in case any of the stolen articles are offered for sale or appraisal4 ,i recall having investigated for a bank a case which was at first believed to have been one of burglary from the outside4 ,the bank had in its employ a well educated foreigner1 who was in charge of the bank's foreign department4 ,in order to conduct the business of this department of the bank1 he was permitted the use of five hundred dollars in cash1 and for which amount he was of course always responsible to the bank4 ,the burglary was discovered about #g3jj ,a4 ,m4 on a ,sunday by the colored janitor when he came on duty to clean the banking rooms4 ,the burglary having been committed in the foreign department1 the foreign manager was among the first to be called to the bank4 ,when he arrived he recalled that he had neglected the night before to lock into the vault a tin box in which he kept the five hundred dollars extended him by the bank4 ,this box seemed to have been broken open during the night and was found lying on the floor empty by the janitor4 ,i was called into the case the following day1 and a few minutes after arriving at the bank the foreign manager called me aside and told me he suspected the colored janitor1 and that ,i would do well to confine my attention to him4 ,he1 however1 could give me no plausible reason for suspecting the janitor1 which fact caused me to become suspicious of the foreign manager4 ,i then began an investigation as to how the burglar had gained entrance to the premises1 and found that a large transom over a side door had been forced in1 seemingly from the outside2 also a wire fly screen covering the transom space had been forced loose1 which would have permitted any ordinary sized person to then have gained entrance4 ,the transom was held rigid and in place by a heavy metal side fixture1 and ,i still recall distinctly having wondered at the time how a person could have possibly exerted sufficient pressure or force against it from the outside to bend double the heavy metal side fixture1 and to have accomplished it without attracting the attention of police or other persons4 ,after studying the situation from all angles1 ,i obtained a ladder and examined closely the ledge over which the burglar was believed to have climbed4 ,between the transom and the outer edge of the transom frame1 where the fly screen was nailed1 was a space perhaps six inches in width1 and which space was thickly covered with dust4 ,i examined it closely but failed to find any finger imprints1 or any other marks that would necessarily have been made by a person climbing through the transom4 ,i became convinced that the foreign manager was guilty4 ,he was the last person to leave the bank on the night of the robbery4 ,it was quite plain to me then that before leaving the bank he broke open the tin box1 appropriated its contents1 then pulled down the transom from the inside and loosened the fly screen to make it appear that a burglar had entered from the outside4 ,i brought my discovery to the attention of the officials of the bank1 who agreed with me that no burglar had entered from the outside4 ,i then took the foreign manager in hand and recounted to him how ,i believed that the entire matter had been planned and executed1 that the same was all very clever with but one exception--that being that he had neglected to take into consideration the coating of dust on the ledge4 ,i told him1 in the presence of three officials of the bank1 to turn over the stolen money1 which he did1 but he was not prosecuted and the case was given no publicity4 ,in this1 as in practically all cases1 it will be seen that the criminal1 no matter how carefully he plans his crime1 usually leaves some clue by which he can be detected1 and which clues1 as a rule1 can be developed by thorough investigation on the part of the detective4 ,by permission of the ,current ,literature ,publishing ,company1 we quote from the ,may #aiae number of ,current ,opinion an article dealing with the technique of crime according to ,inspector ,cornelius ,f4 ,cahalane1 a noted instructor of detectives1 appointed to the metropolitan police force of ,new ,york3 ,practically every burglary is prearranged and the details planned4 ,burglars guard against the ordinary precautions which they think a live policeman will take to prevent their crimes or to capture them4 ,do not imagine that every burglar or thief wears a peak cap1 box coat1 sweater1 striped trousers or bull-nosed shoes1 so typical of stage burglars4 ,they realize that to dress in such a manner would arouse immediate suspicion1 and1 accordingly1 dress and carry themselves in a manner least likely to attract attention4 ,they do not1 as most persons fancy1 carry burglary tools on their persons at all times4 ,they know that it is not only a violation of the law1 but that it is circumstantial evidence as well4 ,hence burglars carry tools no longer than is absolutely necessary4 ,sometimes they hide their tools near the scene of the contemplated burglary4 ,if they have tools in their possession and think they are going to be searched1 they will try to hide them or throw them away4 ,tools are carried frequently in musical instrument cases4 ,there are many different types of burglars1 who resort to various means in plying their calling4 ,the burglars most dangerous to society are those known as ',dutch house men4' ,they are the most desperate4 ,they always work heavily armed and to accomplish their purpose or to avoid capture will take life under the slightest provocation4 ,they usually operate in an inhabited dwelling1 and to gain entrance1 secrete themselves in some part of the building or grounds until they think the occupants have retired2 then1 if necessary1 they make their way to a roof1 fire-escape or porch1 and get in by prying open a skylight or jimmying a window sash4 ,as a rule1 householders fasten windows leading to fire-escapes or porches1 but are careless about the other windows4 ',dutch house men' know this failing and often take advantage of it4 ,they fasten one end of a rope 7which one of them may have carried wound around his body7 to a chimney on the roof and drop the other end over the ledge4 ,one of them will lower himself to the desired window1 open it and enter4 ,they generally seek the place where it is most likely that valuables have been left before the owner retired1 such as the tops of dressers or the pockets of clothing4 ,in going from room to room1 they usually place some obstruction1 a table or a chair1 in such a position that if the occupant should awaken and attempt to leave the room1 he would trip over the object and make enough noise to warn the burglar that his presence had become known4 ,unless they are sure that no alarm has been given1 they will seldom leave by way of the street2 usually they secrete themselves on the roof or in the back yard and remain until there is an opportunity to escape4 ,flat thieves are not as desperate as the ordinary run of burglars1 but they are burglars too1 and they manage to steal considerable property4 ,as a rule they will not enter an apartment while anyone is at home4 ,they profit by the knowledge that housekeepers generally hide their money and valuables in a nook where they think a thief will be least likely to look--under rugs1 legs of tables1 under mattresses and beds1 in sewing machine drawers1 and the like4 ,a flat thief requires only about five minutes in an ordinary flat1 and when he is through it looks as though an earthquake had shaken the building4 ,he starts by pushing the furniture to one end of the room4 ,he turns the rugs over1 empties the contents of bureau drawers into the middle of the floor1 where they are examined1 throws mattresses to the floor1 cuts them open if he has not already discovered the hiding place1 turns vases and bric-a-brac upside down1 and1 in this way1 has every part of the flat searched in a short time4 ,flat thieves are usually young men between the ages of sixteen and thirty years4 ,they gain entrance by ringing the vestibule bells1 and1 if no response is made1 they assume that no one is at home1 and enter the hallway and proceed to the apartment selected4 ,if the door is locked they either use a false key or jimmy it open4 ,or1 they may watch persons leaving their apartment1 and enter during their short absence4 ,if questioned1 they try to represent themselves as peddlers1 agents1 inspectors of telephones1 gas1 water or electricity1 or mechanics4 ,they usually bundle together the proceeds of a theft and carry it to the street1 passing through the halls with an air of bravado1 so as not to excite suspicion4 ,they generally work in pairs2 one standing in the hallway to warn his partner of the return of the tenant1 and1 in case the thief is pursued1 to trip the person in pursuit or to divert him in some other way4 ,they seldom leave a house together1 but usually meet at a distance from the scene to dispose of the property and divide the proceeds4 ,many flat thieves work by hiring a room or rooms in a residential section of the city and as near the roof as possible1 particularly where the roofs in the vicinity are of about the same height4 ,they use scuttles and fire-escapes as a means of getting into buildings and convey the plunder over the roofs to their rooms4 ,in this way they avoid the danger of being detected in the street4 ,more ambitious than the flat thief1 but in something of the same class1 is the loft burglar4 ,loft burglars are the most feared by merchants1 for when they make a haul it is usually a big one1 amounting to thousands of dollars4 ,they are necessarily the brainiest of burglars for the reason that their work requires more and better planning4 ,plans are often made weeks in advance4 ,a loft is selected after a study of the location and the quantity and quality of the stock carried in it4 ,weeks are then spent in becoming familiar with the habits of persons who might be in a position to thwart or discover them1 particularly the watchmen and patrolmen on post1 and the customary time of opening and closing the building1 noting the person to whom this duty is entrusted4 ,a ,saturday afternoon or night is generally selected for the entry4 ,sometimes it is necessary to gain entrance through a building three or four doors away and clamber back over the roofs4 ,when the loft selected is reached they do not hesitate to cut through a wall to get one of their number in it2 if necessary they will drill through the floor from the loft below or through the ceiling from the one above1 lowering the first man down with a rope4 ,the door of the loft is then opened from the inside if the circumstances warrant it4 ,the loot is carefully selected from the most valuable stock4 ,packing cases are constructed from material lying about1 filled1 and nailed shut4 ,they are now confronted with the most difficult task1 that of getting the packing cases from the building4 ,the property is seldom moved at night4 ,they fear that the appearance of a vehicle at an unusual hour in a section of the city where lofts are located would arouse suspicion4 ,instead1 if as a result of their previous study1 they know that the loft will be opened at #g3cj ,a4 ,m41 a vehicle will be brought to the front of the building at about #g3bj ,a4 ,m41 the door opened from the inside by one of the gang dressed as a porter1 and in the most bold and daring manner the cases will be loaded on the wagon4 ,one of the gang may even engage the patrolman on post in conversation1 possibly within sight of their activities4 ,the bogus porters1 if the circumstances necessitate it1 will go back into the building and escape by way of the roof or through an adjoining building4 ,safe burglars know as a rule the particular make of each safe on which they intend to operate4 ,like loft burglars they plan far in advance and come prepared to break through any part of a building in order to get to the safe4 ,they have been known1 when working in an exposed position1 to make a pasteboard safe1 paint it to imitate the original1 shove the genuine safe into an inner room and leave the substitute in its place4 ,others do not resort to this subterfuge1 but simply bodily shove the safe into a position where they can not be observed from the street and begin operations4 ,they try not to use explosives4 ,the easiest way1 the combination1 is tried first4 ,if this fails1 the weakest part1 the bottom or back1 is tried4 ,the ordinary safe is turned upside down and the bottom or back is cut out with a tool they call a 'can opener4' ,if the bottom or back resists1 they drill a hole near the combinations and try to disturb the tumblers sufficiently to turn the lock4 ,as a last resort a hole is drilled and charged with explosive4 ,to deaden the report the safe is wrapped with material found on the premises or with blankets brought along4 ,a lookout is usually stationed on the outside to signal in the event of peril4 ,safe burglars1 like burglars who break windows or side lights1 wait for the rumble of a passing vehicle to deaden the sound of an explosion4 ,store burglars generally gain entrance through a rear or side window4 ,they travel in gangs of two or three1 one always on guard1 and steal from the till1 cash register or small safes4 ,they1 too1 have their work planned in advance1 and know just what to do when they enter4 ,the loot is seldom removed through the front of the building2 it is carried through the rear yards or over the roofs of an adjoining building and thence to the street4 ,if the booty is too bulky to transport on their persons1 a push cart is hired or stolen for the purpose1 or a milk or baker's wagon is pressed into service1 sometimes with the consent of the driver1 and the goods moved early in the morning1 during the hours when milkmen and bakers are making their deliveries1 so as not to excite suspicion4 ,burglars who break store windows and side lights work in pairs and are very tricky4 ,their outfit in most instances consists of a long piece of heavy wire and a heavy piece of cloth1 such as part of a bed comforter1 which they carry wrapped about their bodies4 ,a store is selected which displays articles of some value in its windows4 ,the habits of the man on post are learned1 and at an opportune moment during his absence they will throw a padded brick or iron through the window or side light1 having first placed the comforter on the stoop or walk to catch the broken glass and deaden the sound4 ,or1 they may use a glass cutter to remove a section of the window4 ,this step accomplished1 they dart into a nearby hallway and wait to see if the breaking of the glass has attracted attention4 ,if they find it has not1 operations are resumed and the contents of the show-window extracted by means of a stiff wire1 the tip of which has been bent into a hook4 ,the store selected is often covered by the crooks for hours1 sometimes from an adjoining precinct or post1 awaiting a suitable opportunity4 ,the sharpest and most successful burglars of late have been foreigners1 some of whom can not speak ,english4 ,their favorite method is to select a residence along some street-car route1 enter it during the daytime1 if possible1 and remain secreted in areaways1 back yards or on roofs until night1 then force an entrance through a window1 door or roof scuttle when the occupants have retired4 ,after securing the plunder they open the front door and wait inside until a car passes4 ,then they run out and board a moving car1 watching meanwhile to see if they are pursued4 ,sometimes they ride almost to the city line before getting off4 ,they are afraid that if they pass a brightly lighted street corner they will be observed and for this reason they use the street cars4 ,if there were no receivers of stolen goods there would be but little burglary of these or any other kinds3 ,a thief will not steal unless he knows that he can make some profitable disposition of his haul4 ,it is comparatively easy to dispose of jewelry1 but a thief must know positively where he can immediately dispose of bulky property that he cannot readily conceal4 ,usually such stuff is immediately sold to unscrupulous dealers who carry goods of the same kind in stock2 for instance1 a quantity of stolen cloth may be sold to a dishonest dry-goods merchant4 ,in some cases1 however1 a store or flat is rented in advance of a burglary or theft and the loot stored in it4 ,the receivers are then visited in turn by the thieves1 shown samples1 and bids are requested4 ,in this way they dispose of the goods more profitably4 ,a careful thief destroys1 as soon as possible1 all marks of identification1 but if he has not done so1 the receiver takes that precaution as soon as the stolen property comes into his possession4 ,merchandise handled under unusual conditions should immediately suggest 'receivers' to you4 ,for instance1 if you saw a large quantity of silk being taken into a small retail store1 or saw the delivery being made from a hand-truck or from a wagon not ordinarily used for such deliveries1 or by persons who1 from their appearance and manner of handling the merchandise1 did not seem to be engaged in the business2 or if you observed boxes of shoes being taken into a barber shop1 or a great quantity of food being delivered to a dwelling1 it should arouse your suspicion4 ,remember that persons engaged in a legitimate business are constantly devising ways and means of advertising themselves4 ,they want everyone to know that they are engaged in a certain business1 and located at a certain place1 and invite inspection of their stock4 ,they do not paint their windows to hide the contents of their store1 or arrange the interior so that the stock will not be in plain sight1 or deny prospective purchasers the privilege of examining their stock4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,identification ,,of ,,criminals ,in all up-to-date police and detective bureaus the ,bertillon ,system is now being used whenever practicable for the identification of criminals4 ,i consider it important that detectives be thoroughly familiar with the system1 as it is a wonderfully accurate system of identification and quite easy for anyone to become familiar with1 as ,i will show4 ,the ,bertillon ,system of identification was unknown previous to the year #ahhj1 in which year it was adopted in ,france as a standard by the police department of ,paris1 where it was introduced by ,alphonse ,bertillon1 its founder4 ,since then it has been adopted by police departments of practically all large cities in the ,united ,states1 ,canada and ,europe4 ,for the identification of criminals the ,bertillon ,system depends upon accurate measurements of various parts of the human body1 having to do especially with the bones1 which in adults never change4 ,the parts measured are head1 left ear1 left foot1 left middle finger1 extended left forearm1 outstretched arms1 the trunk and height4 ,in the ,bertillon ,system the metric measurement is used exclusively4 ,in such measurement we have the meter1 which equals #ci4cg inches2 the centimeter1 which is the one-hundredth part of a meter and which equals #j4cicg of an inch2 and the millimeter1 which is the one-thousandth part of a meter and which equals #j4jcicg of an inch4 ,in order to take the measurements of a criminal in accordance with the ,bertillon ,system it is of course necessary to have and use a metric measure2 one can be purchased almost anywhere in the ,united ,states for fifty cents4 ,so as to make the matter of measurement more clear1 ,i might state that under our own system of measurement we measure by yards1 feet and inches1 half inches1 quarter inches1 etc4 ,under the metric system we measure by meters1 centimeters and millimeters4 ,it will readily be seen that with the metric system it is possible to measure accurately the thousandth part of an inch4 ,we will take for instance a criminal whose height is five feet and one inch4 ,in ,bertillon or metric measurement his height would be one meter and fifty-five centimeters2 written thus3 #a ,m4 #ee4 #j4 ,if a criminal's height be1 for instance1 five feet seven and a half inches1 it would be1 according to ,bertillon or metric measurement1 one meter1 #ga centimeters1 and five millimeters1 written thus3 #a ,m4 #ga4 #e4 ,a criminal whose height is five feet and #g_/h inches would be shown in ,bertillon in the following manner1 with other measurements added3 #a4fg4f #a4gd4j #hh4a #ai4j #af4j #ad4e #f4j #bf4a #aa4h #h4i #de4d ,,hgt ,,oa ,,tr ,,hl ,,hw ,,cw ,,re ,,lf ,,lmf ,,llf ,,fa ,these abbreviations signify1 in the order shown1 that this criminal's height is one meter1 sixty-seven centimeters and six millimeters2 outer arms one meter1 seventy-four centimeters2 trunk eighty-eight centimeters and one millimeter2 head length nineteen centimeters2 head width1 sixteen centimeters2 cheek width fourteen centimeters and five millimeters2 right ear six centimeters2 left foot twenty-six centimeters and one millimeter2 left middle finger eleven centimeters and eight millimeters2 left little finger eight centimeters and nine millimeters2 forearm forty-five centimeters and four millimeters4 ,the foregoing abbreviations have been adopted for convenience upon the backs of criminal photographs and where space usually is limited4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,forgeries ,although not generally known it is a fact that banks1 business concerns1 and the public in general probably suffer a greater loss through the operations of forgers and bogus check operators than through any other form of crimes perpetrated against them4 ,there are confined today in the penal institutions of this country1 thousands of persons convicted and found guilty of these offenses1 and yet ,i would venture to state that not over forty per cent of this class of criminal is ever apprehended4 ,there is hardly a morning anywhere but what one may pick up a newspaper and read an account of how some clever forger succeeded in victimizing a bank1 hotel or merchant4 ,with this large number of forgers at large and free to operate when1 and practically wherever they please1 we have additional proof that there are today by no means sufficient trained detectives to run them down4 ,the methods most commonly practiced by forgers1 both professional and amateur1 are quite well known1 yet ,i believe it will be well for me to dwell at some length on the subject4 ,in a general way ,i might state that the methods of all forgers are much the same2 at any rate such has been my experience with this class of criminal4 ,their aim in most cases1 before presenting for payment a check to which a signature has been forged1 or an endorsement1 is to ascertain if the firm or person against whom the check is to be drawn has deposits sufficient to cover the check4 ,after satisfying himself on this point the forger proceeds to fill in the check and to affix thereto a signature or an endorsement purported to be genuine4 ,after having selected the person whose signature or endorsement is to be forged1 the forger must next be familiar with the handwriting of that person4 ,it is comparatively an easy matter for anyone so inclined to secure an original1 facsimile or tracing of the average business or professional man's signature4 ,after providing himself thus the forger sets about writing a check that will be so near like the genuine that it will not be likely to be questioned when presented at the bank4 ,the forger usually makes it a point to present his check at a time when the cashier or paying teller is busiest1 and when the forgery will most likely pass unnoticed4 ,in my experience ,i have found that employers very often are careless in leaving their private check books1 and sometimes signed checks1 lying around the office where a dishonest employee or other person may have easy access to same4 ,very often cancelled checks fall into the hands of forgers who promptly take advantage of the handwritings for their ulterior purposes4 ,there are dozens of ways by which a forger may secure them4 ,workmen who receive their salaries from their employers in the form of checks often are tempted to make use of the signature to forge others and have them cashed4 ,under this class of criminal we have also to contend with what are known as bogus check operators1 who1 when writing and passing checks1 use fictitious names of banks and persons2 also the worthless check operator1 who1 after gaining the confidence of his employer1 or of some bank1 writes and has cashed a check in excess of funds he may have on deposit4 ,the detective must not confuse forged checks with bogus checks4 ,the former is a check upon which is written what purports to be the genuine signature or endorsement of some person and which signature or endorsement was not written by1 nor authorized by that person4 ,the latter is one upon which is written the name of some bank which does not exist1 or which may be drawn on a bank which does exist but at which bank the drawer of the check has no account4 ,there are also many other forms of checks passed which come under the classification of bogus checks4 ,thousands of hotel keepers and merchants are victimized yearly through cashing forged1 bogus and worthless checks presented by oily tongued swindlers who tell plausible stories as to how they happen to be out of funds1 etc4 ,in order to be successful in handling forgery cases it is essential that the detective be a good judge of human nature and of handwriting4 ,the more technical knowledge he may have of handwriting the better4 ,if the detective is called upon to investigate1 for instance1 a case wherein a bank has been defrauded through the operations of a forger1 he should endeavor first to see the forged check4 ,a record should be made as to the kind of blank form the check was drawn on1 whether or not same was drawn upon an ordinary counter check form1 if the form was taken from a private printed check book1 or from a pocket check book4 ,record should be made of the date1 the number1 on what bank drawn on1 in whose favor drawn1 the amount1 how signed1 and how endorsed4 ,such records should include whether or not the check or any part of it was filled in with pen and ink1 with pencil1 or with a typewriter4 ,for the detective's future reference a tracing should be made of all handwritings on the check1 especially of any known to have been written by the forger4 ,by far the best plan is to have both sides of the check photographed4 ,until such time as it may be needed as evidence in court1 a forged check should never be taken away from a bank1 carried in the pocket1 or handled any more than may be absolutely necessary4 ,the reasons are that in taking such a check from a bank it may become lost1 and by carrying it or handling it the writings may become effaced4 ,no chances should be taken in losing or destroying the most important evidence with which to prosecute the forger in case he is apprehended4 ,the detective should place his initials or some other mark upon the original check so that he can positively identify it later if called upon to do so4 ,at the bank the detective should secure as thorough a description as possible of the person for whom the check was cashed1 also should make note of any statements made by the forger as to where he came from1 what firm he claimed to represent1 or by whom employed1 etc4 ,hotel registers should be examined closely for any registration in handwriting identical with that in the forged check4 ,in order to establish the identity of the forger if not known1 or to learn the direction in which he may have gone1 the detective may proceed along the lines outlined with regard to burglary cases4 ,i have handled hundreds of forgery cases and will say that ,i never found the forger a criminal difficult to apprehend4 ,there are two good reasons why this should be so2 the first is that the forger1 as a rule1 must present himself in person at the bank or other place to secure the money on his check1 and by so doing enables the detective to secure a good description of him1 how he was dressed1 etc42 the second reason is that the forger when filling in his check1 or by endorsing it1 must necessarily leave behind one of the very best clues for the detection of any criminal1 that being his handwriting4 ,in fully ninety per cent of forgery cases ,i have handled ,i have found that the person whose signature was forged could tell1 after being questioned1 who was responsible for the forgery1 and ,i will show you that the process is very simple and easy4 ,i have in mind a good many cases each of which ,i cleared up in less than half an hour after arriving upon the ground4 ,my plan was to first secure the best description obtainable of the forger1 then a specimen of his handwriting1 after which ,i would see or call upon the person whose signature was forged4 ,to that person ,i would submit the description and the handwriting1 and1 as previously stated1 ninety per cent of them were able to tell very quickly which employee1 relative1 friend1 acquaintance1 or enemy was responsible4 ,after the detective has learned the identity of a forger but cannot locate him1 he should keep in touch1 under some good pretext1 with the forger's parents1 wife1 sweetheart1 sister1 brother or other relative or friend4 ,the forger will communicate with his sweetheart1 friends or relatives sooner or later2 it is human nature and ,i have never seen it fail4 ,when the detective has succeeded in causing the arrest of a forger1 or of a suspected forger1 he should endeavor to secure a confession from him4 ,i have secured many confessions from forgers by saying to them in a friendly way that the best way for them to prove that they had nothing to do with the forgery with which they were charged1 was to write a specimen of the forged check4 ,it is really surprising how many professional forgers will allow themselves to be led into this simple ruse4 ,while the forger's mind is laboring under the strain of being under arrest1 and seeing possible conviction ahead1 he is eager to take advantage of what he thinks is an opportunity to prove that he did not write the forgery and will rely upon his ability to disguise his handwriting sufficiently to mislead the detective4 ,another reason why he will comply with such a request is that he will fear his refusal to give a specimen of his handwriting will be taken as an evidence of guilt4 ,as a matter of fact ,i have found no persons in my experience who could successfully disguise their handwriting with their minds under any kind of strain4 ,the forger can therefore be easily led into hanging himself with his own rope1 as it were4 ,after securing such handwriting the detective should take out his facsimile1 or photographic copy of the forged check1 and if he finds the handwritings identical1 he should point out the similarities to the forger4 ,there should be no difficulty experienced in securing a full confession1 and in addition the detective will have in his possession the handwriting of the forger1 which1 ,i neglected to state1 should be secured in the presence of one or two reliable witnesses1 so that the confession and handwritings can be substantiated in court if necessary4 ,it goes without saying that efforts should be made by the detective to secure such handwritings and the confession as soon after the forger's arrest as possible4 ,should the forger or suspect have an opportunity to confer with an attorney before this is done1 the chances are that no handwritings or confession will be secured4 ,great care must be exercised by the detective when it is left to him to have warrants issued for criminals of this class4 ,it often happens that one person will forge a signature or endorsement to a check1 then delegate a confederate or other person to present the check for payment4 ,under these circumstances the presenter of such a check could hardly be convicted of forgery1 but he could be convicted of passing the forged check and of obtaining money thereon4 ,the point to be borne in mind by the detective in such cases is1 that in order to convict a person of forgery1 it is necessary to prove the handwriting1 or produce one or more witnesses who actually saw the signature or endorsement being written4 ,warrants should be issued accordingly2 the best kind of warrant to be gotten out in such cases being one in which the offender is charged with passing the forged check and with obtaining the money4 ,i have known quite a few clever forgers1 who with the aid of good attorneys1 succeeded in beating their cases simply because the warrants for their arrest were not properly gotten out1 and which resulted in improper indictments being returned against them4 ,i have known dozens of bungling detectives and officers to swear out warrants charging persons with forgery when1 as a matter of fact1 the forgery could not be proven1 but a charge of passing a forged check and obtaining money thereon could have been made and proven4 ,in the cases ,i have in mind the offenders went scott free simply because the wrong charge was brought against them1 and because they were given advantage of the law itself to escape punishment4 ,as a whole ,i consider the forger one of the most dangerous of criminals to be at large1 but as stated1 one of the easiest to apprehend when proper methods are applied4 ,i believe ,i will do well to recount here what ,i considered1 when it was first submitted to me1 my most difficult forgery case1 but which in the end proved quite easy to unravel and clear up4 ,one day it was discovered by a bank in a small town in the ,west that during the preceding seven months it cashed for some unknown person eleven checks to which were forged the signature and endorsements of one of the bank's customers4 ,these forgeries were discovered when the customer came into the town from his ranch to have his pass book balanced4 ,upon being handed his cancelled checks he discovered the forgeries4 ,in this particular case no person connected with the bank could recall in the slightest degree for whom1 nor for what kind of person they cashed the checks4 ,from the fact that the customer called at the bank so rarely they did not know him by sight4 ,inasmuch as this customer lived far out from the city on a ranch1 he could throw no light on who forged his signature to obtain the money from the bank1 which1 as ,i recall it1 amounted to several hundred dollars4 ,in looking over the forgeries and the dates upon which they were paid1 ,i found that they had been presented at the bank and were paid1 on an average1 of one every three weeks4 ,outside of the forger's handwriting1 there was absolutely no clue upon which to work4 ,after giving the case several hours' thought1 ,i came to the conclusion that the case1 to my way of thinking at that time1 could be cleared up along only one line1 that being that ,i find the person through his handwriting4 ,the town in question was a county seat of about five thousand population4 ,i had concluded also that the culprit1 from the fact of his forgeries covering a period of seven months1 must be a resident1 or at least an habitue of the town4 ,i found myself figuring how long it would take to enable me to see a specimen of the handwriting of every man in the town4 ,this being my plan ,i started to work along the line of least resistance1 going first to the court house1 where ,i secured permission to look over any and all kinds of records1 in the hope of finding somewhere in the town a specimen of handwriting identical with that of the forger in the case4 ,near the close of the second day my search was rewarded through my finding upon the payrolls of a contractor a signature1 every letter of which was identical with the same letter in the forgeries1 the forger being at that time in the employ of the contractor4 ,the same characteristics and peculiarities being evident in both handwritings1 ,i lost no time in effecting arrangements for having the suspect brought before the town marshal and me4 ,we handed the man pen and ink and check forms1 and upon his signifying his willingness to write for us specimens of any checks we desired1 we of course had him write copies of the forgeries4 ,his handwriting proved to be identical to the smallest detail1 with the handwriting in the forgeries1 and upon being shown both writings he made a confession on the spot4 ,later he pleaded guilty to the charge of forgery and was sentenced to serve two years in state prison4 ,a favorite method of offenders in defrauding banks1 and which scheme is worked somewhere every business day of the year1 is to visit a bank and open an account by depositing a bogus or worthless check1 and which transaction is usually handled by the receiving teller4 ,as a rule a pass book will be given to the offender in the regular way1 but no money will be paid out by the bank until it ascertains if the check is good1 and which1 by ordinary methods1 usually requires two days' time1 and longer if the check be drawn on a far distant bank4 ,on the day following the opening of the account the offender will visit the bank and on this occasion approaches the paying teller4 ,of course1 he is not known to the paying teller1 but he produces his pass book and shows the paying teller that he has on deposit say one hundred dollars4 ,he asks to withdraw fifty4 ,hundreds of paying tellers have been caught off their guard with this game by neglecting to look up the party's account1 and in an unguarded moment take it for granted that the party's account is ,o4 ,k4 ,stolen pass books are an extensive source of loss to banks4 ,throughout the country thousands of foreigners have savings accounts in banks4 ,with most of them it is customary to keep the bank books in their trunks or rooms where they can easily be stolen by one of their countrymen1 who takes the book to the bank1 impersonates the owner and obtains the cash4 ,to illustrate the importance that the detective must give to the small details when making an investigation1 ,i was once called upon to investigate a forgery that had been perpetrated upon a bank in a town of about twenty thousand population4 ,in this case a middle aged woman presented a check and obtained eighty dollars thereon1 the check later proving to be a forgery4 ,i questioned the paying teller for an hour1 but he seemed unable to assist me and could say nothing about the woman except that she was of middle age and pleasant appearing4 ,this1 however1 was very vague1 as there were in the town probably five hundred women who were pleasant appearing and of middle age4 ,i persisted in having the paying teller revert his mind to the occasion of the woman's visit to the bank1 and he finally recalled that the woman wore a pin bearing the emblem of a secret society of some kind--he could not recall which4 ,i immediately set to work1 and later in the day submitted to the paying teller a dozen or more lodge emblems1 when he selected the emblem of the ,order of the ,eastern ,star as being identical with what the woman wore4 ,the foregoing consumed one day1 and the next morning ,i set about ascertaining what member of the ,order of the ,eastern ,star in that town or vicinity would have been likely to pass the forged check4 ,from the secretary of the order ,i obtained a list of the members1 then decided to take the secretary into my confidence and asked him who of the members he thought would have been most likely to commit this crime4 ,his suspicions rested upon a woman who lived in a village just outside of the town1 and from all he told me ,i became convinced she was the woman wanted4 ,the next morning1 accompanied by the paying teller1 ,i called at the woman's home under a pretext1 and when the paying teller promptly identified her as being the woman for whom he cashed the check4 ,many large sums of money have been obtained through forgery4 ,the most remarkable case ever brought to my attention was one that involved #cj1jjj4jj4 ,a man forty years of age had been made the business agent of a wealthy lady who was some eighty years old4 ,this man was also named in the lady's will to be the executor of her estate after her death4 ,it happened1 however1 that this man died first and among his papers and effects was found a note for #cj1jjj4jj purporting to have been signed by the woman in favor of this man4 ,when claim was made upon her for the amount of this note she promptly denied having ever signed such a note1 and pronounced the note a forgery1 and so the note was never paid4 ,in this particular case it occurred to me that the man no doubt believed that the woman for whom he was business agent would1 in all probability1 die first1 and when it would have been an easy matter for him1 as executor1 to have taken possession of the amount of the note4 ,because of the prominence of all parties concerned in this case1 it was never given publicity4 ,raised checks are an extensive source of loss and annoyance to banks and individuals4 ,many checks1 after being written1 mailed or sent1 fall into the hands of persons who make a practice of raising the amounts for which the checks were originally intended and written1 and then pass or have them cashed4 ,for instance1 a check written for ten dollars will be raised to one hundred dollars1 or to whatever amount the raiser may believe it can be passed without arousing the suspicions of the bank1 merchant or individual upon whom it is to be passed4 ,i have seen many raised checks1 the favorite method of the latter day check raiser being to remove from the check with chemicals the figures and wording of the amounts1 and then to insert a greater amount4 ,the original signature of the drawer of the check is of course left intact4 ,it often requires the aid of a magnifying glass to discover the erasure or removal of the original writing4 ,when necessary the name of the payee is also removed and another name inserted4 ,,chapter ,v ,,confessions ,as in other criminal cases1 when confessions are obtained from forgers1 it is a good plan to take the same in writing in the presence of reliable witnesses1 and to have the confession signed by the criminal4 ,however1 great care must be exercised when taking a statement or confession from a criminal1 and even though the statement or confession is given voluntarily and willingly by the criminal1 it should be embodied in the statement in writing that the same is so given1 that it is given without any threats or coercion having been made or resorted to1 and that it is given without promise of reward or compensation4 ,such a statement should also show that it has been explained to the person before signing it that he or she understands that the same may be used against him or her later4 ,for the average case ,i would suggest a statement worded about as follows1 or in accordance with the kind of case it is to apply to3 ,i1 ,jone ,doe1 wish to state that on ,june #cjth1 #aiad1 ,i entered the ,first ,national ,bank and obtained #ej4jj cash upon a check which ,i knew to be a forgery1 and to which check ,i signed the name of ,john ,smith1 without ,mr4 ,smith's permission or authorization1 and which check ,i represented to the bank as having been signed by ,john ,smith4 ,i was arrested today by ,detective ,john ,brown1 who has not threatened nor coerced me in any way1 neither have ,i been promised any reward1 compensation or leniency for making this statement1 and ,i understand this statement may be used against me4 ,having persons make affidavit to statements of this nature does not strengthen them in any way1 since the law permits persons to repudiate affidavits without constituting perjury1 so long as the affidavit or statement has not been given in any judicial proceeding4 ,in connection with the investigation of forgery cases ,i might add that it is a good plan to have the person whose signature was forged make an affidavit that the check or other paper repudiated by him1 was not signed by him and not authorized by him4 ,i once had a case of forgery wherein it was neglected to do this4 ,when the offender was arrested he proved to be a close friend of the man whose signature was forged4 ,then to save his friend from prosecution the man went to the bank and stated that the check which he had at first repudiated was his own signed check4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,murder ,,cases ,in my experience with murder cases ,i would divide such crimes into three classes1 namely3 ,the cases wherein a murder has been carefully planned or premeditated2 the cases where a murder is committed suddenly or on the spur of the moment2 and those that are a result of some person intending only to do bodily harm to another but wherein such injuries later cause death4 ,one could hardly lay down any set rule to be applied by the detective for the proper investigation of murder cases4 ,there are1 however1 several primary things that should be kept in mind by the detective1 and which ,i have found will apply in most murder cases4 ,the first and most important thing to be looked into is the motive4 ,every effort should be made by the detective to establish the motive1 and if successful he will1 as a rule1 have little difficulty in ascertaining the identity of the murderer4 ,after the murderer's identity is known the detective has something definite upon which to work4 ,the detective should satisfy himself as to which of the three classes previously named the crime would come under4 ,it should be borne in mind that murders as a rule1 are not committed for pastime or amusement4 ,i would venture to state that seventy-five per cent of murders committed come under the first named class4 ,often they are very carefully planned and the plans just as carefully executed4 ,the detective should ascertain1 by making inquiry or otherwise1 who would profit by the death of the person murdered4 ,it should be ascertained if robbery was the direct motive4 ,hundreds of persons have been murdered by slow poisoning4 ,in such cases the detective must look for the relative who would benefit by the death of the person murdered4 ,persons very often are murdered so that the insurance they may carry can be claimed4 ,it should be ascertained if the person murdered had any quarrels with business associates1 relatives1 friends1 or other persons1 or if the enmity of any person in particular was incurred at any time4 ,if a weapon was used to cause death1 it should be ascertained from the nature of the wound what kind of weapon was used1 and if the weapon prove to be a pistol1 its calibre1 make1 etc41 should be gone into4 ,regardless of the kind of weapon used1 if its nature can be established1 the detective should endeavor to learn where it was secured1 who was known to be in possession of1 or known to have carried such a weapon4 ,in murder cases every clue1 no matter how small or vague1 should be run out by the detective4 ,the smallest clues often develop the best results4 ,as the circumstances in every murder case will differ1 the detective must use his own judgment as to how to proceed4 ,application of good judgment and good common sense methods have never failed to bring about results4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,grafters ,a class of criminals who are1 in my opinion1 the most obnoxious of any the detective may have to deal with1 and of which class only a small percentage are detected and convicted are the grafters4 ,i will venture to state that not more than one such criminal in every hundred finds his way behind prison bars1 where all thieves of this class rightly belong4 ,the general public cannot perceive how prevalent this form of stealing has become4 ,the reason probably is because the grafter of today usually moves in the best society and often holds a position of trust1 which facts tend to divert suspicion from him and from his crooked dealings4 ,i am sure that a successful career awaits any ambitious young detective who will devote his time and energy to hunting down grafters4 ,one or two successful cases will start the detective on the road to success4 ,the field for detectives for this class of work is unlimited1 remuneration is the best1 and better still1 the grafter is by far the easiest of all criminals to catch4 ,it is as easy to catch grafters as it is to catch fish1 the process being simply a matter of baiting a hook2 the grafter1 in his greed for money1 will do the rest4 ,in both large and small cities1 and in country districts as well1 grafters are daily gathering in ill gotten money in many different ways4 ,criminal records of most of our states show that men1 while holding important positions of trust in our state departments1 have been detected and found guilty of various forms of grafting4 ,the same records1 in a good many of our large cities1 will show the same4 ,i believe that one of the best things that could possibly be done by the governors of our states1 by the mayors of our cities1 and by our prosecuting attorneys1 would be to employ annually a first-class1 reliable detective to investigate thoroughly into the various interests of the public which they control to ascertain if grafting exists4 ,grafting has usually been found where such investigations have been made4 ,the various ways by which men who have held official positions in state1 county and city governments have been known to profit by grafting would be a long story to relate4 ,regarding grafting by public officials1 there is one thing in particular that the detective should always keep in mind1 that being that political records show that thousands of men throughout the country have had themselves elected to public office1 the full term of which netted them in salary often only half the amount expended by them in having themselves elected to office4 ,when such persons are elected to public office it very often is the beginning of grafting by them in some form4 ,we will grant that some of these men were public spirited citizens1 and while in office may have served the public at their own expense4 ,nevertheless1 when we know that a man has actually bought his way1 and paid dearly to have himself elected to office1 that man will at least bear watching4 ,i have in mind the case of a certain county official in a western state1 who1 some years ago1 succeeded in having himself elected to office1 which office1 for its entire term of three years1 carried a salary amounting to #b1djj4jj4 ,this man was known to have expended close to #e1jjj4jj to become elected4 ,within a year after taking office he was ousted by the people of the county1 who demanded his resignation1 it having been found that his campaign for election was financed by a certain manufacturing company1 and that after taking office he had accepted certain additional sums of money to protect the interests of the same concern4 ,right here we have another kind of grafter4 ,the man just mentioned was known to have purchased outright with money1 at so much per vote1 hundreds of votes that were cast for his election4 ,voters accepting such money are of course guilty of a crime worse than grafting4 ,in most of our states we now have laws which make it a misdemeanor for anyone to pay or promise to pay1 or to give or promise to give anything for any person's vote4 ,grafting of the worst kind has been found to exist in the law making bodies of some of our states4 ,many state legislators have been convicted through having accepted money to vote for or against certain measures1 when by so doing they virtually sold out1 for considerations of money1 the people by whom they were elected to faithfully represent4 ,the methods employed by most grafters1 ,i believe1 are too common and too well known to need mention4 ,in connection with grafting in county and city governments1 it has been found very often that officials whose duties were to protect society1 and to endeavor to stamp out and to prevent certain violations of the law1 were grafters of the worst type4 ,for considerations of money they guaranteed protection to persons known to be violating the law4 ,such protection has been guaranteed in many of our large cities by police officials to keepers of houses of ill repute1 to keepers of gambling dens1 or blind tigers1 etc4 ,the extent to which such grafting is done can easily be ascertained by the detective if he will cultivate the acquaintance of the keepers of such places4 ,and now a few words as to how the detective may set about catching some of these various kinds of grafters4 ,one good way for the detective to secure evidence against a grafter is to first form his acquaintance1 then lead him to believe1 and make it plain to him that he also is a grafter1 or at least willing to be one4 ,after such confidence is established1 an arrangement should be made for making any payments of money to the grafter at such a place and in such a manner that it can be substantially corroborated4 ,so as to make this point more clear1 ,i will illustrate how ,i once1 as a result of one day's work1 secured confessions from some forty grafters in connection with vote buying in one county just previous to an election4 ,it was suspected that a certain candidate for office was spending large sums of money for votes and ,i was called in to obtain positive proof of it4 ,after being supplied with a list of names of persons believed to be the distributors of the candidate's money1 ,i purposely selected from the list a man said to be the smartest of the lot4 ,a few hours later1 accompanied by an assistant1 ,i called upon the man at his home4 ,i advised him that while we were strangers to him we were old friends of the candidate's and that we had been called upon to assist in his campaign4 ,after discussing local conditions with the man1 and the prospect of our friend's election to office1 ,i took from my pocket two hundred dollars in bills which had previously been marked1 and handed them to the man saying that our friend the candidate sent the money to give to him for distribution4 ,needless to state1 the man did not refuse to take the money4 ,the bold and confident manner in which it was handed to him laid at rest any fears or suspicions he may have had4 ,he no doubt felt satisfied that we were grafters of his own type1 and immediately began to talk very freely with us4 ,we conversed with him for probably an hour1 during which time he advised us of various sums of money given him by the candidate for distribution1 also gave us the names of a dozen or more men who were distributing funds for the candidate4 ,before the day was over we had this man arrested and searched1 when all of the marked money was found on his person4 ,realizing that he had been trapped1 he lost no time making a confession1 in which he implicated others1 with the result that some forty confessions were secured4 ,i have found grafters of this kind very prevalent practically all over the country1 and1 as a rule1 a good detective will experience little trouble finding some honest1 public-spirited citizen willing to defray the cost of detective hire to run down such persons4 ,regarding another kind of grafter1 ,i once was called upon to secure evidence in a certain small town against a county official who was believed to be guaranteeing protection to persons selling liquor in violation of the law1 the chief violators being several local druggists4 ,shortly after arriving in the town ,i began to negotiate in a business like way for the purchase of one of the drug stores4 ,i found the proprietor of one of the stores willing to sell out provided he secured his price4 ,after remaining in town about ten days1 ,i took an option for thirty days on one of the stores1 for which option ,i paid a hundred dollars4 ,i then left town temporarily1 telling the druggist ,i was returning to my home town to consult with my partner in business4 ,within a week ,i returned with my partner 7another detective7 and who expressed himself as being satisfied with the place ,i had negotiated for4 ,we told the druggist we were ready to buy1 but before closing the deal had decided we would like to be assured against interference by the authorities in case we saw fit to sell liquor in our store4 ,i suppose because he believed he was getting his own price for his property and business1 the druggist responded quite easily4 ,as we expected he would do1 he volunteered to take us and introduce us to the very county official we were after1 and which he did that evening4 ,the druggist explained to the county official that we were to purchase his property and business the next day1 and that we were naturally anxious to know if we could be assured of protection in case we decided to sell liquor4 ,everything appearing to be regular to the official1 he told us very bluntly what it would cost us per year to be protected and requested a first payment of #ej4jj4 ,i advised him we did not have so much cash with us1 and finally arranged that he call upon us the next day at #aj a4 m4 at my room at the local hotel1 when we would make the payment4 ,early the next morning at the hotel we secreted two responsible persons in a closet in my room1 then awaited the arrival of our grafter4 ,he came at the appointed hour and we again discussed the matter of our protection and paid him #ej4jj4 ,immediately afterwards our witnesses stepped out of the closet1 and finding himself caught with four witnesses against him1 the man readily agreed to give us a written and signed confession4 ,he was told he would have to resign his position forthwith or be prosecuted4 ,he chose the former1 which ended the case4 ,the dictagraph has played an important part in the detection and conviction of grafters4 ,when it is suspected that state1 county or city officials are grafting1 in order to detect them1 we will take for example one or more city officials whose duty it is to let for their city1 contracts for paving4 ,when a municipality gets ready to pave three or four streets1 or to let contracts for machinery1 buildings or other public improvements1 specifications are drawn and the same advertised4 ,perhaps twenty contractors will submit bids and one can imagine the rivalry that may exist among the contractors1 especially since the municipality usually reserves the right to reject any or all bids and are not bound to let any given contract to the lowest bidder4 ,then naturally and very often the question arises as to who shall be favored4 ,my experience in many cases has been that when the city officials are open to taking graft1 a contract will go to the contractor who will pay the most for being favored4 ,three city officials once were trapped when a detective spent six months in their city posing as a contractor1 and finally when his company was favored with a street paving contract upon the payment of #ejj4jj cash1 he arranged to talk over the transaction and later paid over the money in a room in a hotel in which a dictagraph was secretly installed1 and which made it possible to substantiate the transaction from start to finish4 ,grafting is prevalent in many lines of business1 especially where one man is entrusted with the letting of contracts1 or with the purchase of supplies for a city1 corporation1 factory or individual4 ,the following will illustrate just how prevalent petty grafting has become and which came to my notice through a case ,i had occasion to investigate for a certain well-to-do gentleman4 ,this man owned two automobiles and entrusted to his colored chauffeur the purchase of gasoline and supplies for the machines4 ,from various dealers this chauffeur obtained a rake-off on every gallon of gasoline used1 and on the purchase of new tires1 etc4 ,the more gasoline he used the more money this chauffeur would make1 and the same with tires and other supplies4 ,during the investigation this chauffeur's purchases of gasoline from the dealer were compared with the mileage of the automobiles1 and when it was estimated that the owner was paying for two or three gallons of gasoline per week for a long time that could not possibly have been used4 ,it was then believed that the chauffeur was selling the surplus gasoline1 but this could not be proven4 ,finally1 when taken to task and shown the amount of his purchases1 he confessed to having poured the gasoline into the sewer of the garage4 ,i was once called upon to look into a case where grafting was suspected in a small town1 and where the president of the town council1 who was a prominent physician1 was under suspicion4 ,i arrived in town two days before a certain measure was to be acted upon in council1 the measure being in relation to a heating contract4 ,i called upon the physician at his office and told him in plain words that ,i represented one of the competing firms and that ,i had been authorized to offer him two hundred dollars for his vote and influence in favor of my company4 ,he accepted from me the two hundred dollars cash consisting of marked five dollar bills1 and endeavored to convince me that he was not a grafter by saying that he had intended favoring my company anyway and was not accepting the money for changing his decision on the measure in council4 ,after leaving him ,i went promptly to the persons who had retained me1 when it was quickly arranged to have a certain person who owed the physician a small bill go there to pay it with a twenty dollar bill4 ,this party returned with three of the marked five dollar bills1 which the physician unsuspectingly made the change with4 ,in addition1 ,i had had the physician prescribe for me for a pretended ailment1 and by which ,i was enabled to substantiate my call upon him1 in spite of the fact that ,i went to him alone4 ,it was only desired to have this man resign from council1 which1 it may be imagined1 he was glad to do when confronted with the evidence of having accepted a bribe4 ,this entire case was closed successfully in less than four hours after active work was started4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,detective ,,work ,,in ,,department ,,stores ,there are1 in my opinion1 no business concerns that suffer a greater loss1 nor are occasioned more worry than are the department stores of our large cities4 ,annually they lose thousands of dollars worth of merchandise mainly through the operations of store thieves known as shoplifters1 and through the dishonesty of employes4 ,in any of our large up-to-date department stores the services of no less than a dozen trained detectives1 both male and female1 are required to properly guard such stores against thefts4 ,inasmuch as department stores offer one of the broadest fields for private detectives1 ,i shall set forth some of the many ways by which such stores are robbed and defrauded daily2 also one of the best known methods for detectives to cope with the offenders4 ,as previously stated1 in department stores1 both male and female detectives are employed4 ,although ,i have known instances where experienced female store detectives have been of valuable assistance to department stores1 male detectives1 as a rule1 can give the best protection4 ,the store detective must be a person of good1 sound judgment1 be able to think and act quickly1 and must always be alert and wide awake during business hours at the store where he or she may be engaged4 ,it is essential that store detectives dress well1 but not conspicuously1 and while in the store1 if the detective be a man1 he should wear his hat and coat at all times4 ,if it be in the winter time the detective should wear a light overcoat1 and on rainy days should carry an umbrella4 ,it is a very good plan for the detective to carry a package under his arm1 the purpose of all these things being to give out the impression that the detective is a customer instead of what he really is4 ,the detective should keep moving about in the store1 pretend to make purchases1 and if possible change his hat and coat several times a day4 ,in order to emphasize the necessity of these things1 we will look at shoplifting for a few moments from the shoplifter's point of view4 ,usually when a shoplifter decides upon some particular store to operate in1 he or she may first visit the store a dozen times if necessary in order to pick out the store detective4 ,after becoming satisfied on this point the shoplifter figures on how best to avoid the persons he or she have picked out as being detectives1 then will begin to operate4 ,the professional shoplifter1 if she be a woman1 usually wears1 during cold weather1 a long coat and wide skirt in which are capacious pockets for concealing and carrying off stolen merchandise4 ,the shoplifter rarely will bother with cheap merchandise1 but will confine her thefts to valuable laces1 silks1 furs1 jewelry1 etc41 which she secretes in the pockets of her skirt or coat4 ,during the summer season when it would be out of place to wear a coat1 the shoplifter takes advantage of the rainy days and enters stores with her umbrella1 in which she secretes and carries off such articles as she may find an opportunity to take from the counters unobserved by the clerks or floorwalkers4 ,very often a professional shoplifter will take with her to a store a confederate1 especially if she has reason to believe that her operations have aroused the suspicions of any of the store's detectives4 ,the confederate will proceed directly to the ladies' toilet or rest room4 ,after the shoplifter has taken one or more articles she joins her confederate1 and unobserved passes the articles to the confederate4 ,then in case she has been watched or is arrested upon leaving the store1 no goods will be found on her person4 ,i have known careless store detectives to arrest shoplifters whom they observed stealing goods in the store1 but who did not have the goods on their persons when they were arrested4 ,when an arrest of this kind is made it is usually the beginning of serious trouble for the management of the store4 ,the detective will have played into the hands of the shoplifter2 she will promptly take advantage of the circumstances and bring suit against the management for false arrest4 ,ordinarily department stores do not relish such undesirable notoriety2 damage suits are expensive1 so usually they settle such cases4 ,if the shoplifter1 after having been observed taking some article1 enters the rest or toilet room before leaving the store1 it will be best for the detective not to take any chances in causing her arrest for the reason just mentioned4 ,the detective1 as a rule1 should not make an arrest under any circumstances until after the shoplifter has left the store4 ,i have known cases where shoplifters and store thieves were arrested inside of stores with stolen goods on their persons1 but who1 immediately after being arrested1 set up the claim that they had no intention of stealing the goods1 but that they were just taking the goods to the light to examine them4 ,later when their cases came up in court they would be represented by shrewd attorneys who took advantage of the law itself by maintaining that inasmuch as the goods had not been taken from the premises of the store1 no theft was committed4 ,i would state that as a rule if the detective is watchful he will have no difficulty in picking out the shoplifters4 ,persons so bent usually keep looking about them furtively to note if anyone is watching them4 ,quite often they are nervous and flit quickly from one counter to another4 ,if the detective be in doubt he usually can1 with half an hour's careful watching1 determine to his own satisfaction the real purpose of any person's visit to the store4 ,department stores suffer serious losses through the operations of other classes of criminals who make a practice of preying on such stores4 ,a large department store of the present day may have on its list from one to two thousand customers1 who have with the store what are known as charge accounts4 ,such customers may visit the store1 make a purchase1 and have the amount of same charged to their account4 ,often they make such purchases by telephone1 or may send a maid or other person to the store to make the purchases4 ,a certain class of store swindlers make it a point to ascertain the names of persons having such accounts at stores after which they visit the stores1 impersonate the customers1 and very frequently secure and make off with goods of great value4 ,usually such swindlers are not discovered until the end of a month1 when the customer receives his or her bill1 but by which time the swindler may be in some distant city preparing to victimize another store4 ,dishonest employes and discharged employes are usually responsible for giving out information regarding customers' charge accounts4 ,the swindler1 however1 can easily secure such information in many other ways4 ,we have also the store swindler who goes to some large city and purposely registers at a leading hotel4 ,he then visits a department store1 purchases an expensive suit or overcoat1 in payment of which he tenders a bogus check4 ,he requests that his purchase be delivered to his hotel1 which may be done1 but the swindler will be gone long before the store discovers that it can not realize on the check4 ,one may ask how stores can be so easily victimized4 ,there are two reasons1 and they apply not only to this class of swindle1 but to many others as well4 ,the swindler may have1 by his smooth and suave manner1 impressed the management or clerk that he was all that he represented himself to be1 and they1 in an unguarded moment1 allowed themselves to be swindled4 ,on the other hand1 it may have been the anxiety of making a sale at a good profit with an apparently good customer that may have caused them to overlook ascertaining the genuineness of the swindler's check before delivering the goods4 ,another source of loss by department stores is through dishonest clerks being in collusion with outside parties4 ,a clerk1 for instance1 employed at a silk or lace counter1 will have a friend or confederate call at her counter during the day4 ,a yard of silk may be purchased and paid therefor1 but it is quite an easy matter for the dishonest clerk to cut off and have wrapped a yard and a half or two yards of the material purchased4 ,i have known respectable1 well-to-do women enter into such arrangements with clerks at stores1 seemingly treating such matters lightly1 and even telling their friends about such transactions4 ,there are innumerable other ways by which employes steal from stores4 ,some clerks inclined to steal become very bold and very often carry out openly stolen goods that they claim to have purchased4 ,at thoroughly up-to-date stores all clerks and employes1 when leaving the store in the evening1 are required to leave by some certain exit1 where there is stationed a watchman who examines all packages that are carried out4 ,the watchman holds up all packages that do not bear the ,o4 ,k4 of some floorwalker or other official of the store4 ,during such times as the ,christmas shopping season1 which in large cities begins about ,november first1 the management of large stores find it necessary to double their detective forces1 and well they may1 as ,november and ,december are the months during which shoplifters1 pickpockets and others figure on reaping their harvests4 ,pickpockets in stores must also be given attention by the store detective4 ,customers do not relish having their purses or pockets picked while in stores1 and when it does happen to a customer1 he or she usually remains away from that store in the future4 ,much more might be said upon the subject of department store detective work1 but ,i believe what has been gone into will be sufficient to guide the average person in this branch of the work4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,railroad ,,detective ,,work ,railroad companies suffer tremendous losses yearly in spite of the fact that vast sums are continually being spent to guard against theft by employees1 thefts by car thieves1 damage suits1 etc4 ,as to the first mentioned source of loss railroad companies are obliged to maintain at their freight yards and terminals large forces of detectives to guard against thefts4 ,although not generally known to persons outside of railroad circles1 it is a fact that many roads employ an average of fifty detectives for every hundred miles of their systems4 ,the large railroads nowadays are policed in much the same manner as are our large cities4 ,besides guarding against thefts of valuable freight while in transit1 patrons at the crowded stations and depots must be protected so far as possible from the operations of pickpockets1 swindlers and baggage thieves4 ,the smaller stations along the line where there are ticket offices must be guarded against attacks by burglars4 ,practically all large railroads maintain staffs of detectives whose duties are to travel over the lines and do what is called checking4 ,manipulation of tickets and cash fares is usually prevalent and no doubt will always be so long as we have railroads and conductors4 ,trains are checked at regular intervals unknown to train crews4 ,action of train crews while on duty are reported on by detectives2 also the kind of service accorded patrons of dining1 parlor and sleeping cars4 ,in these days when competition is keen1 and when railroads are vying with each other to furnish the best possible service1 it is important to managements to know to a certainty if conductors and other employees are courteous and obliging to patrons1 if any rules of the company are being disregarded1 and1 as a whole1 if the kind of service that it is intended to give is being given4 ,checking passenger trains is one of the most congenial branches of detective work1 and a branch which gives the young detective plenty of valuable experience4 ,this branch of railroad detective work being the most desirable1 ,i will endeavor to show what managements usually expect from their detectives4 ,the detective may be detailed to check a sleeping car on some particular line from the time of departure of the car from some given point in the evening until it arrives at its destination in the morning4 ,the detective's report will be expected to contain information about as follows3 ,name of the conductor in charge of the car2 if the crew got out at stations to assist passengers to board or alight2 if the stepping box was properly placed for passengers2 if assistance was given with baggage2 if the conductor and porter were wearing their proper uniforms2 if uniforms were neat1 and if the conductor and porter were courteous to passengers4 ,if the car was properly cleaned and dusted2 if the porter unnecessarily disturbed the passengers in any way2 if all berths were made up properly1 and if properly closed in the morning2 if the window shades worked properly2 if hammocks were properly hung in berths2 if the linen was clean and the lights in good order2 if the lights were turned out at the proper hour2 if any persons at stations disturbed passengers2 if any of the crew loafed in any unoccupied berths4 ,if there were any complaints by passengers and if the complaints were attended to4 ,if ventilation was good and proper temperatures maintained2 if any of the crew slept while on duty2 if the water and towel supply was proper and sufficient2 if there were any accidents during the trip2 if porter had shoes properly polished4 ,if passengers were properly brushed by the porter2 if any of the crew acted familiarly with passengers2 if any of the crew smoked while on duty2 if tickets were collected promptly by the conductor1 and if railway and hotel guides were in proper places4 ,in addition to the foregoing the detective usually is required to report on how many berths were occupied in the car1 the number of men and number of women passengers1 children if any1 also how many cash fares were collected by the conductor for berths4 ,when reporting on dining car service detectives usually are expected to cover in their reports the following3 ,if crew was polite and efficient2 if conductor was properly uniformed1 amount of the detective's check and its number2 if linen was in good condition and clean2 if tables were properly set2 if food was of good quality4 ,if waiters were properly uniformed2 if finger bowls were promptly and correctly served2 if dining car was properly ventilated and lighted2 if liquor was served on the car2 if silver was in good condition and prompt service given4 ,the articles of food and drink ordered by the detective should be shown1 the number of the table at which he sat1 the number of the waiter who served him1 the number of the car1 the time he left the car1 the number of the train1 its time of departure and arrival1 and between what points traveled4 ,with such daily reports placed in their hands1 persons responsible to the managements for proper maintenance of sleeping and dining car service are enabled to know precisely the kind of service that is being given patrons1 which information enables them to keep such service to the highest standard of efficiency4 ,employees often1 when coming in from a run1 are summarily discharged1 or their resignations may be asked for1 but that is another matter2 railroads need and must have detectives4 ,it will be seen that the railroads offer a very broad field for detectives1 and there is no reason why any young man with good common sense should not be able to properly check a sleeping or dining car on his first attempt4 ,,chapter ,x ,,detective ,,work ,,for ,,street ,,railways ,practically all street railway companies find it necessary to employ detectives4 ,the largest corporations of this kind may employ anywhere from ten to fifty detectives the year round1 and one may wonder why and how all these detectives are employed4 ,street railway companies1 like the railroad companies1 are obliged continually to guard against three serious sources of loss1 namely3 thefts by employees1 damage suits and strikes4 ,experience has taught the management of street railway companies that stealing on the part of conductors is always more or less prevalent4 ,conductors are not usually prosecuted when caught stealing fares1 but are simply discharged4 ,the morning and evening crowds on street cars provide opportunities for conductors to steal1 if they may be so inclined4 ,a conductor may feel that half a dozen fares appropriated to his own use every day will not be missed by the company4 ,however1 if we take a corporation employing say five or six hundred conductors1 it will readily be seen that small thefts by conductors can easily run into hundreds of dollars daily4 ,as a rule managements do not discharge a conductor for stealing until it has been found conclusively1 on at least two or three occasions1 that he is doing so4 ,usually there are as many detectives employed on street railway lines as there are runs or routes on the system4 ,unknown to the conductors these detectives ride on the cars from early morning until evening1 or from morning until midnight1 changing from one line to another frequently enough not to be noticed by the conductors4 ,the detective provides himself with a small counting machine which can be concealed in the hand4 ,upon boarding a car he makes note of the number of the car1 the cap number of the conductor1 and the number of cash fares shown by the register4 ,while apparently busily engaged reading a newspaper or magazine1 the detective keeps accurate count of the number of passengers boarding the car1 noting at the same time if transfers are received or issued4 ,as a rule conductors are required to render separate reports to the company for every trip they make1 and to show the place and minute the trip was terminated4 ,they must show in their reports the number of cash fares collected2 also the number of transfers issued and collected4 ,if a conductor's report for any given trip does not coincide with the report of the detective the conductor will be checked more closely on succeeding trips1 often by as many as three detectives at the same time4 ,if the conductor's reports to the company continue to show a shortage of cash fares1 the chances are that he will be discharged4 ,as to the second mentioned source of loss1 managements of large companies usually are obliged to defend in the courts the year round1 damage suits brought against them for personal injuries by persons who very frequently have sustained no injury or damage whatever4 ,a surprisingly large number of fake suits are entered yearly against transportation companies4 ,there is also to deal with the professional witnesses1 who go from place to place1 and who1 for considerations of money1 will swear to having seen anything happen4 ,i recall a case wherein a middle aged lady left her home one morning in ,new ,york to board a steamship bound for ,europe4 ,she rode down town in a surface car which happened to collide with another car1 with the result that half a dozen passengers were more or less injured4 ,the lady in question1 however1 sustained no injury and continued on her way4 ,several months later1 while at the home of a relative in ,england1 she accidentally fell and injured her spine4 ,she promptly took advantage of her mishap by returning to ,new ,york1 where she brought suit against the railway corporation1 claiming to have been disabled permanently as a result of the street car accident before sailing for ,europe4 ,the fact that she was permanently injured could not be disputed2 the railway was not prepared to dispute the matter of where and how she claimed to have received her injuries1 with the result that she received heavy damages4 ,the fraud was discovered by chance several years later4 ,like all other large employers of labor1 street railway companies are not immune from having their employes go out on strike4 ,when street railway employees1 or those of other transportation companies are organized1 a strike is liable to be called at any time1 and often upon the least provocation4 ,it is highly important that managements have advance information of any proposed strike1 and of any grievances of any employees1 whether well founded or not4 ,by having such advance information serious loss can very often be averted by the management getting rid of the agitators and trouble makers as quickly as they make their appearance among the employes4 ,it is well for the managements to keep advised at all times regarding the attitude of employees4 ,there is but one good way to accomplish this1 and that is to have detectives scattered among the employes4 ,the detectives can be put to work among the men as conductors1 motormen or as shop men4 ,i have known detectives to work in each of these capacities for years at a stretch without becoming uncovered1 and without their purpose having become known4 ,the valuable services that such detectives can render their employers will readily be appreciated4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,other ,,kinds ,,of ,,detective ,,work ,i believe it will be of interest to both experienced and inexperienced detectives to be enlightened regarding some of the many other sources from which private detective work arises4 ,lawyers throughout the country1 in both large and small cities1 and even in thinly settled country communities1 are large employers of private detective service4 ,when prosecuting or defending damage cases1 attorneys very often need detective service in getting at facts1 in order to properly prepare their cases4 ,witnesses must be interviewed1 and very often investigated4 ,murder1 burglary1 damage and divorce cases supply needs for a great deal of detective work4 ,state1 county and city governments are large employers of private detectives4 ,counties and cities often have their own staffs of detectives1 but there are many occasions when special detectives must be pressed into service4 ,nowadays election frauds are practiced practically everywhere4 ,private detectives are needed and can easily obtain employment wherever there are professional politicians4 ,trusted employees often go wrong and disappear with public funds4 ,officials holding high offices very often turn out to be embezzlers4 ,dozens of banks are being defrauded daily somewhere by forgers1 sneak thieves and others4 ,hundreds of our large banking institutions periodically place under surveillance their entire staffs of employees1 from the cashier down to the messenger boy and porter in order to keep advised regarding the habits and associates of the employees1 which information enables them to select from time to time the proper persons for promotion4 ,large manufacturers1 no matter what the line1 usually are extensive employers of private detectives4 ,i have in mind a large manufacturing concern which employes in its factory probably three thousand persons1 and at all times not less than two hundred traveling salesmen1 also dozens of branch managers4 ,when it is suspected that a traveling salesman is not attending to business1 he is placed under surveillance while on his travels from city to city1 for probably one1 two or three weeks4 ,the detective's report will show the time of day the salesman begins work1 what firms he calls on1 how much time spent with each firm1 and how much time is idled away1 and the time the salesman discontinued work each day2 also how much time the salesman may spend in saloons or other places1 how he spends his evenings and how much money he spends4 ,in connection with this class of detective work1 ,i once had occasion to keep under surveillance for three weeks a traveling salesman1 who1 as it developed1 devoted more time to a side line than he did to the line he was being paid to travel and promote business for4 ,needless to state1 this salesman1 after his employers received my reports1 was obliged to change his ways4 ,the tendency of salesmen to devote time to side lines is one of the worst evils that employers of traveling salesmen have to contend with4 ,in factories1 no matter of what nature1 employers usually find it expedient to place secretly among their employees1 detectives who work side by side with the employees4 ,male or female detectives are so placed1 as the case may warrant4 ,the reports these detectives are enabled to render show which employees are worthy of trust or promotion and those that are not4 ,such reports will show who are the lazy ones1 the dissatisfied ones1 the strike agitators1 those who steal tools1 material or supplies1 those who violate any rules of the factory or shop2 also what kind of treatment is accorded the employees by the foreman4 ,an entire book could be written on this branch of detective work alone4 ,it is an undisputed fact that large employers of labor nowadays cannot conduct their business as successfully without secret service work4 ,besides the thousands of manufactories1 transportation companies and others who constantly employ detectives1 we have the wholesale companies who deal in groceries1 dry goods1 drugs1 shoes1 etc41 who also are in need of such services4 ,the traveling salesman of such concerns must be looked after1 also the drones and thieves with which their warehouses become infested4 ,,illegal ,,liquor ,,selling ,illegal liquor selling opens a very broad field for detectives throughout the country1 and ,i have personally obtained and directed the obtaining of evidence in a hundred different ways4 ,in this branch of the work one cannot be guided by any set rule1 but must be governed by prevailing conditions4 ,if it be desired to obtain evidence regarding the illegal sale of liquor1 or regarding any other violations of law in a hotel of any size1 there is only one good plan1 and that is to have the detective obtain employment at the place for a few weeks or a month4 ,i have had many occasions to direct the work of obtaining evidence of the illegal sale of liquor1 gambling and other vices in small towns4 ,in the average town of from three to ten thousand population1 the best plan is to have the detective obtain employment in some mill1 factory or store4 ,in this way he can easily become acquainted and can associate with whatever element he may choose to associate with and without his purpose being suspected4 ,after the detective has been in the town for two or three weeks1 and has purchased liquor at the various places where it is sold illegally1 a second detective is sent to the town who poses as the friend of the first one4 ,the first detective then proceeds to take his friend around to the various places in the evening1 or on ,sunday1 and in this way corroborative evidence is obtained4 ,bottles of liquor should be obtained at the various places and retained intact for use later as evidence4 ,,anonymous ,,letters ,there are written and mailed every year thousands of anonymous letters1 threatening and otherwise1 and there is need for much detective work along this line4 ,many such letters are written and addressed with the typewriter1 the authors believing that by so writing them they can escape detection4 ,but this is not so1 as ,i have always found it easier to trace to the writer those that are written with typewriter1 because when type is placed under the magnifying glass it is found that type differs considerably on every typewriter1 and each set of type has its own peculiarities4 ,with the assistance of an able typewriter expert1 ,i was enabled during the course of one year to clear up three anonymous letter cases wherein the letters were written with a typewriter4 ,thousands of letters known as black hand letters are mailed and sent throughout the country1 the sending of which offers a wide field for investigation4 ,black ,hand letters are by no means all sent by ,italians1 as is commonly believed4 ,the term is usually applied to letters in which sums of money are anonymously demanded1 upon threats of death1 torture or punishment4 ,,roping ,the term roping is used in connection with detective work to express cultivating the acquaintance of a criminal or other person for the purpose of learning what the person may know regarding a crime or other matter about which it may be desired to obtain information4 ,there is a vast lot of detective work of this kind done1 and ,i will submit a few cases1 since every detective should be proficient along this line4 ,a man was in charge of the supply department for a large corporation1 and was suspected of carrying to his home such articles as light globes1 machinists' tools1 paint1 stamped envelopes1 soap1 towels1 etc4 ,being called upon to verify this1 ,i detailed a female detective on the case1 who succeeded in obtaining lodging and board at the house1 and in two weeks she had seen and brought away more than fifty different kinds of articles that had been stolen and carried home by this man4 ,i once directed the investigation of an #h1jjj4jj jewel theft which was brought to a successful close by having a negro detective rope a negro waiter4 ,the jewels in question were inadvertently left lying on a chair in a cafe by a well known actress1 and they were not missed until the following morning4 ,three negro waiters came under suspicion and finally suspicion was narrowed down to one of them1 who1 after the theft1 kept roving from city to city4 ,although he was kept under close surveillance for a period of four months he was never seen with any of the stolen jewels1 and apparently made no effort to dispose of them4 ,the suspect finally obtained a position as waiter in a fashionable cafe in a certain large city1 when ,i arranged for a similar position at the same cafe for a negro detective1 who immediately began cultivating the acquaintance of the suspect4 ,after two weeks he told the suspect that he was worried over the fear of arrest for having stolen some jewelry in another city4 ,this caused the suspect to feel safe in confiding to the detective the fact that he also had stolen some jewels and was worried over the matter4 ,on a certain night they arranged to meet at the suspect's room to show each other their stolen jewels1 the detective arranging for this so as to ascertain where the suspect was keeping his4 ,the suspect was arrested the following day1 and at his room practically all of the stolen jewels were recovered4 ,i have handled a great many cases wherein the acquaintance of persons holding confidential positions were cultivated4 ,for example1 men who employ private secretaries often desire to know if the secretary is absolutely reliable and trustworthy4 ,whether the secretary be man or woman1 roping is resorted to1 to ascertain if such persons would divulge secrets of their employers4 ,roping of this class of people often entails great expense and detective work of a very high order4 ,i have handled several cases wherein it was necessary to have the detective1 in order to get acquainted in a natural way1 join the same church and clubs to which the party to be roped belonged1 also furnished the detective with an automobile and other things so as to keep up appearances1 and apparently be on an equal footing with the person to be roped4 ,roping is very frequently resorted to in damage cases1 also in theft cases4 ,many fake damage suits are brought annually against street railway and other transportation companies4 ,while such suits are pending it is a good plan to have a male or female detective1 as circumstances may require1 get acquainted with1 or obtain room and board with the person to be roped1 and which usually results in the detective learning the extent of the person's injuries1 if there be any1 and such other information of value to attorneys defending such a case4 ,,detective ,,work ,,in ,,warehouses ,as previously stated herein1 every owner of a wholesale house or warehouse can employ detective service with profit1 also packing houses and similar concerns4 ,i have in mind a certain wholesale drug house which employs approximately one hundred men the year round4 ,at one time it was estimated that between two and three hundred dollars worth of goods were stolen and carried off per month4 ,i detailed a detective to go to work in the building among the other employees1 and at the end of four weeks the detective's reports showed specific instances of stealing on the part of sixteen employees4 ,the detective was then permitted to discontinue1 and ,i took these sixteen men in hand1 one after another1 and obtained signed confessions from them relative to their stealings1 and all were discharged4 ,i recall that one of these men admitted stealing and carrying off seven ,gillette safety razors in a period of two weeks4 ,also one of the men whom we took in charge1 as he was about to quit work for the day1 had secreted on his person six different stolen articles4 ,in the case of a large packing house it was found that drivers were short some of their goods upon arriving at depots1 claiming that the missing goods either were stolen or had not been loaded upon their trucks4 ,they made these trips to the depots between midnight and #e a4 m4 ,these drivers with their trucks were shadowed1 when it was found that each had along his route a place where goods were unloaded and sold by the driver4 ,in the case of another large packing house ,i uncovered thefts of butter alone amounting to three hundred pounds per month4 ,,express ,,companies ,express companies are large employers of detective service1 because the temptation to steal goods while in transit is very strong with a great many employees4 ,by detailing secret detectives to work with employees1 both in the depots and on trains1 ,i have uncovered many thefts4 ,i once obtained a confession from an express messenger who admitted having stolen in one day two dressed turkeys1 a loin of pork1 two pounds of butter and a quart of whiskey4 ,he admitted these thefts after he was shown that his helper in the express car was a secret detective1 who saw him appropriate the articles4 ,i once had occasion to conduct an investigation for an express company regarding the theft of #a1ejj4jj worth of unset diamonds1 which were stolen while in transit4 ,in the course of three weeks the thief had not been detected1 and the nearest that responsibility could be fixed was that the theft was committed by one of three persons4 ,a ruse was then resorted to which produced results1 and which ruse often brings results in cases of theft by employees4 ,we caused it to be published in the newspapers that after several weeks investigation and surveillance we had learned the identity of the thief1 and that an arrest would positively be made the following day4 ,this had the effect of causing the thief to believe that he had actually been detected1 for the next day the stolen diamonds were delivered to the company by mail4 ,the same ruse1 applied in various forms1 has also been the means of obtaining many confessions in criminal cases4 ,fear of arrest and conviction often leads a first offender to give up his plunder1 and the successful use of this ruse is a matter of bringing it to the attention of the one under suspicion in the most forceful way4 ,on behalf of an express company1 ,i once was called upon to investigate what was reported to be a burglary of the express office in a town of about five thousand population4 ,upon arrival there the next day ,i found that the front window of the office was broken1 the break being sufficiently large to have admitted a man's body4 ,i talked with the agent whose breath indicated to me that he had been intoxicated the night previous1 and which fact he admitted4 ,this agent had reported to his superiors that upon arrival at the office that morning he found the front window broken1 that the safe apparently had not been tampered with1 as the key was found to work perfectly4 ,upon opening the safe he found that two hundred dollars was missing1 fifty dollars having been left in the safe by the burglar1 according to his statement4 ,nothing else around the office was stolen or tampered with4 ,in less than five minutes after arriving there ,i concluded that if any cash had been stolen the agent himself was the guilty one4 ,from a boy outside ,i learned that the window became broken during a severe electrical storm the previous night1 which placed the town in darkness for several hours around midnight4 ,an overhead sign was blown down and crashed through the window4 ,being further convinced that the agent was guilty and had taken advantage of these circumstances to report a burglary1 ,i asked the agent if he had ever loaned his safe key to anyone1 and he replied in the negative4 ,i then told him that ,i knew how the window had become broken1 and asked him if he believed it logical that a thief would take the trouble and risk arrest by having a suitable key made for the safe1 enter the building1 steal two hundred dollars of the cash and leave fifty there4 ,i told him that in my judgment such would be the work of an employee but not of a burglar4 ,the agent hung his head and ,i told him ,i was justified in having him arrested on the spot4 ,he confessed immediately1 less than an hour after my arrival upon the scene4 ,the facts as shown in this incident should prove of much worth to the experienced or inexperienced detective4 ,,conspiracies ,the disclosure of conspiracies in their hundreds of forms offers a broad field for the detective4 ,hundreds of damage suits are instituted annually throughout the country wherein damages claimed to have been suffered by the plaintiff are nothing more than conspiracies to defraud4 ,the field for such investigation is very wide1 especially as it applies to fake bankruptcy cases and damage cases brought by persons against railroad and street railway companies4 ,for example1 ,i once investigated a case wherein the store of a certain jewelry firm was destroyed by fire4 ,later they claimed that during the excitement of the fire some #bj1jjj4jj worth of diamonds were stolen from the premises by some person unknown4 ,the creditors were loath to believe this and had an investigation made which developed that the diamonds in question had not been stolen1 but were removed from the store by the owners previous to the fire1 and that the fire itself no doubt was a part of the plan to defraud creditors4 ,railroad companies suffer tremendously as a result of conspiracies1 of which the following is an example1 and which ease ,i personally directed3 ,a new railroad was constructed through a certain farming district1 for a distance of perhaps fifteen miles4 ,before the advent of the railroad none of this farming land had ever been valued at more than twenty-five dollars per acre4 ,practically all the farmers along the line of the railroad claimed damages up to a hundred dollars per acre4 ,the cases were decided in the courts1 upon the opinions of viewers who were appointed by the court1 and which body of viewers was composed of disinterested farmers of the same county4 ,after the railroad company had been compelled to pay two or three excessive claims1 it looked about for relief1 it having suspected right along that a conspiracy existed among the farmers and viewers to claim and recommend such excessive damages4 ,after three cases had been decided against the railroad company1 ,i detailed two detectives to visit these farmers1 and who pretended to have been sent by a number of farmers of a far distant county1 who also proposed bringing damage suits against a new railroad company2 that they had heard of the success these farmers were having with their suits1 and that it was desired to know along just what lines they were proceeding4 ,the two detectives also advised the ring leaders that they did not want the information gratis1 and if given assistance were authorized to pay a certain percentage of all damages secured in the distant county4 ,the result was these farmers then unsuspectingly told the detectives how they had all met and agreed to claim certain amounts of damages1 and how they had even gone so far as to hold mock trials at several of the farmers' homes1 so that all concerned would be properly coached when the time came to go into court4 ,at these mock trials one farmer would pose as plaintiff1 while another would pose as the railroad company's attorney1 when questions were asked1 and answers agreed upon1 as was anticipated would come out at the real trials or hearings4 ,needless to state1 that after corroborative evidence of this conspiracy was placed in the hands of the railroad company's attorney1 no more excessive damages were paid1 and ,i later had the pleasure of being advised that this bit of detective work saved the railroad company fully forty thousand dollars4 ,as to how creditors are defrauded in hundreds of instances1 the following is a fair example3 ,a retail shoe dealer in a middle western state went into bankruptcy owing several eastern jobbers several thousand dollars4 ,examination of the dealers' stock and records of sales for several months developed the fact that two or three thousand dollars worth of shoes purchased from the eastern jobbers evidently had never entered the dealer's place of business4 ,it was suspected that the merchandise was concealed or had been secretly disposed of by the dealer4 ,i directed an investigation which resulted in locating the goods in another city1 the investigation having been conducted along the following lines3 ,information as to the road over which the goods were shipped1 together with dates1 weights and car numbers was first obtained from the shippers4 ,the drayage company on the dealer's end was then seen1 after which drivers for the drayage company were interviewed1 and which developed information that the missing goods had never been delivered to the dealer's place of business1 but instead were moved from one depot to another and promptly re-shipped to another city4 ,the same plan was then followed in that city with the drayage companies and the goods easily located1 and which were promptly attached by the creditors4 ,in another case an ,italian fruit jobber once received three carloads of fruit1 and after disposing of same left suddenly for parts unknown1 without remitting to1 or paying the shippers4 ,i was called into this case1 and ,i promptly directed that the ,italian's wife and children be placed under close surveillance4 ,in about a week the wife and children packed up their household goods and had the same shipped to a city some three hundred miles distant4 ,the household goods were then watched closely after being unloaded in the freight depot at the point of destination4 ,three days later the goods were removed from the depot and taken to the home of an ,italian1 whose house was then kept under surveillance1 but no trace could be seen of the fugitive4 ,at the end of a week the household goods were again taken out1 hauled to a depot and re-shipped to a small town a hundred miles away4 ,i recall having personally examined the shipping tags attached to the goods upon this occasion1 which gave us the address of the final destination of the household goods1 and which address1 a few days later1 enabled us to cause the arrest of the fugitive4 ,,testing ,,retail ,,business ,,establishments ,the making of test purchases in retail stores is done very extensively1 and for which work detectives are employed4 ,taking for example a high class confectionery store1 drug store or cigar store4 ,the proprietor may not come to his place of business until late in the morning1 or may be away for perhaps a week4 ,he desires to know if his sales clerks are honest and reliable1 and courteous to customers during his absence from the place of business4 ,the detective retained for this purpose enters the store one1 two or three times a day and makes purchases the same as any other customer would1 and while in the place makes careful note of the kind of treatment accorded him by the sales clerk1 and in particular notes if the amount of his purchase is properly rung up on the cash register1 with which most retail business establishments are now equipped4 ,owners of department stores and of saloons spend thousands of dollars annually for detective work of this kind4 ,,divorce ,,cases ,as everyone knows1 thousands of divorce actions are brought every year throughout the country and many detectives find employment in connection with such cases4 ,the custom is that when the husband1 for instance1 suspects his wife of infidelity1 he has her placed under surveillance for a month or so1 which usually develops whether or not his suspicions are well founded4 ,however1 information and corroborative evidence is obtained by the husband1 or by the wife1 as the case may be1 in a hundred other ways4 ,while detective work of this nature has no doubt always been profitable to detectives1 my opinion is that it has never been any too creditable1 and my advice to the detective is to keep as clear of this kind of work as possible1 because such cases require skillful work and handling1 and often when handled successfully1 the results do not offset the undesirable notoriety that may be given the detective4 ,,arson ,as is quite well known1 the fire losses in the ,united ,states run annually into millions of dollars1 and if one would take the trouble to have half an hour's talk with any fire insurance expert it will be found that a surprisingly large percentage of fires are no doubt the results of schemes to defraud fire insurance companies4 ,much detective work is directed in an effort to lessen these losses1 and to bring about the arrest and conviction of the offenders1 but my knowledge of conditions is that the crime of arson continues on the increase rather than on the decrease4 ,life and accident insurance companies throughout the country employ hundreds of detectives the year round to investigate risks and fraudulent claims4 ,many individuals somewhere daily place in the hands of private detectives1 various kinds of cases to be investigated1 and in conclusion ,i will say that when a case is submitted to the detective for investigation it should be made the subject of careful thought and consideration4 ,as a rule1 every case differs in some way1 but if good common sense methods are applied1 results can be secured1 no matter how difficult or how complicated the case may be at the start4 ,,finger ,,prints ,,simplified ,a ,new ,handbook of the ,science of ,finger ,print ,identification ,by ,,james ,,holt ,illustration3 ,book ,cover ,,contents ,i ,the ,uses of ,finger ,prints3--,banking--,military ,uses--,family ,records--,loss of ,identity--,criminal ,work--,opportunities for ,students4 ,,ii ,finger ,print ,future3--,the ,probationary ,period--,check ,protection--,pensions--,wills--,busines s ,identification--,criminal ,identification--,offsetting ,circumstantial ,evidence4 ,,iii ,making and ,reading ,finger ,prints3--,types of ,prints--,articles ,needed--,how to ,take ,prints--,ridges and ,depressions--,types or ,patterns--,type ,distribution--,care in ,taking ,prints--,symbols ,used in ,finger ,prints4 ,,iv ,classification of ,finger ,prints3--,how to ,produce ,formulas--,method of ,forming ,primary ,classification--,sub-,classification--, lettered ,formula--,classification ,rules--,second ,sub-,classification--,final ,classification--,classifying ,broken ,sets--,ring ,finger ,count4 ,v ,filing1 ,searching and ,comparing3--,order of ,filing--,searching ,files4 ,,vi ,review ,questions and ,answers4 ,,fully ,,illustrated ,cloth ,binding4 #ace ,pages4 ,price1 postpaid1 #a4be ,,frederick ,j4 ,,drake ,,co41 ,publishers ,,chicago ,transcriber's ,notes3 --,text in italics is enclosed by underscores 7italics74 --,punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected4 --,archaic and variable spelling has been preserved4 --,variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved4