| Show CHARACTER AND operations OF the labor troubles of the past decade no person has hag been so frequently mentioned as pinkerton in the minds of a great many th this Is name to Is associated with power and authority superior to those pow possessed essed by the state and strange to say a great many believe that pinkerton Pia kerton is in some WRY way an institution essential to the safety of the republic A few facts in connection with the pinkerton system may not be out of place the foula founder allan pinkerton was a native of scotland he was a cooper by trade he came to the united states in 1845 he settled in a little hamlet named dundee in the state of illinois there he established himself in his trade while at work he ascertained full particulars of the mode of operation pursued by a number of horse thieves who then terrorized illinois and iowa by his aid this band was broken up he was given a position as deputy sheriff by the sheriff of that county and made an efficient officer soon afterwards he be went to live in chicago there he opened a detec tive agency he kept a number of men always on hand baad ready to undertake the detection of criminals at the extence of private individuals his business iwanos quite an extensive one when the war broke out he became notte noticeable pable his men acted as ft pica aples for the north all through the rebellion but it was after the close of the war that allan pinkerton became known as a national character he opened branches of his bis detective agency in now new york philadelphia and in other cities his headquarters he retained in chicago in that city he established a uniformed private police for watching stores and residences this force was governed by a captain two lieutenants and several sergeants he districted the city into beats then 1 every merchant or resident who paid a small weekly stipend had bad his place watched and doors door every hour during the night in the meantime he be had bad a trained detective force I 1 independent of this ready to undertake any work in that line railroad and express companies maintained pinkerton men in their employ almost constantly in 1874 there was a great strike of coal miners in the state of illinois the local officials where the strike existed did not make any effort to protect scab labor then the coal mine operators employed pinkerton he engaged one hundred men drilled and armed them he placed trusty officers over them they took charge of the coal district and not a striker would be permitted to approach h the region of any shaft or boarding house in the district in three months the strikers were completely subdued and pinker o ton achieved for himself new fame as a peace preserver he was next called into pennsylvania there he organized the coal and iron Poli police ceJ which figured in the labor troubles of that state for years allan pinkerton died in 1884 he left two sous sons robert and william robert ham bw charge of the new york business aud and billy of that in the west ane latter Is well known among the sporting fraternity his especial favorite companion in chicago is mike mcdonald he owns race horses and to is an authority on turf matters he in oon conjunction junction with corrigan the last summer closed all the pool rooms in chicago corrigan was jocosely dubbed at the time mayor of chicago and billy his chief of police at the great railroad strike in hobica go in 1685 billy employed men J armed them with winchester rifles and marched them to the stock yards they shot into the crowds and scat the mobs in quick time one man named begley was killed but no one was waa ever punished for his murder from that time to the present every newspaper reader is familiar with the part played by pinkerton in labor strikes that the pinkerton system to is a bad one no one can deny but it is excused on the ground that regularly constituted authorities are either corrupt or inefficient however some dozen states have already legislated against the employment of pinkerton men in any police capacity within their borders the constitution prohibits a statie state from keeping troops in time of peace without the consent of congress but a private citizen it appears can do what a state on eau not the new york legislature has hag a bill now in progress prohibiting pinker touba within its limits the state of idaho has a clause in its constitution relating to and prohibiting it wyoming and montana have similar clauses georgia also has a special act of the same character even illinois has a statute of this kind but billy laughs at it in fact these measures are in many oases cases passed to curry favor with labor leaders in illinois for instance the act ww wag passed entirely for demagogue purposes but when pinkerton is wanted hip bis men are sworn in as an deputy sheriffs and the law is defeated in this way at present a strong public opinion seems to be springing up condemnatory of the system but the large corporations still employ these them private detectives they claim that if the state cannot protect their property they themselves must endeavor to do so no pinkerton has the ablest legal went talent in the country at his bis command he claims that his work is legitimate and constitutional inasmuch as he to is employed entirely in the protection of private property |
