Read Online The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Daniel Stashower
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Chicago’s headlong expansion continued through the 1850s as railroad lines and shipping traffic converged to form what one newspaper called “a hub of industry that, however noisy and malodorous, is undeniably thriving.” The new prosperity brought a new type of crime: train robbery. As the nation’s disparate railroad lines expanded—covering more and more territory, although not yet linked up under a single authority—they presented an ideal target for opportunistic criminals who preyed on baggage cars and bonded messengers before disappearing into the empty spaces between regional jurisdictions.
Pinkerton, in Chicago, was ideally positioned to combat this new class of criminals. The authority he claimed for himself wasn’t bound by county or state lines. With its handpicked operatives and dogged, systematic methods of pursuit, Pinkerton’s agency could push into territories where overmatched and undertrained local authorities could not follow, marking the transition between frontier justice and a national authority. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, created to oversee interstate law enforcement, would not come into being for several decades, and the United States Secret Service, originally designed to combat counterfeiting, would not be created until 1865—Abraham Lincoln would sign the legislation on April 14, the date of his assassination. In the absence of federal authority, Pinkerton made up the rules as he went along. He literally designed his own badge.
From his first day in business, Pinkerton took extraordinary measures to stand apart from other lawmen. The bitter lessons of his early years—John Craig’s bribing his way out jail; Theodore Dennison’s operating under the protection of his powerful uncle—opened Pinkerton’s eyes to the realities of official corruption. In response, he worked hard to establish a reputation for honesty and probity, and codified it as a business policy. In the early years of the agency, he hammered out a series of “General Principles,” which he hoped would serve as watertight ethical guidelines for his employees:
The Agency will not represent a defendant in a criminal case except with the knowledge and consent of the prosecutor, they will not shadow jurors or investigate public officials in the performance of their duties, or trade-union officers or members in their lawful union activities; they will not accept employment from one political party against another; they will not report union meetings unless the meetings are open to the public without restriction; they will not work for vice crusaders; they will not accept contingent fees, gratuities or rewards. The Agency will never investigate the morals of a woman unless in connection with another crime, nor will it handle cases of divorce or of a scandalous nature.
Pinkerton also expounded on the character traits—both moral and intellectual—that would be necessary on the mean streets of Chicago and beyond:
The role of a detective is a high and honorable calling. Few professions excel it. He is an officer of justice and must himself be pure and above reproach.… Criminals are powerful of mind and strong of will, who if they had devoted themselves to honest pursuits would undoubtedly have become members of honorable society. The detectives who have to gather the evidence and arrest these criminals must be men of high order of mind and must possess clean, honest, comprehensive understanding, force of will and vigor of body.… Criminals must eventually reveal their secrets and a detective must have the necessary experience and judgment of human nature to know the criminal in his weakest moment and force from him, through sympathy and confidence, the secret which devours him.
These principles formed a template for Pinkerton’s first generation of “operatives,” the term he used to distinguish his employees from common police detectives. Along with his Chartist ideals, Pinkerton also drew on a robust
Pinkerton, in Chicago, was ideally positioned to combat this new class of criminals. The authority he claimed for himself wasn’t bound by county or state lines. With its handpicked operatives and dogged, systematic methods of pursuit, Pinkerton’s agency could push into territories where overmatched and undertrained local authorities could not follow, marking the transition between frontier justice and a national authority. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, created to oversee interstate law enforcement, would not come into being for several decades, and the United States Secret Service, originally designed to combat counterfeiting, would not be created until 1865—Abraham Lincoln would sign the legislation on April 14, the date of his assassination. In the absence of federal authority, Pinkerton made up the rules as he went along. He literally designed his own badge.
From his first day in business, Pinkerton took extraordinary measures to stand apart from other lawmen. The bitter lessons of his early years—John Craig’s bribing his way out jail; Theodore Dennison’s operating under the protection of his powerful uncle—opened Pinkerton’s eyes to the realities of official corruption. In response, he worked hard to establish a reputation for honesty and probity, and codified it as a business policy. In the early years of the agency, he hammered out a series of “General Principles,” which he hoped would serve as watertight ethical guidelines for his employees:
The Agency will not represent a defendant in a criminal case except with the knowledge and consent of the prosecutor, they will not shadow jurors or investigate public officials in the performance of their duties, or trade-union officers or members in their lawful union activities; they will not accept employment from one political party against another; they will not report union meetings unless the meetings are open to the public without restriction; they will not work for vice crusaders; they will not accept contingent fees, gratuities or rewards. The Agency will never investigate the morals of a woman unless in connection with another crime, nor will it handle cases of divorce or of a scandalous nature.
Pinkerton also expounded on the character traits—both moral and intellectual—that would be necessary on the mean streets of Chicago and beyond:
The role of a detective is a high and honorable calling. Few professions excel it. He is an officer of justice and must himself be pure and above reproach.… Criminals are powerful of mind and strong of will, who if they had devoted themselves to honest pursuits would undoubtedly have become members of honorable society. The detectives who have to gather the evidence and arrest these criminals must be men of high order of mind and must possess clean, honest, comprehensive understanding, force of will and vigor of body.… Criminals must eventually reveal their secrets and a detective must have the necessary experience and judgment of human nature to know the criminal in his weakest moment and force from him, through sympathy and confidence, the secret which devours him.
These principles formed a template for Pinkerton’s first generation of “operatives,” the term he used to distinguish his employees from common police detectives. Along with his Chartist ideals, Pinkerton also drew on a robust
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