Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 188, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 August 1916 — A Fall From Grace [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A Fall From Grace

In the latter part of the year 1892 Mr. Clarence. White, manager for the firm of John Bolland & Co. of St. Louis, who owned a large jewelry store in that city, called upon me in ,my office in the Chemical building. "We are in trouble, Mr. Furlong," he began, ‘‘and want to have your assistance. You know that our firm does a large business in this city. A quantity of valuable goods has disappeared in a mysterious manner, and is Btill«4isappearing, and we cannot lay our hands upon the culprit. Mr. ,'Bolland has asked me to call and put ; the case before you, and tomorrow he (Will come in person for a conference.” On the following day, when Mr. ißolland called, he stated that it was more than two years since goods beIgan to disappear from the store, and Ithat these losses were growing to (alarming proportions. In the endeavor [to clear up the mystery he had secured the services of another local

private detective agency, at a considerable expense, but without being able ito fasten the guilt upon anyone. He added that he would like to have me {make an investigation and apprehend ithe guilty person or persons, if it could be done. “In view of the large amount that II have already spent in order to detect th£ thief, I do not feel like spending a large sum,” continued Mr. Bollland, “but see what you can do without incurring any heavy expenses. It ds necessary to me to have this matter cleared up, but the police department is unable to help me, and I do ■not know where to turn.” “It is evident to me, Mr. Bolland,”

I said, “that you believe all your employes to be honest or else you would ;not have them in your employment.” “You need not spend any time in Hooking after Clarence White, Fred .Erfert, or myself,” answered Mr. Bol•land, “but you may use your judgment as to the other employes, although I want you to understand that I have jthe utmost confidence in all of them.” ! The employe named Erfert was well [known to me. He had been in the [service of the company since his boyhood. He was then about twenty-two tor twenty-three years of age, had become a trusted employe, and carried [the keys of the establishment. He was the first man to open the store in ithe morning and the last man out at night, closing and locking the store himself. Clarence White was an older man, and of blameless reputation. A short time before this interview jtook place, according to Mr. Bolland’s .further statement, the company had (purchased a large stock of jewelry at a bankrupt sale. The most desirable ■parts of the stock had been sorted out and removed to the company’s store, .from which they had culled out stock .of their own which was growing .stale, and this they had placed with the residue of their purchase. They tthen started to auction off the surplus .stock. Erfert was placed in charge ,of this auction store, with a prosesIsional auctioneer and a number of clerks. This auction was running at the time of the interview between myself and the store owner. "Goods are also being missed from Ithe auction store,” Mr. Bolland continued. “Evidently the thief has access to both places.” —. I instructed one of my operatives to observe carefully all that he could about the auction store, from the time It opened in the morning until it was closed at night, which was duly done. |At the end of the first day’s watch jthe operative reported that he had Noticed a number of what appeared to jbe Irregularities on the part of Erfert, the manager. He reported that on the evening before he had keen Erfert and the other clerks leave the store. Erfert, being the last man out, locked the door and put the key in his pocket, and the whole party walked to the corner of Sixth and Olive streets, where they separated, presumably for [their homes. He said that Erfert, (however, did not take a car, but walked west a block on Olive street ■to Seventh, then north on Seventh to Locust street, and east on Locust street to the side entrance of the auction store, where he unlocked the door. He entered and almost immediately returned to the sidewalk, carrying a couple of large, heavy packages, which were fastened with shawl straps. He then went back by the me route to Sixth and' Locust streets where he boarded a car, carrying these two heavy packages, one In either hand, to his home in South St. Louis, where he resided with his widowed mother and sister. On learning these details I instructed my operative to repeat his watch on the following day, telling him that, in ease Erfert doubled back on that evening also, he was to approach him and say that Mr. Furlong wu tn his office in the Chemical bundling and wanted to see him at once, and to bring him up without delay. I remained tn the office that evening,

so as to be on hand in case Erfert repeated his actions, arid that is what he did.

It'was winter, and grew dark about 5:30 in the afternoon. At this time Erfert closed and locked the store, and with the other clerks, apparently started for home. He accompanied the others, as he had done the night before, to Sixth and Olive streets, and then left them, afterward making a circuitous route and returning to the store, into which he disappeared. He emerged almost Immediately, carrying two packages 8 rather heavier than those which he had taken the night before, and fastened with the shawl straps. After he had locked the door and picked up the packages, which seemed to be very heavy, the operative, who had approached him unobserved, touched him on the shoulder. “Mr. Furlong is at his office in the Chemical building and wants you to come over and see him at once,” he said. “What does he want to see me for?” asked Erfert. ‘1 don’t know,” answered the operative. “He will explain that when he sees you.” “I am in a hurry and haven’t time,” said Erfert “I am late anyway and will call and see him tomorrow.”

“You can either go with me right now,” returned the other, “or I will call that policeman across the street and have him take you to police headquarters, and probably Mr. Furlong will go there and see you. Now it is up to you. If I take you, to police headquarters your name and picture will appear in the papers in the morning and you will probably get a lot of undesirable notoriety.” “I don’t want any notriety,” answered Erfert, “but I can’t understand what Mr. Furlong wants to see me for tonight. However, I will go with you, but I will put these packages in the store.” “What is in them?” asked the operative.

“I have two fine clocks which were sent ovey to my store by mistake and are too expensive to sell at auction,” answered Erfert, “and I intend to take them back to the main store, where they belong.” “Well,” said the operative, “you take them up to Mr. Furlong’s office, and after you have seen him he will probably allow you to take them to the main store.”

The operative brought the man to my office. I was already acquainted with all that had passed, because, unknown to the operative, I had put a second operative to watch him and bring back a report of all that occurred. The second man reached my office a few minutes before the first arrived. When Erfert and the detective were seated together in the private room I turned to the young man and asked: “Fred, what have you in those two packages?” “They are two clocks,” answered Erfert, “which were sent over to the auction store by mistake. They are expensive clocks and I will not sell them at auction, and intended to take' them home tonight and return them to the main store in the morning, before I opened the auction store.” “What other stock have you on your person which was sent over to the auction store by mistake?” I inquired. “I have only a few stick pins and a few other small articles of jewelry,” said Erfert. “Put them on my desk,” I said.

Erfert complied, and the articles that he had concealed in his pockets were worth, according -to the prices marked on them, nearly four hundred dollars. There were stick pins, gold rings, and other small pieces of good jewelry. Thinking that possibly he had not emptied his pockets, I inspected them myself and found a memorandum book, in which Erfert had kept an accurate account of fill the articles which he had stolen from the jewelry firm, the cost price of each article to the company, and the price he had received for a large lot of articles of which he had already disposed. This book was written in cipher. I also found a key to a safe deposit vault.

“Fred,” I said to him, “you have stolen thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry from your employers. You were practically raised by them, having been in their service nearly all your life, and the company has always treated you well and justly. Now that you have been caught redhanded I think it will bi'fo your interest to tell the whole truth about what you have taken, and to do all in your power to return as much of the plunder as possible.” The office was on the fourteenth floor of the Chemical building. Erfert turned suddenly and made a lunge for the window, with the purpose of flinging himself into the street below. I caught him just in time. After a few moments the culprit

admitted everything. He said that he had been stealing from the company for the past two years, and had recently been assisted by another of the employes. He added that his grandfather conducted a jewelry and novelty store in South St. Louis, and that nearly all the stock which he and his confederate had stolen had gone into the old man’s stock. He also stated that he had a quantity of the stolen property concealed in the attic of his mother’s house, and agreed to go with one of my men and deliver the stolen goods. This he subsequently did.

After Erfert had completed his confession I sent a message to Mr. Bolland, asking him to come to my office at once, as I had succeeded in capturing the thief. Mr. ' Bolland arrived about ten in the evening, accompanied by his wife and Clarence White. I met them in the front office.

• “The messenger told me that you had captured the party who has been robbing us,” said the owner. “Yes,” I replied. “That is why I sent for you.” “Whom have you caught?” “Fred Erfert is the principal party.” Mrs. Bolland and White exclaimed simultaneously: “Why, surely you have made a mistake!” “I told you not to bother with Erfert; that I believed he was all right,” said Mr. Bolland angrily. “Why, Furlong, you have got your foot in it,” White continued. -“Erfert surely had nothing to do with these thefts, and you have made a great mistake by even accusing him. He has been practically raised by Mr. Bolland and in his service for many years, and we have always had implicit confidence in his honesty.”

“Yes I understand all that,” I answered, “but Mr. Bolland employed me to apprehend the party, or parties, who were robbing him, which I have done. Erfert knows that he is guilty and he has fully admitted his guilt, and I am satisfied from the evidence that I have found on his person that he told the truth when he said Ije was guilty. I, of course, realize Mr. Holland's disappointment in finding that Erfert was the guilty person, but I cannot, help his feelings. I have simply done what was my duty in the matter, and now it remains with Mr. Bolland as to what shall be done with Erfert.”

“Where is Erfert?” Mr. Bolland asked. “He is in there and waiting to see you,” I answered, pointing to the door of my private office. “He has prom-

ised me that he will tell you what he has already told my assistant and myself, and that he will at once return as much as possible of the stolen property to you, which I have advised him to do.” I then ushered them into the private room in which Erfert was. The young fellow repeated to fhem the statement of guilt that he had Already made to me. Then, with some assistants, I went in a hack to the house of Erfert’s mother, where we found about two hack loads of stolen goods, consisting of clocks, silver plate, fine umbrellas and various articels of bric-a-brac, all valuable stuff. These goods were taken direct to

Stories of the Greatest Cases in the Career of Thomas Furlong, the Famous Railroad Detective, Told by Himself Copyright by W. G. Chapman

the Etore of Mr. Bolland. Our party then visited the store of the grandfather, in South St. Louis, and recovered about four hack loads of goods from that place. By the time the last load had been hauled away it was nearly daylight. While this loot was being removed I was standing outside guarding the hack into which the goods were being placed. A police officer came along.. We knew each other, and he was somewhat surprised to see me at that time of night in that locality, and asked me, in a friendly manner, what I was doing there. I replied that some stuff had been stolen from a jewelry store, and that it had been taken to the house, I added that I had thought it advisable to remove the goods after night so as not to attract the attention of the neighborhood, as I felt sure that the women of the family were not aware that the property which had been placed in their house was stolen.

The policeman later reported that he had met me and detailed this conversation to his captain. The report, of course, reached the chief of police the following morning. The chief, becoming exasperated, suspended the policeman for not having arrested both the hack driver and myself. He also suspended one or two of the officers connected with the station who were on duty that night. The next morning a city detective called at my office. “I have been sent down here by the chief to see you,” he “The chief understands that you arrested a young fellow named Erfert last night and that you recovered a lot of stolen property. Is that report true?” “Part of the report seems to be true, while the remainder is not true; I answered. “You know, and the chief should know, that I have no legal right to make arrests, and therefore I have made no arrests, nor have I caused any to be made within the city of St. Louis, but I did recover a large quantity of stolen goods last night and early this morning, and I have delivered them to their owner.” “Where is Erfert now?” asked the detective. “I don’t know where he is at present Why do you want to know this?”

“Because the chief instructed me to come down here and get him, and bring him to headquarters at once,” replied the man. “Have you any charges against him at headquarters?” I inquired. “I don’t know. All I know is that the chief sent me down here to get

him and bring him to headquarters.” "I do not know whether there will be any charges preferred against Erfert or not," I said. “His employer seems inclined to sympathize with him, and especially with his family. I do not believe that he cares to have him. prosecuted for these thefts. I expect Erfert to call at my office some time during- the forenoon, and I am looking for Mr. Bolland here at any moment When Erfert comes I will tell him that the chief wants to |ee him." / “No, you need not do that,” answered the detective. “I will Wait here, and when he comes I will take him -UP with me.”

“If Erfert calls at this office while you are here,” I answered, “and if you have a warrant for his arrest, charging him with any crime, you may take him to heif’quarters; but unless you have a warrant I will not permit you to take him out of this office. I think, perhaps, you had better go and communicate this to the chief.” The detective left the office and went to make his report. In the meantime Mr. Bolland arrived, to whom I stated the facts of the city detective’s visit and his intention to arrest Erfert. Mr. Bolland said that he did not care to prosecute; in fact, he preferred not to do so, and was really undecided which was the best course to pursue. “You had better take Erfert quietly UP to police headquarters,” I said to him, “and tell the chief what you have said to me.” This was done, but, at police headquarters, the police chief and the detective who had called at the office in the Chemical building took Erfert in charge and put him through the third degree. They attempted to make him say that I had arrested him and forced him to make a confession of his thefts. They did not concern themselves with his guilt or innocence. A statement was prepared by them, which they urged Erfert to sign, declaring that I had violated the law by having arrested him and forcing him to make a statement of his guilt. Erfert declined, however, to sign this statement, on the ground that it was He stated that I had explained to him in the beginning of the interview that I had no legal right

to arrest him, and that I had said it was optional with him whether he return the stolen goods or nbt, but that if he refused to do so it would be my duty to turn him over to the police. The chief of police was greatly exasperated to find that he could make no case against me. At a later time, however, he himself made a complaint that I was running a private detective agency without a license from the police board, and a warrant was issued for my arrest. Upon the witness stand I was asked whether I was doing a detective business ifi St. Louis, and I replied that I was. Asked whether I had a license from the board of police commissioners, I replied that I, had not. I was then asked by what authority I was conducting my business, and I answered that it was by authority of a state charter. I produced the articles of incorporation, which the judge carefully read, and he then dismissed the case, assessmg rne court charges upon the police. The chief of police insisted upon the prosecution of Erfert. He was released on bond, reappeared in due course, and pleaded guilty, receiving a minimum sentence of two years in the penitentiary, and being released, as a model prisoner, under the twothird sentence rule. The stolen property recovered amounted to several thousand dollars in value. * Erfert, it is pleasing to note, lived an exemplary life after his release. His confederate, who was a mere youth, was not prosecuted.

“MR. FURLONG WANTS YOU TO COME OVER AND SEE HIM AT ONCE.”

“FRED, WHAT HAVE YOU IN THOSE TWO PACKAGES?”