In the Pink

[Cap'n Jack]

I thought this might be a useful thread.

' Once the Pinkertons set their unblinking eye on a man or group, no matter how scant the evidence, that party must be guilty. Mix with this a complete identification with their clients -- the railroaders, mine owners, and other industrialists -- and by the turn of the century the Pinkertons had developed a Bourbon cast of mind. They were ultraconservative and could do no wrong, true practitioners of Social Darwinism who resisted social reform and were dedicated to the rule of the status quo. "Never has the private detective been used to such an extent, or with such unscrupulousness," as during the first decade of the twentieth century, Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, later said. "They have been not only private soldiers, hired by capital to commit violence, and spies in the ranks of labor; they have been ... used in the capacity of agents provocateurs -- that is, in disguise, as union men, to provoke ill-advised action, or even violence, among workingmen." ...

In his book TWO EVIL ISMS: PINKERTONISM AND ANARCHISM (1915), former Pinkerton detective Charley Siringo detailed the way the agency overcame obstacles to get their men, including breaking the laws they were sworn to protect. He said: "The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was above the law. A word from [William] Pinkerton or one of his officers would send any "scrub" citizen to the scrap heap or the penitentiary. '

It's a miracle that Tumblety survived for so long.

[perrymason]

I thought this might be a useful thread.

' Once the Pinkertons set their unblinking eye on a man or group, no matter how scant the evidence, that party must be guilty. Mix with this a complete identification with their clients -- the railroaders, mine owners, and other industrialists -- and by the turn of the century the Pinkertons had developed a Bourbon cast of mind. They were ultraconservative and could do no wrong, true practitioners of Social Darwinism who resisted social reform and were dedicated to the rule of the status quo. "Never has the private detective been used to such an extent, or with such unscrupulousness," as during the first decade of the twentieth century, Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, later said. "They have been not only private soldiers, hired by capital to commit violence, and spies in the ranks of labor; they have been ... used in the capacity of agents provocateurs -- that is, in disguise, as union men, to provoke ill-advised action, or even violence, among workingmen." ...

In his book TWO EVIL ISMS: PINKERTONISM AND ANARCHISM (1915), former Pinkerton detective Charley Siringo detailed the way the agency overcame obstacles to get their men, including breaking the laws they were sworn to protect. He said: "The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was above the law. A word from [William] Pinkerton or one of his officers would send any "scrub" citizen to the scrap heap or the penitentiary. '

It's a miracle that Tumblety survived for so long.

Its interesting in terms of Abberline and the timing of his move to the private sector, eh AP? Brought some bad habits along with him perhaps....from those late night truth extractions from Irish revolutionaries that were responsible for getting him the boot upstairs and downtown?

Im not sure in what context you meant the Dr T line, but I do know that no-one seems to remember that this guy had dough....a sizeable chunk of it....in an era where some dosh might just give one a sense of immunity round those parts.

All the best AP

[Cap'n Jack]

Indeed Michael
and we musn't forget that Littlechild himself was a Pinkerton agent in later years, and I do feel this is reflected in his statements concerning both Harry Thaw and Tumblety, in that we know now that both men were not guilty of the offences he accused them of, but as a Pinkerton man Littlechild would have believed that anyone whom Pinkerton told him to investigate was guilty as charged... by Pinkerton.