Hince, Big-Shot G-Man, Tells of Woe That Befalls Him Who Breaks the Law

More than 250 law school students gathered to hear Walter A. Hince, assistant to J. Edgar Hoover in the bureau of public investigation, discuss the prospects of a career as a G-Man in the government service.

Hince discussed the various techniques of the secret service, pointing out that there was no set formula that could be applied to any case indiscriminately.

Most of his talk was taken up with various recent cases. He talked about the Herschel kidnapping case, explaining how the kidnappers had been identified by Herschel's having remembered at what times he had heard the drone of an airplane going overhead. The whole case was entirely cleared up and the men convicted, he pointed out, within 19 days, except for the lawyer who was sentenced after six months to ten years, a year for every $1000 he had accepted as a fee.

Another case was that of a swindler, Neil, who succeded in getting his jailer to have a few drinks while Neil was being taken east, got him then to go to a burlesque show, after which the evening wound up by Neil putting the warden to bed. The convict was next heard of when he posed as a movie actor and made a personal appearance in New Orleans.

While in San Quentin Neil wrote a poem which was accepted by the Mother's Day League and wrote an appeal for pardon which brought tears to the board. He escaped, however, before he was pardoned. He is now in jail.

Hince stressed the necessity of versatility among the members of the force by pointing out the case of a G-Man who won a repreive from a summary execution among the Kentucky hill-billies by his ability in playing the Swanee River and other southern songs. Eventually the auto thief whom he was looking for gave himself up.

A former auto-stealing racket in Brooklyn was explained by Hince, who told of how all the Cadillacs and Packards were catalogued by the chief of operations. Orders giving specific descriptions of the kind of car wanted were made in Sweden and Norway, sent over to Brooklyn, and the chief then supplied the ear.