The Decoy in the Rubbish Heap: How Tacoma Residents Outsmarted a Private Detective
When a notorious private eye attempted to frame two young express employees for a phantom theft, their friends staged an elaborate performance to expose his heavy-handed tactics.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
To secure the comforts of a home, a dozen young men rented and furnished a house in Tacoma and employed a housekeeper, living at a total expense of $35 per month. When the men of Sullivan—a private detective known for his treacherous methods—began shadowing the house to frame two residents, J. R. Mclntyre and W. D. Stewart, for an alleged $2,500 express theft, the friends decided to fight back with theater. The young men dressed one of their number in old clothes and sent him to Wright Park, a block distant, with a satchel full of rocks. He let the watchers see him sneak out the back way, and then, when they followed, he hid the satchel in a heap of rubbish. Mclntyre’s friends shouted and jeered when the ‘shadows’ dug up the decoy. These facts were well-known at the time, as were the instances where Sullivan's men were searched as vagrants or attempted to pose as insurance agents to trick Mclntyre’s associates. The rumor that Mclntyre was fleeing to Victoria was entirely fabricated from a moment when he was seen at the wharf simply waving a friend off.
“Sullivan prefers to entice his victims to Portland, where his pull is tremendous. His private prison, into which he thrusts kidnaped persons, is at the corner of Second and Washington streets.”
This 1892 account of private detectives attempting to manufacture evidence against working-class renters highlights the long history of surveillance and intimidation used against those living in communal housing. Just as these men used public performance and community solidarity to combat 'Sullivan's clutch,' modern tenants continue to use mutual aid and public documentation to challenge aggressive landlords and property management surveillance today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.