{"id":850,"date":"2014-03-19T04:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-19T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=850"},"modified":"2014-12-23T04:01:54","modified_gmt":"2014-12-23T04:01:54","slug":"pittsburghs-extraordinary-mail-order-detective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/03\/19\/pittsburghs-extraordinary-mail-order-detective\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh\u2019s extraordinary mail order detective"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The <\/a>
The perfect clue — a cigarette butt. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ad <\/a>
Ad in a crime magazine caught his attention. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Waugh <\/a>
Waugh practiced shadowing his postman. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Waugh <\/a>
Waugh used foot powder on his overworked detective feet. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Was <\/a>
Was Waugh sneaking out of a bar or trailing a suspect? (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Yipee! <\/a>
Yipee! Waugh gets his certificate. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Earle Waugh\u2019s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the advertisement in one of those crime magazines he loved so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe a detective in 16 easy lessons at home!\u201d the ad read. \u201cHelp America combat the scourge of crime. Start now!\u201d<\/p>\n

Waugh lowered the magazine. A dreamy look came to his eyes. He envisioned the headlines:<\/p>\n

Waugh Nabs Killers<\/em><\/p>\n

Waugh Nips Crime Wave<\/em><\/p>\n

Soon, he sprung from his chair and mailed $10 to Capt. Aloysious Duffy, director of the Wide World of Crime Detection of Scroggins, Wyo.<\/p>\n

The end result was a wacky, days-long series of newspaper stories detailing Waugh\u2019s attempts at learning detective work by mail order. Waugh was a night police reporter for The Pittsburgh Press, but he also was a wonderful goofball, as this series clearly demonstrates.<\/p>\n

We at \u201cThe Digs\u201d are astonished that the ever-serious Press turned over the front page of its second section for six straight days to Waugh\u2019s bizarre tongue-in-cheek adventure tale.<\/p>\n

Waugh started off by shadowing his postman. Why the postman? Well, thought Waugh, you never know who might be a criminal. So he hid behind a tree on his street early one morning. Four hours later, along came the postman.<\/p>\n

Waugh dashed through alleys, ducked behind hedges and hopped from pole to fence to doorway while following the postman along his route. None of this escaped the notice of the postman, who scratched his head and wondered if Waugh had lost his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarle,\u201d said Waugh\u2019s wife, \u201cyou\u2019ve got to get a grip on yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Waugh was just getting started.<\/p>\n

He opened his 48-page instruction book, entitled \u201cAn Encyclopedia of Crime Detection,\u201d and tackled the next lesson, a test of observation skills. \u201cDescribe in detail someone you know,\u201d read the book.<\/p>\n

Waugh decided on his landlord.<\/p>\n

Name:<\/strong> J. Brown<\/p>\n

Occupation<\/strong>:<\/strong> Chiseler and loafer<\/p>\n

Color:<\/strong> Florid<\/p>\n

Hair:<\/strong> None<\/p>\n

Shape of ears:<\/strong> Batwing or Aileron type<\/p>\n

Teeth:<\/strong> Store<\/p>\n

Any missing:<\/strong> Upper plate<\/p>\n

Clothes:<\/strong> Yes<\/p>\n

Waugh was then instructed to engage a suspect in conversation and gain his confidence. So he wrote Capt. Duffy, \u201cWhat am I supposed to do with the suspect\u2019s confidence after I\u2019ve got it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Interrogation is serious business, so Waugh invented what he described as the \u201cinfallible Waugh Persuader Method.\u201d It involved a two-foot length of rubber hose. The suspect would first be seated in a darkened room, then Waugh would sneak up behind him and blow through the hose like a trumpet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt frightens some of \u2018em almost to death and makes lots of them break down and confess right away,\u201d he bragged.<\/p>\n

Next, Waugh needed fingerprints. His plan: Carry with him a highly polished beer mug. He entered taverns, asked the bartender to fill the mug, then handed it to a suspect, who was happy to accept a free beer.<\/p>\n

Afterward, Waugh had trouble distinguishing the suspect\u2019s fingerprints from his own and the bartender\u2019s. His solution: \u201cGetting some gloves for myself and an extra pair for slipping to the bartenders just before the trap is sprung.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, after six days, Waugh announced he\u2019d received a package, sent by special delivery. \u201cIt\u2019s my diploma,\u201d he raved. \u201cGilt-edged, it is, too, with my name typed on the dotted line. I\u2019m a detective \u2014 a DETECTIVE!\u201d<\/p>\n

Criminals across Pittsburgh cheered. Postmen shuddered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earle Waugh was a newspaper reporter, would-be detective and character out of a different age.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesPittsburgh\u2019s extraordinary mail order detective<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1066],"tags":[1025,1036],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tumblr_n2nhjgoupG1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C1029&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":667,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/05\/14\/mob-murder-suspect-takes-a-fall\/","url_meta":{"origin":850,"position":0},"title":"Mob murder suspect takes a fall","date":"May 14, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"That\u2019s Frank Valenti, the detective said to 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