James H. “Pickles” Falconer

Commissioner Charles Congdon had a number of liquor licence Inspectors and Special Constables for the Territory. These men were paid from North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) funds but they were not employed by the police and were not controlled by them. Their main purpose seems to have been to extract money from the licence holders to support Congdon’s political machine. When NWMP Assistant Commissioner Wood dispensed with James Falconer's services on 10 January 1903, he was inundated with telegrams and letters asking that Falconer be kept on. Wood replied that he had no use for a detective. When his political cronies failed to get Falconer reinstated, Congdon had him sworn in as a Special Constable. Wood was instructed to put Falconer on the Secret Service for a time and later he was requested to pay Falconer $6 per diem on top of his $4 per diem as an employee. Wood said Falconer was detested by everyone in town as a sneak, a spy, and a liar.¹⁾

To support Congdon, Falconer demanded $125 a week from Dawson gamblers and would present his paycheck to prove that he was still with the NWMP. Inspector Wood started paying him from a different source to undermine his credibility. As the 1904 election drew near, Falconer approached some NWMP officers and taunted them with his power. He hired two ex-policemen and produced reports on a dance hall that contradicted police infraction reports. Falconer was accused in the press of taking protection money from gamblers and he took limited action against some gamblers to distract attention. He did not raid all places and those he accused were not the proprietors. Wood finally mounted a series of raids and eventually forced them out of business. When Congdon was defeated in the 1904 election, Sifton instructed Wood to drop Falconer from the Force.²⁾