Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-08-27
Different WayS OF Stealing.
BY BISHOP CLARK OF RHODE ISLAND.


/ the vocation of 4 thief Is de>i gnated. Ia
modern times We have invented new set
/ OF tItles-such As repudlatOr. Gelauiter, and
deialcat0r-as descriptive of some of our
more popular modes of cheating. Give to
any vice gentle name. and it i said to lose
half It's grossncss. And 80. instead of using
the good old Saxon. which meant something.
even II 1t was coarse. We say OF one who has
robbed the bank that there is a deficit in
his accounts. and of the man who spends
money that does not belong TO him, that he
Is "oblIged % compromise with his credit
ors.' 81 no; think that there j.
much gained by this Carrion meat may be
called nigh, hut it does not smell any sweet
er for that. II a man has robbed me, ! do
not feel any better to be told that ''hc has
appropriated my property to his own use
Let us call a spade 3 spade. and a rascal a
rascal, and we sha. know better where we
stand.
II | should enter in detail upon all the
various modes in which we are now cheated.
| could ill all the forty columns Of the Ledy-
er. ~ it l.. shall cOntne myself to a few,
which are Just now most prominent.
Highest In the scale of thieves. and alto
gether the most respectable. i the proies-
sional burglar. who calls his vocation by no
fictitious name, and i prepared to meet
the consequences fairly and squarely. If he
happens TO be caught. lie mas probably
been trained to this business from childhood,
and as q matter of taste prefers it to any
other A lawyer in Boston once asked the
captain OF a band Of English burglars 1t.
with his skill a an accountant and other
accomplishments, he could not DO better by
earning his living IN some honest way 10
which he replied Certainly. sir; was it
not upon the whole paying business? But
do you suppose that It - the pecGniarv re-
turn which makes 1t attractive to me- BY
no means; i! Is the pleasure that | take in
bringing my wits 10 bear. - "a to c.rcum-
vent the plans Of others for the preservation
of their property
The elevation Of burglary TO the rank Of "a
mental science Is somewhat novel. but the
intellectual pre-emnence of the profession
al robber may be Justly disputed by the ac-
cOmplisheI Swindler. who never breaks 4
lock OF strikes blow or uses tool. House
breaking requires only certain amount
II mechanical skill. but to get possession OF
another mans property BY hoodwinking
| him, or playing upon his feelings, it Is nee
essary that one should study something
more than the mysteries of iron bolts and
bars. Take. for Instance, the mendicant
thiei-uOt one Of the ragged regiment OF
beggars who are always ready to pilier what
ever i not to be had in other wGys-bat
well-ire-sed traveller who has lost his wal
let or had his pocket picked or failed 10 col
lect bill upon which he relied to meet the
expense Of his journey. Now it j. only by
the exercise o. considerable ingenuity that
any OF these stale devices can be made CT
icc;ive.
A pleasing young man. with an inimi;a-
BILE address, calls upon me IN some such dis
tress, AID asks for simple loan of ten or
twenty dollars to reach his home. Now"
he adds, Il have been sufficiently familiar
with clergymen to know how liable they are
to he imposed upon by such stories as mine.
and for this reason would not like To take
the money without leaving in your hands
/ few books which | brought from home, as
security for the loan" "W hat are the
! books ," | inquired. lie then mentioned
! the titles of three or four religious works OF
J the highest character. lying at the hotel IN
I his trunk. such as only very good man
would be likely tn read. and the bait tock.
/ The youth kept his bCOks-it he ever had
/ them-obtained the loan. and that WAS the
last ever saw or heard OF him This j.
very ordinary specimen OF the ingenious de-
ceits by which the tribe OF mendicant swim
ders obtain living
Cheating the Government by evading the
payment of duties and taxes, by smuggling.
and buying goods known to be smuggled,
and various other modes of fraud. j. pOpu-
larly 'egarded as somewhat venial crime.
So far : the abstract morality Is concerned.
do not see the difference between putting
my hand into the public treasury and taking
! out hundred dollars that do no: belong To
me and ab-tracting the same sum from my
neighbor's pocket The arrangement OF
! ca-tair, pebas pf trad uali ha l,ss
of revenue occasi0ned by this evil, have re-
Gently aroused public attention, and the
conviction of Il lew conspicuous criminals
may tend to abite the iraud.
The rascaltits Of contractors have never
been exceeded or eqnallei in any former
generation. One fat job Is 4 fortune and
an easier way TO make u fortune can hardly
be conceived. Only get the papers signed,
secure the money. and under-et the work
at half price. and the thing i done. low
the work will be dIne and with what ma
terials, is another matter.
OF the numberless other ways in which
the community are cheated-the formation
of stock companies based upon a tissue of
lies, where the little savings of hard-w0rk-
ing men, aud the patrimony of orphans and
widows are Systematically swallowed up
railroad bonds, hOated for a while by large
| divldendS, paid with borrowed money, by
which honest people are enticed to invest
their capital. and where it soon sinks out of
sight certificates issued by ex-Gov-
ernors. Senators. and foreign Ministers to
beguile the unwary into some valueiess
scheme-Oi all this have no room to write.
This, however. is the conclusion of the
whole matter. Fraud is the crying sin of
the nation. in high places and in lew places.
The freedmen deposit their earnings in
national savings bank. and their money is
filched from them. Yes-place your funds
in the hands of respectable citizen, aud
suddenly he is off for parts unknown. You
buy a hundred shares of railroad stock,
guaranteed bv the most sanity men. and
secured by public lands. and find that it is
not worth penny. You hold a righteous
claim upon the Government. aud are Obliged
to sacrifice half the amount in order to OBJ
tain the mOietv
How long shall this state of things be al
lowed to continue IN Y. Ledger.