Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-09-08

professional trihhihais'
There are men who are criminals by stress
of circumstances, of sudden temptation, Of
bard fortune and desperate want. of such
we have compassion. They are often as
much sinned against as SHINING, and rarely
have the ability to conceal their offences.
The law almost ever lays its hand on them
and irficts its measure Of punishment,
But there is another class of cool, calculat-
ing, determined villains who make crime
their business. They are divided into diff
ferent classes of criminals, and each class
devotes itself 70 its special trade in crime.
1t is of these professional criminals that
there is most reason to he afraid. They do
their work with consummate skill, and then
SO cover their tracks as to make it almost i'm
possible to trace or convict them. There
are a good many facts, recently developed
in the investigations in New York, which
make it certain that many of the officers of
the police forces in our large cities are in
league with them. 1t was proved in certain
cases that the police were subsidized by the
burglars and thieves, were in constant com
munication with them, aud protected them
in their gains for a consideration. A
year ago one of the prominent men of the
country, TWISTING New York, was robbed of
United States bonds TO the amount OF twenty
thousand dollars. lie communicated all the
facts OF the robbery to detective, and in
less than two hours received his bonds back
again, less twenty per cent. which was equit-
ably divided between the thief and the de
tective. The bank robbers have been ac-
customed to divide their plumber with the
police. The trial of Westervelt in the Ross
case, now going on in Philadelphia, reveals
the tactics Of the professional go-between,
who mediates between the rascals and the
guardians of the law. New York is getting
TO be nearly as bad as Rome was, when, a
few years ago, if man complained to the
police that he was robbed of half his sill
yer spoons, they would take the other half
from him in order to be able to identify the
stolen portion, if they should ever turn up
If man is robbed, the only safe way is to
hold his tongue.
The root of all this professional crime is
the love of money, and the desire to get it
without work. Since robbery has become a
system and been reduced TO a science, with
the minimum of danger and the maximum
Of profit, the burglars and robbers have be-
come rich. They form guild by them
selves. If one Of their number falls, mex
pectedly to the police, into the hands of the
law, they do not desert him, but contrve if
possible, TO effect his deliverance. They
will easily put up any requisite bail, from
five to twenty thousand dollars, showing
that the profits of the profession are large.
Their habits of life are expensive; they
have their pleasures and vices to pay for
but there always seems to be large reserve
in the common treasury of each guild of
professional rascals. On the whole, they Sc
lect what seems to them the easiest and best
way to obtain the largest returns for the
least exertion, and what promises the great
est amount of qualification and self.indul-
gence. And since they are in combination
with the police of our large cities, they can
engage in their calling in the city, and make
forays into the country with almost absolute
IMMUNITY. The days of the common robber
are ended. Dick Turpin is disgrace to his
profession. We have fallen upon an age of
educated and accomplished crime, In which
all its methods are scientific, and its profess
ors are rarely detected aud punished. There
are some aspects of crime in relation to pop
ular government that are worth careful
study.
The case of Charley Ross seems, happily,
to be exceptional. The stealing of children
in order to extort ransom, has not vet
come to be popular, even with the adopts in
crime. 1t is almost impossible to negotiate
for the ransom and TO effect an exchange of
the child successfully 1t puts the robbers
to great expense as well as great danger.
II we could suppose them capable of any
human feeling in the discharge of their pro-
fession, we could imagine them shrinking
from in1icting such horrible and protracted
torture upon human heart as parent
must endure who has had child ravished
from his arms in such way. But without
giving them credit for humanity-for the
school and practice of crime oblterates all
trace of this--there is so much risk of de
lection and punishment so much expense
and anxiety involved in this kind of crime,
that it is not likely ever to become very pop
ular, even with the lowest grade of criminals.
There are some persons who are asking
themselves, how much has society orour pres
ent civilization to do with the present meth
DDS of crime? There are evils connected with
the most advanced civilization and Christian
ity, for which there seems to be no prevention
and no remedy. Is it true that the highest
civilization, with all that is implied in that
word, that the highest forms of Christian
life, are necessarily to be attended and
haunted by the most complete forms of So
cial vice and criminal offences Is il essen
tial to Christian civilization to be darkened
by the greatest sins? win the brightest
light cast the darkest shadows ? Or, is
there any way of diminishing vice and crime
in the ratio that the forces OF civilization
increase Here are questions for econo-
nists, moralists and religious teachers to
consider, that will require the largest scope
and breadth of reason. The Roman civil.
cation persisted because it could not answer
these questions. The medieval system of
church and state did not answer them any
better. Are we equal TO their solution, or is
the sin of man always to destroy the hope OF
man
ANOTHER WAR.-The Granadian Fedora
ton, or Federal Republic OF New Granada,
otherwise called Colombia, is such republic
as the Southern confederacy would have
been, If it had survived. Two Of the sover
eign states, Bolivar and Panama are now in
open rebellion, and Magdalena will soon
follow. Colombia occupies the northwestern
corner of the continent Of South America,
lying between the Pacific ocean and the Or
inoco river, 1t once included Venezuela
and some other states, but the union was
dissolved in 1929. II afterward proposed TO
include Eauador lint the lattar oliactaJ .,J