The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1877-07-12
A Thief in High Society.
From th. New York Tribune.

From the New York Tribune
The dingy back office Of IL New York detective
was the scene Of an impressive spectacle several
weeks ago. In the presence of the gentlemen
one a we'll known detective the other a prominent
merchant - hnelt t;lShionubly dressed man of
middle age, eonfessing shameful story Of crime,
and mplorng mercy.
Il admit all he cried Il stole the property
but cannot restore it. was driven to the deeds
in order to maintain my position in society. My
means had largely left me. and could not resist
the tenptation.
This statement fell like thundcrbolt upon the
merchant who had known the spcSker long and
favorabv TO the detective however il WAS not
ut all unexpected as he had already satisfied him.
self to the guilt Of the man. The stealing which
WAS here confessed is one Of those crimes i'll the
higher circles of society which are generally kept
hidden from the public
a prominent lawyer living on Fifth avenue gave a
social entertainment, to which only persons of
high standing i'll society We're invited. The tOg
lowing morning it discovered that rings,
watches and jcwclry worth several hundred dol
lars missing. The most careful search and
CLOSE examination ot servants forced the concm
sion upon the family that the robbery had been
committed by some one of the guests, although
this seemed incrediblt every name upon the
list 0i those present seemed to forbid the thought
of SUSPICION Tile affair was put into tile hands
of private detectives who were unable, however,
to obtain the Slightest clcw To the thict or to the
property.
4 tew Cavs later A wealthy merchant entertained
a large number Of friends. and the following day
wedding ring and other iewelry i'll value about
$1,000 but priced far more on account of family
| associations, were missing. Every nook and cor
ncr of the house was searched. and detectives
watched the servants. bat mystery continued To
surround the matter. Meanwhile another mcr
chant held Il reception in his brown-stonr house
on Il fashionable uptown street, and also suffered
Il loss during the evening Of jcwelry. watches and
otber property, valued at from 5000 to 5000. The
articles in Tins were in Il room where the gen
tlclnen assembled and the theft lay between some
one ot them and an old servant, whom the master
ot the house immediately Y cNculPatcd, declaring
that ne dld not suspect him i'll the least The in
srsti@ation of this theft also was given To detec
tiyrs. who visited the pawnbrokcrs shops of TINS
and other cities. bat none of the property dis
covered An entertainment at the residence OF
another we'll known citizen resulted i'll the disap
pearance Of more jewclN, ana mystery deeper
than amy oi those already IN the hands OF detcc-
tiveS.
One of the detectives at work upon these eases,
becoming convinced that the thief i'll each case
was one and the same person. and moreover,
that this person was a member Of the company
ut each party. began systematic course of action,
which was finally crowned with success The
names of the ladies and gentlemen attending all
four of the parties obtained and We're entered
in his notebook. The list presented a formidable
array of Judges LAWYERS. editors, PHYSICIANS bro
kcrS and other professional and business men and
their wives and daughters pom investigating
the regulations Of these persons the detective was
at il loss to know whom to suspect, all of them hay
inc the fullest confidence of their friends and the
public. At length his attention was attracted to
gentleman whose expensive social habits and rc
verses III business made the detective think that
he was on til" right track. This man is down
town broker. now Il member of u well known firm,
His name and family are well known IN tins city.
and he has long cnjovcd position Ill the very best
For he has been prominent club
and society man always dressing i'll the height OF
fashion and rendering himself very agreeable to
his numerous acquaintanccs. He is an unmarried
man, and having a handsome personal appearance
and attractive manners. he is popular with ladies
He is member of one Of the leading regiments of
New York and has sporting tastes
1t was discovered that the broker was in the
rooms in the houses i'll which the thetts We're
made. and in the case of the $1,000 robbery he and
one Of the Judges Of the supreme court We're the
only persons who were seen Ill the apartment con
tanning the property. With this and other clews
the detective and the families by which he was
employed became convinced that the broker was
the thlet, and an anonymous letter was sent 10
him, charging him with the stealing, and inform
ing him that unless restitution OF the property was
made Immediately the circumstances would be
given to the public. and he would be handed over
to the police This letter had the desired effect,
as the broker at once appointed ii meeting with
the detective, and. in the presence OF one of the
merchants whose residence he had robbed while
enjoying his hospitality, made clean breast Of the
entire matter The broker in telling his story said
that he had not been doing so well financially as
in former wears. and il was necessary tor him to
get sums of money from some source i'll order to
meet his obligations and social expenses. The
iewelrv he had sold for cash and it WAS now i'm
possible to recover it.
The broker promptly arrested at the insti
cation of one of the merchants robbed but through
the efforts Of his relatives and friends the affair
was kept secret and he was released upon bail. 1t
was the intention of the persons whom he had
wronged not to proceed against him if proper
titution was made by him or by his friends. who
are wealthy Some of his friends reside i'll this
city and some in Europe. As no steps have yet
been taken to restore the stolen property its
value 1t is the intention of the wronged families
to have their lawyers bring the matter to crisis
"Toby Candor" writes from California
that it is estimated that the total number
of arrivals from the East in San Francisco
up to the first of June, for the past five
months, is nearly 81 900. There has been
over IL 900 departures, leaving a net gain
of nearly l4,MM persons. The majority
of arrivals are persons almost destitute.
They hope to find employment, little
dreaming that the whole state is oVerrun
with persons who cannot find work. Cal
itornia is no place for people to come now,
who have no means, and who depend
upon labor for their livelihood. If they
have capital sufficient to go into farm
ing, fruit raising, mining or some other
kind of business, there are favorable
openings; still, fortunes are not made in
a day, as many believe, and the uncer-
tainties of snccess are Just the same as at
the East. If you are New Englander,
better by far remain at home.
The Turks have entirely evacuated Montene
grin territory. The effort to conquer the little