The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1879-02-22
A Mystery of Crime.

III III wow 1Olk3 1<*+H . ~ fo--~-sN'
\ it to have been one of the most skilfuily
planned operations that has ever baer
! krown in the records of crime. Ut may
II be observed at the same time that Their
has never before been crime committed
I that was 30 absolutely free from THE
chances of detection, either in its perpe
1 tration or after its commission. The
seven masked burglars were as secure al
Iif they were robbing q lonely farm
I house, with not another house for miles
around, instead of bank in the heart Of
great city, in broad daylight, with
people constantly passing and repassing,
who could look directly into the room
where the thieves were at work. 1t il
one sof the most startling curiosities Of
crime that these seven men could enter
this bank in daylight unperceived, over
power family and obtain the keys ard
combination that guarded millions ,ot
dollars in cash, bonds and securities,
enter the bank and spend an houror two,
in plain sight from two streets, packing
up its assets, and then leave it through
an exit into one of the most frequented
streets OF the city, and escape with their
booty without attracting the attention of
any one, although several patrolmen
passed and repassed the building and
looked'in, as was their wont, to observe
time by the clock on the larger vault
which the thieves at that very time were
wrecking. The circumstances of that
bold robbery argue either an incompre-
fhensible lack ofobseryatlon upon the part
of those whose duty it is to have their
eyes open, or the possession upon the
part of the thieves of invisible powers
not hitherto known outside of the
Canadian :. lights. III Had q writer ST
fiction invented a similar situation for
his Villains, the book reviewers would
have accused him of inconsistency and
want OF fidelity to nature.
1t adds to the despair of this situation
that the only danger to whic the thieves
exposed themselves was in the commits
sion of the act. When once they had
escaped and concealed their plumber
theyswere secure. The very nature of
the property which they stole rendered
them free from any liability of arrest.
The Manhattan Savings Bank cannot
afford to prosecute them if thereby it is
to lose three and half millions of dol
lars. Itdoes not alter the situation that
the bulk of the assets consists OF bonds
the thieves cannot negotiate. The bank
needs them, and must have them for
conversion, and private depositora are in
the same fix. The thieves were wise
enough to steal sufficient to save them.
selves from the penitentiary. They will
be at some little trouble to answer letters
from the bank and depositors, in fixing
the details of the return of the property
and the amount of commission they are
to receive ior their Willingness to return
a certain portion of it, which is of no
value to them. However deplorable all
this msy be from the moral point o
view, it lis a case of hard necessity and
involves the salvation of the bank. If |
there is any responsibility for this, it !
must be fastened upon the benefcient
tendencies of modern civilization which
have brought us to that standard of
moral ethics where we can punish a
man who steals dollar out of another's
pocket or loaf OF bread cut of window,
but cannot punish o man whose theft
involves millions. The magnitude of the
crime ,oversweeps the limits of the law
and successfully defes the processes of
the courts. The mile of justice grind
the petty rogue exceedingly fine, but the
colossal rogue clogs the wheels with his
huge lead of plumber. 1t is not impossi-
Bile as ciyilizationprogressesthat we may
reach that point where q person dissatis-
bed with the management of a bank may
teal the assets and open a new bank
With them over the way. The only con-
1ition of success lie magnitude.
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Mormon Mysteries.
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