St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1879-01-18
A Mystery of Crime.

The complete details Of the recent
robbery of the Manhattan Savings Bank
in New York, says contemporary, show
it to have been one of the most skilful'y-
planned operations that has ever been
known in the records of crime. 1t may
be observed at the same time that there
has never before been a crime committed
that was so absolutely free from the
chances of detection, either in its perpe-
tration or after its commission. The
seven masked burglars were as secure as
if they we're robbing a lonely farm
house, with not another house for miles
around, ins tead 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. It is
one of 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 Of
dollars in cash, bonds and securities,
enter the bank and spend an hour or 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-
hensible lack of observation 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
"Arabian. Nights. III Had a writer CT
fiction invented a similar situation for
his villains, the book reviewers would
| have accused him of inconsistenc 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 get. When once they had
escaped and concealed their plumber
theyswere secure. The very pature OF
the property which they stole rendered
them free lrom any liability Of arrest
The Manhattan Savings Bank canno,
afford to prosecute them if thereby it is
to lose three and half millions of dol.
lars. sdoes 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 70,
conversion, and private depositors are in
the same fix. The thieves were wise
enough to steal sufficient to save them.
selves from the penitentiary. They will
| be at come 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 for their willingness to return
a certain portion of it, which is of no
value to them. However deplorable all
this may be from the moral point
view, it is 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 q
man who steals dollar out of anether's
pocket or loaf of bread out of window,
but cannot punish a man whose theft
involves millions. The magnitude of the
crime oversweeps the limits of the law
and successfully defss the processes of
the coarts. The mills of justice grind
the petty rogue exceedingly fine, but the
colossal rogue clogs the wheels with his
huge load of plumber. It is not impossi-
BILE as civilization progresses that we may
reach that point where person dissatis-
fed with the management of bank may
steal the assets and open new bank
with them over the way. The only con-
dition Of success is magnitude.