, 1880-08-15

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~ Ia considered In the chances Of the sue
oassfn, practice of burglary in Chicago may
be regarded as highly favoraoe 70 @n'
burglars. ,o..+ i'm
The next, and by no means the leas1 lnt,
nortant, question is the opportunity oneleu
for tho disposal Of stolen goods III Cnlcaso'
Tn this resoect we suppose there IS no cits III
tha world which offers such faciliaies'
,r,ara are hundreds Of places Wne1e
euch rooas are offered for sale and purchosea
onen]y without an attempt at disguise Ut
concea}rnent. So keen is the competatoh
omonr r the purchasers Of stolen goods tha1 1t
nav be said with substantial truth tnat
thieves laden with their spoiis are sclzeo un
the streets by dealers and forced INTO 'no
dens where such things are purchased.
This open traffic in stolen goods has neen
notorious in this city for years. ALL efforts Oh
the law to break up the business seem 10 w.
abortive. The law and the Ia" ohlcelS ..e
alike dcfied. It is yet fresh in the minus u ne
public that one OF these dealers IN sioAen
goods actually engaged company u pio
fessional burglars, designated 70 taein 'a0
establishment to be robbed, armed the roo-
hers. and when, some hours later. an olncer
questioned the occupant OF q wagon IRON
which the goods were delivered at Tile
shop Of the instigator, that officer was SHOT
to death. The facts were all estabilshed'
one man was convicted eighteen months ago
for murder. but has never been exechteo'
vhile the proprietor of the thieves shop anu
the instigator OF the burglary has been car
rying on his business directly or indirectly
in the old stand ever since.
We repeat that for the sale OF the proceeds
of ali kinds of robbery no place affords such
facilities as does Chicago.
The situation, therefore, is generally tavof-
able to the preparation OF crime IN thls city
The price paid to thieves and burglars bY
| the establishments where such goods are pnr-
| chased is now about g per cent Of the actual
I value Of the property. The chance OF capt
| ure. trial, and conviction is about 4 per cent.
| The difference is the profit OF the criminal,
and is sufficiently great, with other circum-
stances. to attract larger share Of the crln1f-
nal class to the city this year than usual.
The reason why there are not more private
| residences robbed and plundered in the ois-
| tricts occupied by the wealthier families, anu
where ordinarily the plundcr would Do
| greater. is the fact that the occupants OF
these districts maintain police force OF their
own. There are several thousand persons III
this city who pay out Of their pockets annu-
| ally from $50 to $50 each for policemen to
guard their stores and warehouses ana 1nelf
dwellings. They thus secure that -protectioh
for themselves and their property which the
city police are unable to afford.
The numerical weakness Of the police Is
attended by open acts OF violence i'll the
| streets BY day and by night. Persons are as
saulted and robbed, are 'fheld up" and bril-
tally beaten; indeed, members Of the po}iea
are publicly assailed and shot down by gangs
| OF thugs and rutfians, all Of the worst
class, who know there Is not force enough
either to take them or to punish them.
These facts are notorious. They are
known to the public, to the police, 2nd espe-
clally to the thieves and rutfians who lind
shelter, and safety, and employment III this
city, The remedy is q plain one. The Mayor
by proper exertions can drive this whole fra
ternity ont Of the city inside of thirty days.
Let him fill up the police force. Let him EN-
ploy additional men with the money lie has
saved from the appropriations. Let him put
I inc CllY uuucl QUuCE 1dAs 11A IAA@SS <AAui-
nails arc known. Let him put bis men under
the command Of good officers, and let them
hunt these criminals until they are captured.
Let him revoke the liquor-license of every
saloon where these thieves resort, and Keep
them revoked. Let him in like manner make
the shops where traffic in stolen goods IS car
ried on so lot that they must close, and thus
by little energy with the means iii his hands
lie can make crime too Improbable to be
practiced in Chicago.