Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-07-05
HOW THIEVES ARE MADE.
EEoIsie-Nade and Imported Criminal
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Eyil-Doers tn

EEolne-Nade and Imported Criminals
Con:rasted-Cisy-Esre Eyil-Doers the
Wors. of All
From the Philadelphia Item
Yes, sir. Americans lead the world in thev-
Ing as in almost everything else The speaker
was detective. The subject he was discussing
was the relative ability of foreign and native
thieves. The tone in which he spoke savored
OF pride in the superiority he claimed for his
fellow countrymen
why, where can you find such skilled. dar-
ing and successful torgers, bank burg lars.
cOunterfeters confidence men and thieves and
swindlers of every kind fas America produces,
he continued. Perhaps it is not subject to
boast of, but in its way it is as illustrative of
American talent as any of our inventions or in
dustriai achievements"
Are all the leading members of the criminal
classes OF native origin" asked the reporter.
They are almost without exception OF native
birth. OF course we have occasional impoTta-
tons OF English thieves, and among them are
some
VERY CLEVER ONES,
but they are nearly all common house burglars.
sneak-thieves or pickp0ckets. Trey belong to
the middle and lower classes of the fraternity
You speak Of thieves as if they were divided
into social Classes like the professedly honest
portion of society ~
'And they are" was the quick answer: s:the
social lines are as strictly drawn between the
several grades of professional thieves as be-
tween any other portion of the community.
There are what we may term the aristocrats, the
middle class. divided into upper and lower, and
the prOletarlanS. Among the aristOcratS you
will find fOrgers; that is those who operate with
a view OF securing large sums. the leading cOun-
terfeiters and frst-claSs bank burglars. Such
men would scOrn to commit the lower grades of
aTF{ Il tnll f1,lN
are almost as honest as the average citizen who
has never committed crime Then come first
class h0uSe-breakerS the upper grades of con-
hdeHce men. assistants to the leading bank bur-
glars and the scale descends until we come to
the lowest order of -thieves-men who
would steal five cents from child. or lie in wait
to pick the pockets OF helpless drunkards. Even
in the prisons these
DISTINCTIONS ARE PRESERVED.
and member of the aristocracy of the profess
sion not only respects himself too much to per-
NIT any intimacy with those whom he regards
as his interiors, but he is also too much re-
spected by the latterto be called on to repel any
attempt to claim social equality Professional
thieves may be said to live in a republic of their
own code of m0ra!ty-Or immortality. if you
choose practically ignoring the common ideas
of RIGHT and wrong, and looking upon their
occupation from a strictly business point of
view"
They have q language of their own. sup
pose you could add:' asked the reporter
Yes. they hayc-their slang: but it is not
used to the extent that is popularity supposed
at least by any but those of the lowest grade
All classes understand it Of course: but those
have styled the aTistOcratS use very little or
none at all. Many ofthem are educated men.
with the bearing, habits and speech of cultured
gentlemen. men. who in travelling on steamer
steamboat or train, leave behind them the most
favorable impressions on the casual aCquaint
GnceS they form there. And those of whom |
speak are not confidence men displaying such
qualities as Il merchant displays his stock il
trade, for purposes of gain. but men TO whom
sGcn bearing is natural. AmOngthc upper mid
die classes there Is. especially Of late a grow
Ing tendency to cultivate the appearance. at
least of gcntlemanlincss. The upper grade OF
the profession may be said in fact to be grow
ing eSthetic in their tastes. The Coarseness OF
the ordinary thief is deprecated and avoided
by them. They seek more and more
to accomplish their ends by intellectual
methods, by combination of brain power
with cool daring, and as far as lies
III their power, they avoid all appeals to
MERE BRUTE FORCE.
At one time the dasiing highwayman was re-
garded by his fellows as the prince of thieves.
To-day the ideal has changed. The one who is
regarded as having attained the summit of his
profession is the fOrger who by stroke of his
pen extracts thousands OF dollars from the cash
box Of the banker. and who. if detection be-
comes imminent, effects negotiations by which
he can retain a portion OF the booty, and secure
Immunity by the surrender of the rest: the
skilled cOunterfciter who rivals the Treasury de-
paTtment in the manufacture of bonds and ma
tIOnal bank notes, and whose arrest merely he
cessitates the surrender of his plates with per-
haps, promise that he will retire from the busi-
ness; or the skilled bank burglar whose me-
chaniCai skill sets the most trusted safeguards
al naught. before whom burglar proof safes fly
open. the bank vaults yawn, and whose exploits
are forgiven by his victims in consideration of
his return to them of such portion of his p!under
as he finds useless to himself
lis not the picture you paint of thieves
rather attering One:'
Not at all. 1Ou must remember am speak
Ing only Of one class. and thai necessarily small
one. The picture would be not only tfatterinn
but utterly untrue were l to present it as that
OF
THE AVERAGE THIEF.
The common run Of thieves the men who
spend two-thr(ls Of their lives in ial belong
to a totally different type. 1t is only here and
there that You find among them one shrewd
enough to pursue his profession and yet keep
out of the meshes Of the law for any continued
length Of time.
why don't they give up the business when
they find it such an Improbable One?"
well, that is somewhat difficult to answer.
In the first place, there is some fascination in
habituaI criminality that very seldom loses its
grasp on one who has fallen within its intiu-
ence. Then there is the natural inclination of
mankind to overrate our abilities. man has
been caught, say once, twice or half dozen
times. . 1t would be natural for rs to suppose
that such man would say to himself when he
gets out Of prison, This is losing game am
playing; had better give it up good many
do say this and retire from the profession bllt
in only few cases does this attack Of wisdom
prove chronic. The great majority, however.
become possessed of the idea that their past
experience will aid them in committing new
crimes with impunity. They think that they
have grown
TOO CUNNING TO BE CAUGHT
in such traps as before enmeshed them. They
look forward to series of successful Jobs
and perhaps delude themselves with the resolve
that they will retire with the proceeds of one or
several rich hauls. AS for Others, they simply
trust to luck keep out of Jail as long as they
can, and resign themselves to the Inevitable
when they get in"
do thieves as rule seem to feel very bad
when they are captured or convicted? 2" asked
the reporter.