Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1882-11-16
DeXterity Of Thieves.

I'VE 11OSsAS AiS PuDI4NSt--.
The amazing dexterity of thieves is be-
coming one ofthe curiosities of the day
and very serious one, too. We boast
Of the human skill IN turning the forces
Of nature--light, heat, electricity and
waterfalls-to human service and profit,
and We point with unbounded compla-
cency to what intelligent men can &C
compllsh in the production of wealth
with the aid of machines propelled by
steam. And yet it is question whether
thieves, who toll not and spin not and
gather not into barns-who are neither
professional chemists nor philosophers;
who do not attend polytechnic institutes
and never listen to course ofscientfc lee
tures--it is question whether these es-
Unable persons do not, after all, make
more effective use of the laws which
other people discover and the instru-
ments which other people invent
than the discoveries and in
ventors themselves. An expert
modern thief actually seems to possess
the power of rendering himself invisible
Or few moments; at any rate, he does
possess the faculty of affecting such a
matter-of-course demeanor as to escape
attention. One day last week we'll
bred thief walked into a room in Bal
timore where a bank clerk was clipping
coupons from pile of bonds before him
and while engaging him in conversation
slipped out twelve bonds of 81 900 each
and made off without being detected.
Two well-bred thieves entered Louis
vile jewelry store and while one con-
versed with the propriestor, the other
robbed the show case Of 5000 worth of
diamonds. Two thieves entered the
jewelry department of the Cincinnati
Exposition and, without any attempt to
avoid observation, marched boldly up
to a show ease, unlocked it, deliberately
took out $4,000 worth of diamonds
and as deliberately walked off
with their booty. The clerk
of St. Louis business house went into
bank, drew $500, and laid it down by
his side for a moment; when he turned
to take it up it was gone; an invisible or
| unseen thief had entered and taken the
money in that single moment of forget
fitness on the part of the clerk These
things are of almost daily occurrence.
They force bank officers, cashiers, mes
sengers, jewelers. and business men to
redouble their vigilance and take unusu-
al precautions against suspicious charac-
tiers; but the modern thief, who is new
er a suspicious character, whose chief
art consists in diverting suspicion. man
ages to ply his vocation successfully in
what would be supposed the most unfav-
orable and dangerous places, in spite of
the double vigilance and precaution tax
en- to battle him. In fact, the thief who
makes it his business to prey upon the
fruits of other peoples labor S the most
deXterous Impractical magicians. He pos
sesses arts thatare not suspected till they
are put in operation. His fertility of re-
sources is unbeunded. He has a new
trick for every difficult occasion, and so
manages to get in his work at a moment
and point when and where he is not
looked for. He is person of ample de-
vislng plans for getting away with some
body else's property and the other tenth
in putting them in execution. Others
may toll, sweat, think, buy, sell and bar
ter. He may have nothing to do with
such vulgar vocations. His dutr is to
wait patiently while others, by toll,
sweat, thought and exchange, mass the
fruits of their labor in a compact, port
able form, and, in one instant of frailty
and forgetfulness, transfer them to his
own pocket; and it must be admitted
that he performs the difficult task with a
success that excites increasing admira-
ton and horror