Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-25
A LOST .PROFEsssoN.,
why the Bank Isobber Has Ceased %
Menace Financial Bmsstsustous.
DEAD. IMPRISONED AND REFORMED cRAcKsNEa
AND GREATER VIGILANCE AT THE BANKS.


DEAD. IMPRISONED AND REFORMED cRAcKsNEa
AND GREATER VIGILANCE AT THE BANKS
From the Philsdelphia Times.
Inc astonishing exploit OF the safe plundercn
who burrowed through the wall OF Q building
into a bank In New Orleans gagged and bound
the Waterman and robbed the strong box, waa
the theme OF conversation with a veteran de-
tectire He said there was a parallel In this I'm
the adventure, about four years ago, OF Charter
Adams and George Mason. who is now under
Indictment I'm this city for recent conspiracy to
rob safe. and that happily Philadelphia banks
had not been exposed for several years past to
the danger of an onslaught OF the same kind
Adams and Mason had tunneled through wall
into the Cambridge Mass Savings Fund build
ing. when they were attacked by watchmen and
policemen, and were taken after q desperate
fight, In which Mason was shot.
do you think 1t would be possible" he WAS
asked. Ito repeat the Kensington bank adyen-
ture. for instance2" where the burglars got In
uniformed as policemen.
II don't think so, although IL Is always tho
unexpected that happens. / say no. Tor the
principal reason that the old generation OF des-
perate men who organized and formed the bands
are all either dead, In prison, or have reformed.
The smartest man by all odds In the profession
OF bank rohbing was George l.. Howard, known
ana knowledge necessary 10 make such schemes
successful. He knew as much about locks a. the
safe manufacturers themselves. He was natu-
raj genius No sooner would a new courbna-
ton safe lock come out than he would buy ono
through his agents and at once dissect il ana
discover the weak points OF its mechanism. lie
seemed TO find them by instinct. When he WAS
slain there was nobody to take up his sceptcr.
Old Jimmy Hope was pretty skillful at operating
locks, as the manipulations of the locks in the
10 .vita.r1
He and Ned Lyons worked the safe In the old
navy yard In this city years ago. and II took Ned
Tryon and Ned Cariin nearly day TO pick up tho
tumblers in the lock and open the door. But
Hope Is In prison in California for few years TO
come.
SOME DARING OLD CRACKSaES.
" Ike Marsh is another good one, hut he Is an
old man now, being over sixty. and, besides. he
is I'm the Eastern Pententiary for a few years
yet, for participation In the robbery of the Wells
boro Ban X. He was a daring express train rob-
Der. Old Allan Pinkerton, Who lis writing up
book OF rogues, wanted likes life from his own
pen: but Isaac Ia too iy. He Il one of the
nurses In the sick ward, aud Is spoken Of "a q
gentle. attentive one. Brockie George was
under his care for a time and died In the peni-
Tertiary. He, too, was one OF the old gang,
and had a hand I'm the Kensington Bank robbery
Red Leary, Billy Corners. Shang Draper YES
and several more good ones might be counted
up who have dropped the Jimmy. the drill and
the powder can and manage to live now by some
other means. Jimmy Irving has lust come out
of the Eastern Penitentiary, aud his partner,
Billy Porter, Is In the BROOKLYN Penitentiary"
The veteran chewed his cigar refectiyely before
he responded to an Inquiry TO the cause for
The Immunity OF Philadelphia banks from raids
such as marked Mayor FoN's administration and
the early part OF Mayor Stokley's term.
Greater vigilance. | suppose, on the part u
the banks. The employment Of inside and out
side night waioamen. teegraphic communica-
ton time locks and stronger vaults. The Ken
sington Bank robbery was d complete success,
but don't believe it could be repeated. Then
there the attempt on the Corn Exchange
Bank, which came near To being a Success. Pete
Burns put up that job because the bank had OBJ
tanned Judgment and forced him To make good
several thousand dollars which had been OBJ
tanned on forged drafts. The cracksmen were
going In and out of the building for nights and
had their tools and dummy Waterman stored
In an upper room, They were waiting for "a mil-
lion.
BuRGLARIES THAT FAILED.
Two experts, who were not In the job at all,
but were on their way to Woodbury.. n. J.. to do
a bit Of work for themselves, were arrested ON
the street early In the morning and were run in
and put away on suspicion Of designs on the
Corn Exchange. Then there was the attem ut
on the Southwark Bank, which was defeated
because the man who was on watch got drunk
and went asleep on h0usetOp aud failed to sig
nal 10 the wOrknen when To begin operations
on the departure Of the Waterman. The Consoli-
dalton Bank would have been pundered, too,
but for the tingling of door-bell. The thieves
had rented adjoining building and had
knocked a hole through the bank wall, and had
all OF their implements in there They heard
the bell and supposed the watchman had re-
turned and they fed. leaving everything behind
them. | know Of q Chestnut street bank which
employed only one Waterman, an old. decrepit
fellow. I've seen him sound asleep In chair
with the door wide open. on many a night. How
that bank escaped being robbed don't know.
There was another that had two ancient watch
men. One OF them woudlet the other out early
In the morning to go buy policy slips There
was an opening here for the men who worked
the Kensington Bank IL would have been the
easiest thing In the world for gang 10 rap at
the door and get admittance about the time
the old fellow was to return. Ii IL fact
not known outside of detective circles that Job
wasput up few years ago to rob the UnitedStates
Mint. The ATTEMPT on the Sub-Ireasury In the
Custom House building, ia 1879. tailed only be-
cause the cracksinen made a mistake and got
into the vault where pennies were stored, in
stead oftiat holding gold coins. The government
had to get new locks and new safe doors. The
leading banks all have inside and out side watch
men now. The latter report every hour and
have 10 record their visits 10y a tell-tale clock"