Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1883-09-22
CRIMES WAITS.
ChIMES WAITS.
Cursed by the Sins of Their Par
ents.
Every Hand Turned A-ainst Them, They
ReVile Against the World Wealthy
Children Of Bank Fo'gers.
Mn lnrt WorlH

charitable institutions of the city, aud
they are counted by the thOu<&nd, there
are none whose lives are cast ia quite
such dark and dreLry places as the
children Of thieves. Tue cJI-e of the
parent seems to have f~llen upon the
innocent shoulders of their offspring;
every mans haud > a..aiD~t them and
in time they, too, begin to understand
this, and in a majority of cases soon
learn or are forced i turn their hand
against mankind in general. Whats
bred in the bone will come out in the
flesh" is an old saw quoted whenever
industrious housewives or sturdy farmers
are asked to take these young boys and
girls if they know that their parents
were thieves. They look upoa them as
born murderers, thugs and burglars,
even when lying ia the cradle wrapped
in swadding clothes; aud if they grow
up TO be good men and women, Orna-
mems OF society, the world drag5 its
head suspiciOusly Notwithstanding.
There are rich thieves aud poor
thieves, and the children Of the former
know little or absolutely nothing of
their parents occupation, while tho re
of the latter class are early taught to
steal and brut..lly beaten when not
successful in bringing to the miserable
place called home some token of their
days work or skill, upon which the
degenerate father or mother may obtain
loan from the pawnbrOker.
Eyes, it's q terrible life they lead"
said q well-knOwn central Office de-
tectiye yesterday, land especially the
children of the poorer class OF thieves,
who make a living by burglary aud
theft and not by tue Cracking OF bank
or breaking into a safe deposit vault.
In the one case the -ehieveS have to
steal every day in order to support their
family-if they have oue-and in the
other the bank burglar lives on the
proceeds OF one robbery until he has
cOnsummated another. The family Of
one suffers the pAngs of poverty and
wan, most Of the time, while that of the
UtLer i provided with all that heart can
wish fOr. The children OfOne class are
sent on h the Street II beg and steal,
balf clad, and in rags al that. They
are taught the au,tUi tricks aud devices
OF Their purCu.s ard iCOm sheer ucces-
Shy Ut last become most expert 10 pick
ing pockets and 'sneakirg.'
"At last their parents are caught and
perhaps sent away to do long terms.
The children fan into the hands of the
society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children and and an effort is made to
rrform them. They are sent away TO
homes in the country in quiet farm
houses, but if they chance to show any
Of their inbred prOpensities, and the
farmer finds out who their parents We're,
they are at once sent back to the in
stitutiOn from which they were taken,
with righteous uplifting Of hands. So
it goes; they are sent from one place to
another, bat generally DRIFT back be-
hind the dull, dreary walls OF some
charitable institution that shuts out
the sunlight of their lives as securely Is
it fails to reach the root of their mslady.
They are marked children from their
birth, and in nine eases out Of ten turn
out worse than their parents, who,
when once relieved of them, rarely try
to again obtain possession OF their OH
springs unless found in some wealthy
home, and then they try to use them
for rObbing their benefactotS."
"HOw about the children of bank bur-
glars and forgers?n asked the reporter.
~ must admit WAS the reply, "tbat
they fare more like the children Of the
wealthy than of thieves. They rarely
know their parents business or profess
SOD, ard every precaution is taken to
keep them in utter ignorance. They are
educated nc the most expensive estab-
lisbments and move in the best o. sOce-
ty, according to the means of their par
enis. This sort Of thing lasts until their
parents are caught in some big job, and
theu the truth comes out.
1.-THE children, if they are old enough,
sbun their father in many ease, and in
others do all in their power to aid him
in his trouble, and sometimes are Of
great aid to him in establishing q de-
feuce. 1t sometimes happens that chill
dren grow up aud marry in entire ig-
porapce OF the profession of their father.
When they are confronted with one
stubborn fact, however, they are, II
properly trained, unrelenting in their
bitterness and denunciation.
al know of one case where 8 young
lady is to-day employed as typewriter
in a downtown banking house who Is
the daughter of q noted bank burglar.
She supports herself and younger sister
out ofthe scant earnings, and refuses to
live with or have anything to do with
her parents. The discovery that her
father was a bank burglar almost killed
her. Several similar cases are on record,
but they are like peacock's eggS-very
scarce. AS a rulethe children Of thieves
are to be greatly pitied, for their lot In
! the world il \ most unenyiable one.n