The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-01-10
The Thief in the House.

There are several ways of looking at
a house thief He may be observed IN
the prisoners dock, or his physiognomy
may he studied in tirst-class rogue's
gallery. One point of view-hazy and
unreliablc-is from the scenes of his ex-
ploits, where loss, fright and anger
magnify every movement and exagger-
ate the importance Of the criminal hero.
A near approach to the successful
thief and house robber dispels many IL
iusions and robs the situation of half
the romance The most successful
house burglar whom the writer ever
met was an exceedingly modest and in
offensive parsonage in his appearance
upon the street, and he would never be
singled out in a crowd as the man to
disturb your midnight slumber and
forcihlv bear of the ''supers" and
'1eathers." There is great degener-
acy from the Dick Turpin and Robin
Hood ideal in the criminal realm; there
is no such ISOLATION as in former days,
no such san~uinary training or reckless
adventure The dreaded culprit is not
now hidden in romance and mystery.
| In short, in the words of noted cracks
man prom beginning to end it's
| purely bHs ness To the Well-tralned
house thief and burglar, detection and
arrest are no horrible discovery. "
| There is no shame or ignominy in the
| public ARA gnment and trial, no dread
| tul forabc&ing of retribution, no very
poignant reg cts over State-prson
sentence with the cultured operator
the cop" the court, jury, sentence
and renitentiary term are as much
part 0 the business of the profes-
sion as IS the disposal of the ''swag >
| The quams of conscience, mental tor
ments and soul terrors so wildly de-
picted and predicated of villains who
defy moral aud statute law are not SC
often experienced by the burglar and
thief as is generally supposed.
Its our trade. We know it is
| against the law and ali that, but the
fact is, we do not allow such consider
ations to trouble US. We do not look
upon our profession from the same
point Of view; that's all We under
stand that majority of people look
| upon us as enemies OF society, but We
| don't agree with society, that's all, We
| know that society is our enemy, and we
take that fact into our calculations. The
whole business is fascinating to the pro.
fessional. We prefer to play this game,
all full of hazards and trip-ups, than to
walk in the rigid tracks of bushes:
which society marks out as the only le
/ gal and honorable way of getting
| money
| A different style of burglar and house
robber is demanded by the condition o.
modern life from that which was the
| type of lawlessness a century ago. The
brutal and sanguinary element is a;
nearly as possible eliminated, but the
same essential qualities of constitution
make the successful house thief of to
day. The modern burglar aims to es
cape detection through retreat and def
escape from the premises, as we'll as to
accomplish his main purpose of plum
der, in the use of skill and not of force
"Neyer kill man save in self-defense
get caught rather than drop a man, >
was the prudent motto of celebrated
cracksman. It is only the tyro or the
bungler who tlourishes revolvers anG
quickly appeals to the blndgeon.-Bos
| ton Herald.