Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-02-16
AUSTIN LETTER.
A Chapter on Burglars and Members OF
the Legislature.
Wherein They Differ and Some Points
OF Resemblance.
Some of the Former Now on Trial and
Their Apologists.


Special Correspondence OF the Gazette.
Austin, February l5.-After the leg
islature comes the burglar. or course
no one will insinuste that TN ere Is any
connection between the two-only a
| coincidence, he average legislator,
whatever his faults, knows nothing
about drills and fuses and files. The
only method he ever adopted to enter
a treasury not his own was on the "be
IL enacted plan. Between the two
the legislator and the burglar-citizens
| of Austin have always found the COM
pany of the former a great deal more
satisfactory. He supports our board
ing houses and saloons, and to give
him his dues, goes to church regu-
larly and throws anywhere from five
cents to quarter in the collection
plate. And to crown mis- virtues he
only goes for the state, leaving the
town generally better off than he
found it. The burglar is differently
minded individual. He disturbs our
SAUNDERS, and takes without giving
except great deal of trouble. Having
been reinforced lately 10y a great squad
of roughs, dead-beats, tramps and pro-
fessionals from Chicago, ST. Louis and
other eastern cities, he Is becoming de-
tiant and entirely too familiar with
the private property Of our
convincing that there is an or
state, and with headquarters at Austin.
Burglaries here are almost of nightly
occurrences, and reports of similar &C.
currences are coming in from neigh
boring cities very rapidly. The oper-
a:ors In these pleasant little y hemes
have been spotted here, but conviction
seems impossible. All Bahia had his
forty thieves, and when modern
burglar receives sentence alibis will
have lost their virtues and lawyers
their Wanted shrewdness. \
case is on trial in JUS
tice Won Rosenberg's court now,
which will test the possibility OF JUS
tice to convict. Three burglars entered
the store OF Mr.. Walker on the morn
ing of the 3rd, bound his clerk, blew
open his safe and obtained $500
in cash. Soon after three suspicious
characters were arrested and circum-
stances strongly indicate their guilt
A host OF witnesses, however, are on
hand to swear them out of the clutches
of the law. Certain phases of his case
render ii peculiarly interesting and
give it an Importance foreign to its
natural character. The prisoners be-
long to the Stone-cutters association,
which has lately been endeavoring to
raise a howl against the construction
of the new capitol. One OF them was
the spokesman OF the committee which
appeared before the senate in
vestigating committee, and has taken
an active y part in the effort
to impeaeh the integrity OF the contract
ors, and even Of the state officials
Unemployed in the work, and in fact
strangers To work of any sort, it il IA
little singular that individuals with |
out any reputation whatever except |
for breaking safes and killing police
men, should be SO jealous of the peo-
ple's money. But the most singular |
circumstance of all is thai
journal which lays any claims to re-
spectability should give unusual evil |
dences Of sympathy for such a lot of
disreputable characters. Enencmies
of the present administration are in II
hard strait indeed, when they stoop 10
fondle those who are engaged il cast
ing animadversions upon it, however
filthy. But people have not yet for
gotten that little incident in connection
with the Ben Thompson sensation, in
which Ben was almost pleaded with
to fix upon the governors law part
ner,n remark decidedly indiscreet.
What plotters we puny politicians be!