The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1885-04-16
THIEF TRsoE REPORTS.
4 Philosophical Cssaptcr on Crime -
the City ~ London.

4 Philosophical Cncptsr on Crime =
the City - London.
tR-ads.reet.
RcturEs of thicvery do not often sp-
Ecar among trade reports, yet it Is .
we'll organized business. Of course,
there is mitch petty, retail pocket pick
ing, corner fiiching, shop lifting, etc,
which is never brought to the notice Of
the police, and onseguently makes no
part OF the official reports, but what Is
ta.,ulatel is decidedly representative.
IRE would think that stealing is 50 per-
ilous risk that it could hardly thrive,
and that its pursuit Elust imply an ir-
res:stible predatory instinct. impclling
EicE to that course il spite Of every
In. ard. But the LonGon police returns
Gisc:o,c fairly propcrous business, and
on the doctrine of averages one COM
raratlyely safe.
in i~> every oe0th person in the dis
tric; covered ny the operations oil the
Metropolitan }oliec reported himself a
victim of th.cvcry in some form. There
were in the same ter.itory Ii ) known
thieves, although the actual number
must be mu h greater than are known
at coil nd Yard. The losses registered
by the police amounted to nearly s. 0.
go. Uf this $50, ,,u,:, or a little more
than 80 per cent, were recovered. leav-
ing the handsome amount of s ,6o, 600
to- Q divided among the depretiators.
CIV many good dollars were sent after
the bad ones the returns furnish Nd
definite means OF determining, and one
is at liberty to conjecture the purposes
for Which the $19J,OOO received for
special services outside the tax ratet
were spent. Probably no small pars
was paid for detective duty TO obtain
some return of the goods snatched away
. by dcx3erous fingers.
Notwithstanding al Q penditures on
police, the gains of this profession al.
lowed to each known thief in the dis.
trict were S.;:s2. L., or considerable more
til IN an. unskillcd laioring man could
earn in ondon Til re are uc:uations
in this line of industry, for in i-.~ il
VAS especially profitable, and there
/ we're S 4 of unrecovcred spoil to eacl
professional on the Scotland lard books
But this statement makes no allowance
for those OF the corps who were apprc
hcn!ed, who had to disgorge, and after
ward en- Dyed the hospitality Of thu
state. 1t would not he much amiss K
estimate that the losses in Ondon BY
stealing average $.uO year for each
ha:.i;ual thief, an income enjoyed prac
tically without molestation. and suth
ciant to recruit the professional rank.
while wages are as low as they are.
he number of larcenies and bur
glaries largely exceeds that Of th,
thieves, but obviously each operator
must omm,t several crimes in order Il
-eali his full in ONE. Eut the inefii
cheney OF police protection in L0ndoI
is exhibited in the statement that fo
the decade from i8 0 to leoO the losse
by the spoliation of the predatory class
in excess OF recoveries was -, lD5, UGO
the recoveries Icing 4 little more thar
fifth Of the losses Nearly half Of tn,
fclonics coming nler the cogni ance o
the police pass without any arrest.
Fast Indian Society.
II hill delphia Prex.l
The bed of dweller in East India il
spread upon tho floor, and for a pillow
is used sort of basket, which is util
lied at the same time for containing tn
valuables of the house. The cOverin,
for the sleeper is made of cotton wOveI
by hand There are no chars, and th'
o. cupants sit OH the floor with crosse,
legs, or in a reclining posture, with on
leg over the other. There are no mu
steal instruments, no notes. no set mu
Sic The East Indians lie down withoa
undressing and on rising. roll up thei
ted ard stow it away. Their principa
food is rice, which those who are at th
table eat with the same spoon. Their
are no pnddings, no desserts, and who
ever is the last to rise from the table !!
co PEELED to wash the dishes. Womal
has scarcely any place in society, litera
turc or art. Man is the master, an
rules. The language is simple. consist
of twenty-five letters for an alphabet
and can he learned in a year and u hal
by one associating with the people.
Railways Of the Earth.
llIaynia il san Fran .isca chronc'el
There are ..i,3s4 miles of railwa
on this earth, said co.. e ard tn
other afternoon at the Chatham. o n
cilOr George Grant, = man of figures
remarked that If all the tracks wer
placed end to end we coul run arOun'
the globe almost twelve times withon
having to switch off or chang
kccrs. Not to he outdone in r.
capitulation OF solid truths. I've
pleasantly ventured the ass rtion tha
al these iron roads had cost something
like -, OU,OOa, 900, with sum, sal
he, IF stacked up in s. pieces woul
make pile over $50 miles high.
Finally it was stated that the railroad
now in existence are distributed oye
the earth as follows America, lao,
$50 miles; Europe. II, $50 miles; Asia
l1,4OO miles; Australia, $50 miles, an
Africa, 3,545 miles.
/
| Wit and Hummer.