Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-09-30

breaker TO appear as person Oh tehuet
sentiment this humorous and poetical per
son evidently now considers it his privi-
lege to 90 farther in his efforts to COM
mend the tender and gushing thief who
burgles into our houses at night and robs
our purses and pantries, and quickly but |
genteelly and courteously butchers our
wives, daughters, chambermaids, cooks, |
children, cousins, aunts, mothers-in-aw |
and grandparents if they prove so un-
grateful and unresponsiye as to waken up
and try to resist.
For my part, says this singularly witty
person, in a communication printed in the
London Times, II could never quite un-
derstand the prejudice against burglars.
An unarrested burglar gives employment
to innumerable telegraph clerks, police
| officers, railway officials, and possibly also
to surgeons, coroners, undertakers and
monumental masous.' We suppose Mr.
Gilbert tells the truth. He can't quite
understand this prejudice having never
had his own house robbed or his servant
girl choked to death by these midnight ma
rauders, who are very nice, brave fellows,
enveloped in glamour of romance and
glory, so long as they break into and plum.
der other peoples houses.
But, according to the congenial Gilbert,
the burglar does even more than this to
promote commercial activity and to put
money into lively circulation. "a soon as
he is in custody continues Mr.. Gilbert,
the services of whole army OF solicitors,
barristers, judges, grand and petit jury.
men, reporters, governors of jails, and
prison wardens are called into requisition.
Really" he concludes the burglar does
more good than harm
So much for the eastern hemisphere,
and now here pops up, in the great west a
luminous prose writer, the editor of the
Minneapolis Tribune, who chants a meter.
less and rhymeless refrain to Gilbert S
humorous but ghastly utterance, quoting
first Carlyle, who in one OF his books
dwells upon the benevolent provision OF
nature that makes hard to do any evil deed
| from which good will not spring, for, he
points out: If you kill Cromwell you
may yet get good bushel of potatoes
from his carcase." The Tribune writer
then quotes certain poet who seemed tc
take to snakes, for some unaccountable
reason and who remarked in verse, that
IF the serpent bears a sting, he bears a
baIsam too But the trouble with the
'varmint' is that after having punched a
the basam-to any great extent-ar Ase
doubt very much whether he has an 4. ch
basam to his. Internal back But hen. We
must not do injustice to our newspaper
brother of the great doubled -barreled me-
tropolis Of the west by reproducing an oc
casional phrase or line, but quote the
closing portion OF his article entire:
So the uenefcent results Of the il-doing o
the burglar are endless. 1t is true that b,
steals. But as general rule he steals prop
erty which was lying idle and unproductiye
: | The watch which housebreaker carries Of
= any save the owner. When the burglar has
he pawns it, and the money value Of tb
watch less the pswnbroker's profit goes int
circulation. Mean hile the late owner
= the time-piece puts as much again into circG
lation by the purchase OF snother-au
probably more costly one. Then, too
a think of the enormous good which the burg
lar has done TO the world by the impetus
has given TO the manufacture OF patent lock
o | and ourglar-proof safes And how much tn
great ciyi!zers OF the word--the newspaper
have proiired by the advertising thereC
I | and have thereby been enabled to extend tn
= sphere OF usefulness. Obviously therefore, i
the long run the burglar works tor the create
good Of the greater number; and, certainly
, in view OF the last mentioned item in tn
catalogue of bis benefcent actions, it i'll be
comes newspapers to speak badly OF hin
No, we really cannot understand this preju
dice against burglars"
- We must admit that this reads we'll
that it is well-meant; that il shows di
position to favor the under dog in tn
fight, but however nice and useful pei
son the burglar may be shown to be, tn
best thing to do with him on gener'
e principles, is to shoot him on sight au
then to notify Gilbert and the Tribuu
editor to attend the funeral as mourneri