The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1885-07-28
BURGLARY,
The Style That Prevails In the City Of
Milwaukee.

milwaukee,
Literature" said Mr.. Howells, in
an article that raised hubbub in En-
gland, '.has become finer art in our
day than it was with Dickens aud
Thackeray." The same may be said
of burglary Ii is to be regretted that
the, good name of the profession of
housebreaking has suffered considerably
in the estimation of all persons whose
opinion is worth having because OF GER
tain accompanying acts that appeared
to border on violence. Rightly or
wrongly, a kind of odium attached it.
self to that arduOus calling TO such an
extent that thoughtful parents hesitated
about advising their sons TO enter on an
undertaking that has been looked upon
as tolerably lucrative. There Is no
other profession that offers such adj
yantages in the way of collecting val
liable bric-a-brac and articles of I'M
| doubted usefulness as the profession OF
burglary. This of itself would make
the business one congenial TO the culti-
waited mind: vet, strange Is it may APP
pear. it is stated on good authority that
| burglars are not admitted into the best
! societyin Boston or New York unless
| tliey come in by the usual business en-
trance of an unlocked door or pried-
open window.
| Thus MANY of our best young men
are deferred from entering profession
! which affords tremendous advantages
to the skillful and ingenious, simply be-
cause of the social drawbacks That such
a choice of Occupat on involves. Ii may
be >aid that the Observation-Disclosures
and the personal danger attendant on
diligent prosecution of this industry
has much to do with its neglect. 1t Is
held, for instance, that the law affords
euual-and somewhat similar-oppOr-
tunities. and that the law is profession
that can be followed by daylight, and
that the risk of encountering stray par
ticles of lead is not so great as in the
kindred pursuit of burglary. Still.
lawyers are under no social ban, and
so, until recently, law has been pre-
ferred to burglary.
The reason for the ill-odor Of burg
larry is not far to seek. Burglars have
been too lax in the observance Of those
little acts of politeness and courtesy
that so largely tend to soften human
intercourse. The new school of burg
lary will DO much to change this order
of things. At present this improved
method is being tried with great sue
cess in Milwaukee. The case of MIR.
Raw has already been referred to in
these columns, and since then the tele-
graph brings the account of another
burglary in the same city where the
burglar maintained demeanOr of the
utmost politeness towards his client.
He went on the principle that ''in small
affairs like these the expression, If you
please particularly gentlemanly tone
implants,'" and no doubt so thought
the sisters and the cousins and the
aunts of the Milwaukee man whose
house was being inventoried at the time.
Instead of putting the muzzle ola plsto
! TO a mans ear, and flashing a DARK
lantern under his nose, the burglar Of
; the future will gently wake the man o.
I the house and say to him:
: "Excuse me. sir, for troubling you
but the fact is that l am looking fol
l some little things here and am rather
: unacquainted with the lay of the house. '
= The man being suddenly awakened
e may so far forget himself as to MAKE
Q remarks that in cooler moments N
would regret. but these the polished
: burglar will take no notice Of
Excuse my seeming inquisitive
J. ness" he will remark, blandly, "bu
K would you be so kind as to inform mt
where you keep your cash."
Thus the necessary business pertain
v inc 10 q visit of this kind can be trans
q acted with decorum and pleasure Il
both parties.
1t is not too much to hope that in tn
near future the occupation of burglar
may be so systematized that every burg
\, lar will have q certain number of client
and that the pol.test burglar will hav
a the greatest number. BY strict atten
y ton TO business and by respectful treat
ment a burglar may amass a larg
: amount of wealth. AS he rolls past i
= his carriage admiring friends will say
d There goes De WintOn. who has Tn
IF burglary monopoly on some of tn
IN finest houses on Woodward avenue.
The system NAV be extended so ths
= one burglar will have the professions
% etiquette not to encrOach on another
a territory. III by mistake he enters
house out of his bailiwick, the propri'
70 tor will merely say: beg your pardon
a but De WintOn does all INV burglary.
anu the intruder, with profuse apol
gies, Will at once withdraw.
:. The effect of the new school of bur!
n larry on the professional in gener
ought to be very great. and it Is muc
y, to the credit of a small Western tow
g like Milwaukee that the ethics of TIL
important branch of industry shou
II have been first put into practice Their
Detroit Free Press.