Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1885-11-05
BEHIND CRIMES CURTAIN
q Peep at the Way Justice Is
Cheated.
Scientific BurSlars-The Champion Rogues
of the World-HOw the Burglar
Divides His Plumber Two
Murders at Sea.

A little blue cloud of smoke foated
over the head of well-known criminal
lawyer of this city yeterday as he sat IN
a BIG, soft, shiny leather chair and
dreamily pulled dainty wreaths and
garlands from long cigar. His fat.
red hands, sparkling with Diamond,
dropped lazily over the creased sides of
the chair. and ever, tine tie wide
bosom of bis sh ri rose and fell bunch
of iewelS twinkled and biazed, fairy
island in white sea, beneath which a
thousand dark secrets rolled like the
bones of dead sailors. Deep gray eyes,
rosy cheeks and thick, red neck,
swollen with muscles. lay against the
dark brown back cushions. From the
snowy cuffs that enclosed the burly
wrists a pair of large manacles of solid
gold dangled.
picture of Lord Chief-Justice Cockburn
stared at a faded picture of Reddy the
Blacksmith, and My Lord was not fiat
tered by the comparison either. At the
door was an old-fashioned little boy
with keen eyes and a sharp nose.
Yes" said the INSTRUCTOR of the
course of justice, to a reporter while
tanning the blue cloud away, i've
known personally nearly all the crimi-
nails that lave amounted to ANYTHING in
the last twenty-five Years. Men of
brains2 Well. should say so. If the
cause of education had such men of
heroism and genius enlisted on its side
how much better the world might be to-
day, and how much poorer l might be.
It's dreadful to think of what wicked
ness there is in the world, and yet
long ago made up my mind that we
had to bear with it in spirit of Chris
tan fortitude. This is really a very
pleasant cigar.
Here the lawyer crossed his legs and
sighed with an air of delicious content
ment. The golden shackles jingled and
twinklcd as he gently rubbed his club:
by palms together and settled himself
more coziy in the chair.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF BURGLARS.
{" long ago learned to distinguish
between criminals in way that the
ordinary public seldom understands.
Now, take the burglar. for instance.
He is a fine, romantic figure, and yet
burglars differ in their spheres as Prof.
Eirchow, the great anatomist, differs
frcm an ordinary coroner's assistant
In the lower walks of life we have the
common burglar, the tramping vaga-
bond who breaks into a house upon the
mere chance that the people may be
asleep, and that he may find something
worth stealing. Such men seldom rise
in life and are mere dragS upon modern
civilization. l always think of their
poor lawyers with a feeling of pro-
found pity. Hardened as my pro-
fession may make me, l always hope to
have some tender feelings. The
drunken burglar comes next in the
scale. He loafs around bar-rooms all
day. swigs beer and whisky until his
brains are all fuddled, and at night he
breaks into some unprotected grocery
store. Now | come to very interest
ing class of people, who are generally
chaperoned by persons like a certain
dear Old lady now in Canada who shall
be nameless. These burglars send
Young women-in most cases their
OWN swcetnearts to intelligence offices
in order to get situations as servants to
wealthy families. These servants learn
where the family vaIuables are Kept
study the habits of their employers.
and then. ut the right hour, leave the
door open. The burglar who works
on this plan finds his task easy. Col
ored criminals use this scheme very
much. You remember that it was only
a few months ago that Gertrude Ash,
a colored servant. concealed her lover
liz the house where she was employed.
and thus enabled him to steal what he
wanted.
THE Heightened FELLOWS.
Then there are the educated. sys-
tematic burglar-the men of science.
All! what magnificent men l have
known, These men never go into a
house On n chance of finding booty
They first learn what kind of wealth is
kept in the house. If it is jewelry. they
arrange Their plans to steal jewelry; if
it is bonds. as in the case of the great
Lord robbery, they get ready to steal
bonds. When they enter the house
they do not seize the first valuable
thing they see. but work Systematically
toward the place where the jewelry or
the bonds are kept The first thing
man of science plans is how to get out
OF the house he is going to rob- One
o. the greatest burglars that ever lived
said to me: ANY mechanic with cool
nerves can break into a house, but it
takes man of brains to get out The
tine burglar has arranged before he
enters the house just what he will do if
the occupants discover the burglary