Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1886-03-24
BEHIND CRIMES CURTAIN
A Peep at the Way Justice Is
Cheated.
Scientific Burglars-The Champion Rogues
Of tho world-IIow the Burglar
Divides His Plumber - Two
Murders at Sea.

DbiNto thtS wv
Murders at Sea.
A little blue cloud of smoke floated
over the head of a 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 diamonds,
dropped lazily over the creased sides of
the chair, and every time the wide
bosom of his shirt rose and fell bunch
of jewels twinkled and blazed, a fairy
island in white sea, beneath which a
thousand dark secrets rolled like the
bones of dead sailors. Deep gray eyes.
rosy cheeks and a thick, red neck,
swollen with muscles, lay against the
dark brown back cushions. From the
snowy cuffs that enclosed the burly
wrists pair of large manacles of solid
gold dangled.
From the walls of the room faded
picture of Lord Chief-Justicc Cockburn
stared at faded picture of Reddy the
Blacksmith, and My Lord was not flat
tered by the comparison either. AT the
door was an old-fashioncd little boy
with keen eyes and sharp nose.
'Yes," said the INSTRUCTOR of the
course OF justice, to u reporter while
tanning the blue cloud away, 1--WE
known personally nearly all the crimi-
nails that have amounted TO anything in
the last twenty-five years. Men of
brainsP 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 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
tian fortitude This is really 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
moro cozily in the chair.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF BURGLARS.
81 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 vet
burglars differ in their spheres rs Prof.
Virchow, the great anatomist, differs
from an ordinary coroner's assistant.
In the lower walks of life we have the
common burglar, the tramping vaga-
bond who breaks into q 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. | always think of their
poor lawyers with u feeling of pro-
found pity. Hardened as my pro-
fession may make me, always hope to
have some tender feelings. The
drunken burglar comes next in the
scale. Ho 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 sweethcarts- to intelligence offices
In order to get situations as servants to
wealthy families. These servants learn
where the family valuables are Kept
study the habits of their employers,
and then, at the right hour, leave the
door open. Tho burglar who works
on this plan finds his task easy. Col
ored criminals use this scheme very
much. You remember that it was only
o few months ago that Gertrude Ash,
a colored servant, concealed her lover
in the house where she was employed,
and thus enabled him to steal what he
wanted.
THE HIGII-ToNED FELLOWS.
"Thcn there are the educated, sys-
tematic burglars-thc men of science.
All! what magnificent men / have
known! These men never go into a
house on chance of finding booty
They first learn what kind of wealth is
kept in the house. II il is jewelry, they
arrange their plans to steal iewelry; if
1t is bonds, rs 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 q
man Of science plans is how to get out
of the house he is going to rob. One
of the greatest burglars that ever lived
said to me: ANY mechanic with cool
nerves can break into a house, but il
takes man of brains TO get out. The
true burglar has arranged before he
enters the house just what he will do If
the occupants discover the burglary
turn the light out, lock the hall door,
drop out of the pantry window, climb
the fence and dash away I'm Il carriage
waiting for him around the corner. The
man OF science never works unless he
has sentincls posted outside to warn
him in case Of emergency. The popu-
Lar method of postiq/thcs seutinels is
to hire room opposite to the place
where the robbery Is to occur. The
sentinels have wire with q handker-
chief tied to it or some other signal by
which the burglars can be warned.
The scientific man comes prepared to
kill, and when he Is corncred Is the
most mercilcss criminal you can
encounter But he will never kill
while there is hope of es-
cape. A man of science shrinks
from murder except as the very
last means Of avoiding capture. There
is ono little thing about systematic
burglars which few people know Of.
They never address each other by their
real names when engaged in crime.
The usual way Is TO give each one q
number. Then the leader can talk
without giving the police n clew TO the
identity Of his confcdcratcs. He can
say, Here, No. !, YOU gag this man.
No. ?. you bring that jimmy and lantern
into the next room You sec, in order
TO carry out a big plan several men