The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-02-29
The ssStOOl.PigeOn.

MIRROR regarding the creation of motives
which lead to acts of crime, there seems to
be noticeable overlooking of the subject
of 'stool- pigeons of which many of us
have sOrrOwing remembrance. The stool
pigeon, in police and criminal parlance, is
criminal who, on condition of bstrayng
those who engage with him. is permitted to
pursue his criminal course UNPUBLISHED,
while the guiding spirit of associated felo.
ny is protected by. those publicly pledged
to crush him. the deluded novices, ignorant
of the foul trickery of their tempter, are
dragged to Jail, from thence to courts to
face exaggerated testimony which condemns
them to prison. This system of iniquity
which Harriet Beecher Stowe calls RES
olution of Forces based on ''set thief to
catch thief" is said to be conducive of
moral good in roofing out the habitual GRIM
inalS. Those who assert it never stop to
look at the opposing side of the question,
or its true relation to crime The con-
frmed criminal soon learns that in his uni
versally condemned calling, his greatest
enemy lies. not in the police, but in the per-
jured treachery of the STOOL" and as such
must avoid him with far greater care than
those invested with the power to impriSon
him. An acquired instinct enables him to
distinguish the informer from the one who
would stand true to him. not only at the
scene of crime, but the ordeal of pump
ing inquisition." He understands that the
prOffered assistance of the stool is but the
prOXied whisperings of detectives, and as
eternal vigilance is the price of liberty"
shuns him with disdain. The profession
al nolit o<>f
must. in his raids, procure the assistance OF
some of the "uninitiated," who are ignorant
of his wiles. There is no denying the fact that
there is peculiar fascination in the pursuit
of gain by illegal means. 1t is morbid
craving, imbued in many minds for the eX
citment of uncertainty attending the pro-
feSsion of robbery. The stool-pigeOn
understands this falling of large class of
fallible men, and uses it to further his
own uncanny ends. His natural prey is
the young and giddy youth" with no trace
able connection of Self-willed thought of
his own. that he seeks to ALLEVIATE from slow
and plodding honesty to glttering vice.
With beguiiing and gilded receptions of
the fancied pleasures of an existence found
ed on the cOmmuniStic dogma of ''what is
yours is mine, the stool instillS Innocence"
with the poison of his infamy. Inducing
prospects of rich plumber accompanied by
hilarious excitement is pictured as the ex-
hilarating results of active villiany. AS a
matter of course, the possibility OF capture
in the exploits necessary to attain that con-
dition of plentifulness, termed ''well- fixed"
is never touched on. The gamblers say
''there is a sucker born every minute" and
it seems to be true as regards the victims of
the stool. destined for sacrifice on the alter
of treachery. When the misguided follow
er of an infamous adviser, is ANONYMOUSLY
marched flo to Jail. with stolen goods in his
possession, and confronted with facts.
(Which he wonders where they got,) what
can he say? Possession, without influence
or money, is equivalent to conviction. He
may betray his accomplish, but it will not
aid him where there is only two, and he is
ignorant of the relation his partner bears to
his capturers, and also as regards the giving
of information, till his eyes are opened by
one who has been Through the MILL" The
StOOl-pigeOn can make, but never entrap a
thief; those that he is the means of bring
ing before the law are but the fruits of his
own devilish ingenuity. A professional
criminal can never be caught by such trick
cry as the stool displays.
If the number of prisoners confined in
the different prisons through the machina-
tionS of stool-pigeons could be ascertained,
it would be something astonishing. Talk
about reform. why not reform the catchers
as we'll as the catched. Let the ''flyS' rail-
road their allies, the stools. The tempterS
being removed crime must decrease. AS
every effect must have cause, SO every
crime must be the effect of an enticed
mind. Remove that which entices and
original pureness must remain, for no crime
was ever committed without an impelling
cause. Did you ever ask detective whetl-
er or not he used stool? The answer
will invariably be in the negative: others
may use them. but not he. So it is: they
admit the evil but recognize in it the step
ping stone to reputation. This must not
be construed to mean all honorable officers
of the law for such would soon send them