Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-12
GENTEEL LOOKING THIEVES.
Young Men Who Rob Hotels
and Boarding Houses.

and Boarding Houses.
DETECTIVE WHO HAS BROUGHT SOME OF
THEM TO GRrEF-How THEY MANAGE TO GET
FEMALE sYMPATHY-THE MAN IN BLUE.
| n ELECTIVE CARTER, speaking to q
| INN STAR reporter about the different classes
lfI Eof criminals, mentioned a number of
4iQ leases in which noted crooks from
N/various parts Of the country had
been arrested here and either sent to prison or
made TO leave the town.
"Hotel and boarding house thieves" he said.
| "havs appeared here often, but most Of them
| who did much work were captured and
| sent to the penitentiary. Now and then some
shrewd fellow would drop into the city long
| enough to take q trick or two and then leave,
| but those who remained any length Of time
| usually Jared badly, and were sorry they did
not leave without wanting to make one more
haul. They, like all other crooked people,
| never like to give up good thing, and they
think that because they were successful several
times in plying their vocation they can keep it
up until their booty amounts to large sum
| without being detected. But as there is all end
| to all sublunary things there must be limit to
| the operations OF thieves and even the hotel
and boarding house thief must expect to reach
the end OF his rope some time.
THE BOARDING HOUSE PRowLER DESCRIBED.
"The thief who operates in boarding houses"
continued the detective, sis usually good look
| ing, well behaved and even fascinating; gen.
| orally he is young man Of marriageable age.
Being a stranger at the boarding house his ap-
pearance has to stand as his reference, or in
other words he must be able to travel on his
| looks. If he is an adept at his business his
| looks and actions will generally carry him
through safely for awhile at least. In the first
place he aims to get on the top floor Of the
house SO as to have access to all the floors with
out being suspected of evil intentions. To &C
complish that object he starts out by telling
the landlady that he wants q cheap room and
that one on the top floor will suit him as well
as any other. He understands perfectly that
the cheap rooms are generally on the top foor
and some times in the garrett. Even IL placed
in a garnet room he would not complain, for
then he could pass up and down stairs and get
good opportunities to locate the rooms and
select the ones he wants to work
PARLoR PET.
"He appears in the parlor in the evening
and makes the acquaintance of the ladies in
the house. if there are any, and to use the cur
rent slang expression, 'it's a cold day when he
can't make a mash. Being mild-mannered
and good talker he soon makes himself
favorite with the ladies, and that is a big card
afterward in case of his arrest. He takes the
ladies to the theater and other places of amuse-
ment and makes himself as agreeable as pos
sible. Then in case Of his arrest, and espe-
cially il he can get word to them before they
see the officers, ten to one but they will be
anxious to forgive and pity him for being led
astray, and make it difficult by their sympathy
to successfully conduct a prosecution against
him. When he gets an opportunity to do 30
after his arrest he tells the ladies ptifu story
OF his misfortunes and how he came to go
wrong, and, strange to say, most of them be-
lleve every word he says. Then, OF course,
they are extremely anxious to have the thief
turned loose again to rob some other house.
COMPARATIVE SAFETY OF HIS OPERATIONS
''The thief who operates in a boarding house
has little fear of being captured in the act Of
robbery, because he commits the crime gen.
orally during the day time when there is no
one in the house except, perhaps, the cook and
possibly the landlady The fact that he has a
right to enter the house relieves him Of all
suspicion. and when he makes a haul he can
walk off safely. After making one safe haul
he never chances a longer stay. and when he
leaves, if he has plumber enough, he usually
changes his clothes, which is the only means he
adopts to avoid detection.
THE HOTEL THIEF
''With the man who operates exclusively in
hotels it is different. 1t makes no difference
about his looks, except that his general ap-
pearance must be such as will pass him by the
hotel clerk. Like the boarding house thief he
is satisfied with q cheap room on an upper
floor and he prefers the stairs to the elevator,
because he can get better idea OF tue loca-
ton OF rooms, and can better Judge the best
time to enter them. Usually he registers at
the hotel at a late hour at night and often he
makes haul the very next morning after
breakfast and then skips to another hotel.
Sometimes, however, he has to remain two or
three days about the hotel which only gives
him better chance to make a big haul
1.-THE MAN IN BLUE"
"While some thieves confine their operations
to hotels and others to boarding houses there
are some who divide their time between the
two. If the thief makes a successful visit to
the hotels in a city during one visit he will. at
the next visit contine his operations to the
boarding houses. Such was the case with a
man who first visited this city about the year
1887. For week or two complaints came in
frequently from boarding houses of robberies,
and each time the description of the man was
the same, and the men in the office christened
him the man in blue That was because he
wore a blue suit. He was also described as
having large hazel eyes. Each time robbery
was reported and the description given the
inspector would say, Here's our boy in blue
again
THE MISSING PURSE.
"Finally he secured room in a house near
9th and streets The landlady was going out
one day ana sne placed her purse containing
S92 on the piano and dropped her hat over it.
A few minutes afterward she went in and
picked up her hat and to her astonishment the
purse was missing. She hurried down to head
quarters and made her complaint Again it
was the man in blue and again did Inspector
Swindels call our attention to il. He was tired
of hearing the same old story over and over
again and the man still at large. Finally he
told us (the men in the office to 90 out and not
return without the thief; he wanted him before
o'clock.
on THE TRAIL.
my partner, Detective Raft, and myself
started out from the Office between 9 and 10
o'clock determined to find the man in blue if
possible and bring him to Justice. Learning
from an investigation of the case that he had
stopped only in houses that had rooms for
rent on a sign at the door started out and
visited a large number Of such houses and
finally we located him at house not far from
where he had gotten the S92 There were
several ladies in the house and they recognized
us. They were apparently deeply interested
arrest theIn as witnesses. In order not to have
them spoil our case We had to tell them that
we only wanted to give him some fatherly ad-
vice SO that he could keep out OF trouble.
CAUGHT AT LAST.
"After waiting at the house two or three
hours good-looking young man stepped from
the street car and came toward the door. He
was the man we wanted, but he had DISPOSED
OF his blue clothing and had purchased a new