Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1890-07-10
ORIENTAL THIEVES.
CUNNING JAPANESE THIEVES
AND ALERT POLICE.
Criminals Are Watched Continually
by Minions of the DEMONSTRATING a
Lady's Shoes on Her Feet.

Toxic, says the Cincinnati Inquirer
has the police force of the world, and its
members are the best men in all the
country. 1t is not because the Japanese
are not criminals No country on the
face of the globe has more plenteous
crime nor is more versatile in the ways it
is committed. But the police have so
completely the pedigree, record and
whereabouts of every man, woman and
child who was ever born or landed in
japan at their fingers ends, and their con-
duct from day to day, that it would be
truly easier for the arch-nihilist of Russia
to escape all police surveillance than it
would be for the most insignificant,
petty, Japanese sneak thief to escape it
for day. ~
A strong suspect of the gravest crime
Is often discharged simply to be watched,
and while he is not Swallowed or even
followed about from place to place by
police agents, yet the eye of the police is
never off him for a moment, and the
record of his conduct is as complete in
the chiefs Office at Toxic as is that of
the most closely Swallowed of Paris's sus
poets in the central office of that mys-
terious corps of officers known as the
French police. When he leaves one
aeighborhood the police in the district to
which he says he is going are notified,
and if he does not proceed to that district
the police know it as soon as he arrives
at his destination. 1t appears that every
arrival and departure OF native japanese
in every district in Japan is reported by
the district officers to the central office.
As a suspect goes from district to dis
trict instead Of detective shadowing
him his story pursues him, and he is
virtually shadowed by his crime. Wher-
ever he goes it goes, and, once com
mitted he walks in its shadow forever
Suicide is q common thing in the
country, and, while it is not by any
means confined to this class, still great
many self-inficted deaths among these
people come to public notice. Occasion
ally the mode Of execution is one, even
in this country, never heard of before.
An account of such a one, whether of a
military man or another it does not mat
ter, has come into public print here
within short time. One of the English
papers published in Japan, in comment
ing upon the suicide says it is livery
terrible, f" and with this enlightened in
dorsement give the details: A resident
of Kawazoye made this departure from
the well-beaten path of suicides, using
startling deliberation in his plans. He
placed upon his head bag of bran,
thrust into his bosom some tempo coins,
tied Japanese lantern to each OF his
feet and then hanged himself. rre
The meaning Of these singular prepar-
atoms were not at first apparent to the
villagers who came upon his decorated
corpse, but a local Daniel interpreted it
satisfactorily to everybody, and especial
" so to me. According to him the bag
Of bran was intended to signify that the
unfortunate deceased foresaw the near
necessity Of starving on hnsks, while the
corns were to signify that he still had a
few piastres to his earthly credit, enough
to buy him decent funeral, and the
lanterns were designed to show that he
see faint light of hope for lingering
earthly career, but that Notwithstanding
these few announcements he was de-
cided TO cut himself off from the miser
able company here below. Instead of
saving while there's life there's hope, the
japanese say while there's light on ones
footsteps; so the fellow meant that there
was still candle light on the sandals, and
they had not yet entered the darkness Of
utter restitution when the felo de sc
launched himself so picturesquely into
eternity.
Speaking of the shoes tied to this
mans feet reminds me that there is no
more peculiar class of criminals in Toxic
than those who make practice OF steal
ing shoes left at the doors of houses by
people who have gone within, and some
times stealing them of off their feet.
Japanese never enter houses to walk on
the polished floor and soft mats without
removing their foot-gear-the wooden
sandals fastened on by cord, slipped
between the great and second toes.
There is a story told about these shoes at
the time of the opening OF the railroad
between Toxic and Yokohama. An ex-
cursion train was the first to go over the
road, and the public was invited to take
the initial ride on a railroad without pay
ing fare. The generous invitation was
largely accepted, and as the passengers
all entered the cars they thought that us
ual etiquette required them to leave their
shoes on the outside. So when the train
pulled out in the confusion the passen-
gers. intoxicated with the novelty of the
Situation and listening to the wonderful
belching of locomotive, paid no atten-
ton to the long line of shoes that were
left standing in an imposing row facing
those who were left in the coy station at
the capital. When the train arrived at
Yokohama, about eighteen miles distant,
the simple people emerged from the
curious little coaches, fully expecting to
find their shoes awaiting them on the
outside. and were filled with uuspeak-
able amazement when the truth came
home to them that they had been carried
away from their shoes. Sometimes
foreigners have left good calf shoes at
the doors of houses in this city, and have
come outside to put them on again TO
find that some enterprising Japanese had