The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1890-02-08
CRIME AS A PROFESSION.
A Brooklyn Polio, sup,riut,ndsnt's Ex-
pert Observations.
He Classics crime-Forgery Ranks First
burglary Next in the 0radation Of Wick
cdne1,-Ths Desperate Chances Men Take
fer Money.

ut Is a curious and suggestive fact
said superintendent Campbell. OF
brooklyn, while talking 10 reporter
OF the Eagle ut is curious and sug-
gestiye fact that crime Is graded by
by the amount OF money IL can pro-
cure. Thus forgery, in which by a
Few strokes oil the pen n man may OBJ
tain a fortune. Is counted first and
highest OF course, not considering
murder.
Next comes burglary. where. with
greater trouble and risk. "A fortune may
still be procured in a few hours And
SO on.
''Of late years burglary has ceased
10 be crime, and has now become, as
IL were, "a business. profession re-
curing nerve. skill and system. Con-
sidered as business. IL requires "A
number OF tools. or at least a consider
able number OF variations upon a few
implements. Now I've got specimens
OF a good many burglars tools here,
all OF which were taken away from
criminals caught operating In this
city. I've a few minutes TO spare, aud
IL will be OF interest 70 you 70 look
them over. y
This" the Superintendent explain
ed, bringing into sight two feet In
length iron instrument. which looked
like an enlarged ordinary taclS-lifter.
lis the burglars characteristic imple-
ment; without IL he Is lost; with IL he
feels at home almost anywhere. IL
is That famous instrument, jimmy
There are two varieties OF this tool In
ordinary burglarious operations. The
small jimmy, which Is used ia what
the burglar facetiously styles light
household work. such as bursting open
bureau drawers aud the like. The
other, OF which this Is n sample, is
used for heavier work
This Is a drill another favorite tool
with burglars the Chief went on,
picking up what might have been taken
by the uninitiated for mammoth cold
chisel.
Here's wedge" This time the
Superintendent singled out an or
binary wedge shaped piece OF ma
hogany. This Is greatly in use by
burglars. IL Is in fact peculiarly
characteristic burglars tool. In their
slang IL Is called an alderman 1t Is
used To pry open doors, or rather TO
prepare the way for other tools 10 pry.
The alderman is generally the first
tool inserted by burglar undcrN door
when he sizes IL up. by increasing the
size OF the wedge. till finally the door
is at his mercy. Why such an in
significant but dangerous tool as this
should be called an alderman perhaps
not even IA thief could tell. Next we
have here sledge-hammer. This
forms an important. though "A simple
item OF burglars kit And here's
two styles OF that terrible weapon. "A
billy" One of the latter appeared
90 be a dimutive policeman's club. and
the other long. slender canvas bag oil
shot. with cord handle attached
1.-The slung shot the Chief remarked.
holding up what looked like tho butt
end OF horse whip. or loaded cane,
suspended by "A leather cord. icon :.
tributes an interesting share 10
the burglars outfit, and enables
that valuable member OF society
TO defend his precious life IL Mt
tackled in the regular discharge OF
his profession. The brass knuckles
further contribute TO the same desira-
Bile end. Worn over the hand. these
artificial lxnuckles furnish terrible
weapon la a hand TO hand encounter.
Skeleton keys form "A most important
part OF burglars stock In trade.
Some OF these are single and others
are double. They are used great
deal by that branch OF criminals known
as hotel thieves, who come under che
general head OF burglars.
Here's pair OF nippers-simple, or
binary looking things. aren't they?
with the aid OF these nppers ON the
outside OF door the key may be
turned on the inside.
..Given these TOOLS" superintendent
Campbell continued, returning the
carefully 10 their place OF safe keeping.
s.nnd a little powder, possibly pluck.
patience and no principle. and burg
lar has all ne needs to IN Ike or take n
fortune --if he EN- only first find IT,
There Is this recommendation about "a
burglars professional career; he takes
big chances at huge gains. True he
risks death II detected la his operations.
and has a certainty OF heavy sentence
II captured. but he argues on the other
hand. he may la one night capture the
results OF whole lifetime OF toll.
Continuing. the experienced head OF
the Brooklyn Police Force said that.
ms in other trades and professions, so
in burglary. the work was systematic
oil ANA divided. and much was done
before anything appeared TO have been
accomplished. BurgIarics. like cam
paIgns. had to be planned before they
could be executed. One set OF men
did the thinking. while another set did
the working.
gano 81 burglars. like company