The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1891-07-16

the vigilant efforts on the part OF
police and private persons availing
TO bring them to justice. Usually
their exploits only cease when IL has
become known that great many
residents sleep with pistols under
pillow to drop the rascals at sight.
The most frequent sieges of the
criminal element, however, are by
class of unskilled thieves of the
sneak variety, who seek plumber
where the chances are that nobody is
reposirg on watch duty or otherwise.
These take very great pains for the
sake of a few pence. II they run
against a carelessly bestowed article
of much value, that is only rare
streak of luck for them. Rich booty
designedly reached by them must
have been previously located by
sneaking artfice when the honest
public had been too busy to notice
the presence of loafers.
The series of clumsy and compare
lively barren burglaries lately re-
ported in quick succession is evil
IDENTIFY the work of the genus sneak
thief. Beyond considerable climb
ing facility there has been nothing
particularly clever in methods of en-
trance or those of search for plumber
only a proving to find weak or
unguarded points of entry and \
wild rummaging to discover portable
articles of value. About the only
thing TO be admired as phenome-
non in the operations is the GOODNESS
manifested by the operator in smok-
ing cigarettes and flashing countless
matches with liability Of betraying
his unlawful presence. But this fea-
ture of his performances is good
proof that he is not professional
burglar of any training. The real
variety of that criminal will take
great chances without unnecessarily
exposing himself to discovery. He
will not place happy-go-lucky re-
lance on matches, or even on finding
lamp or candle to light his work,
but will carry dark lantern and per-
haps put screens on exposed win
dows besides. The criminal who has
now repeatedly committed depreda-
tons with impunity is, in brief, pro-
badly an ignorant and dishonest
loafer who, if he must work, would
as lief labor in the prison chain gang
for rations as perform honest toll
anywhere else. Otherwise the only
role that would agree with his ex-
ploits is that of hired loafer, whose
employer has motive beyond plum
der in thus disturbing the community
and discrediting the police.
AS often as these periodical vista
lions of breakers and sneak
thieves occur, talk is heard of the
ACCESSIBILITY of importing "skilled
detectives" from Chicago or some
where else to run the marauders to
earth. Such talk, it is respectfully
submitted, savors more of panic than
the occasion warrants. Chicago de-
tectives have frequently more to do
at home than they can satisfactorily
accomplish. There was battalion
of detectives at work months before
the facts in the murder of DR.. Cronin
were revealed, and the probability
is that newspaper reporters did more
toward unraveling the mystery than
all the detectives. At least such
has been the case in scores of SINH
lar mysterious crimes in various parts
of the United States. The idea that
an imported detective could in the
continually flying dust of Honolulu's
streets trace criminal from the i'm
print of his bare foot, when hundreds
of men are tramping about day and
night in bare feet, cannot be taken
as q serious proposition. Look at
the WhitechapeI atrocities in which
"Jack the Ripper" wrought his
fendish malice. Scotland Yard
detectives with their world wide
reputation for ferreting out matters
have there for years been utterly
baffled in getting a clue to the mons
trous villain. Aud talk about police
vigilance In the light OF Whltechapel!
The murders were sometimes com
United in that populous thoroughfare
while it was being closely patrolled
by as well-trained police as there
is in the world.
The criminal or criminals who are
the authors of the current sensation