Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-02-05

Through my verses met and became
engaged to the daughter of man that
afterward became Vice-President of
the United States Don't ask me her
name. / still have enough honor to
protect her from the disgrace of seeing
her name coupled with that of a
burglar. Whisky destroyed my hopes.
Il shipped as pantryman 10 Liverpool
and visited many European cities
Returning to America I became q
burglar simply because it offered great
er inducements than any thing was
able to turn my hand to.
But enough of that. The first
burglary remember of committing
was when my father lifted me over the
fence into a neighbours yard to steal
flowers I suppose he didn't think how
bad it really was, but the memory of
that first theft has chung to me always.
Subsequently when / took notion to
steal something more than flower
namely, 10 gut jewelry store-I torti-
fed myself with a good bracer Of
whisky, worked the house without a
blush and blamed my father for teach
ing me to steal
"Now, across the water it is not SO
easy to gain access to a house as here,
because Of the iron screens. In New
York it is hardly less difficult, in my
opinion at least, for the same reason.
However, out West it is not considered
a difficult feat to enter house, take 1t
where you may"
"And you ascribe that to"
ITO the way the house Is built.
People have learned to protect their
basement windows, as Q rule, with
bars, but still this is not always the
case. One would think that man with
his millions, perhaps, in the bank,
with his house loaded with costly art
pieces, and a fortune alone, may be, in
diamonds and silverware, would take
every precaution to guard against
burglary, but he doesn't He imagines
because he never has been robbed that
he never will be. That is about as
much sense as the man had who didn't
want his life insured because he had
never died.
whenever took a notion to work
a house didn't stop to go and look up
the police record and see if the place
had been worked before. l immedi-
ately began laying my plans. A man
with good nerve and a clear head who
works alone ought to be successful
always worked alone except once. Then
was caught and my pal escaped. 1
was on the outside and he doing the
job. took my sentence like man and
never 'peached on him. Had l been
operating alone don't think l would
have been caught.
About making houses burglar-proof
1 should first recommend that people
put locks on their doors that can't be
picked with-wcll, with button-hool1.
A burglar depends largely on a skele-
ton key to gain access. Men of means,
however, now have the latch-lock on
their doors, and these can not be picked
that is, not readily. To guard against
entrance by the doors they should be
heavy, should cit tight to prevent work
with a Jimmy should be double locked
with a chain-loclI on the inside and
bolted securely at top and bottom. That
will generally battle a sneak-thief, who
does not deserve to be called a burglar.
However, when he finds the door effect
ually bars him he can go to the rear,
climb on shed, portico, or even skin
up water-pipe or lightning-rod to a
second-story window. Such q window
is said to be the easiest place of all TO
enter house. That is why there are
so many 'second-stQry workers, as they
are called, but | never tried it my
self To prevent these fellows all ex-
posed windows mean those opening
on a porch or shed-should be well
barred. A 'second-story worker doesn't
carry tools as a rule. He is sneak
thief"
The man spoke these words as if the
profession looked on sneak-thieves
as Objectionable characters who should
be excluded from the society of honest
cracksmen.
but for iron bars and steel doors, -
he continued, IAN expert burglar has
little dread. Give him time and he will
go through any thing. 1t requires a
genius to circumvent him, and even
genius is not equal to it. And for this
reason: A burglar or safe-blower has
a greater incentive for surmounting the
difficulties in the way of access to a
treasure than has the inventor for
creating them. The one receives his
reward in the shape of salary; the other
in working for fortune, perhaps, that
lies Just beyond the barrier which he is
endeavoring to overcome. The burglar
gains fortune for few hours labor;
the inventor labors for a year, and at
the end of that time gets barely the
worth of his work. It is a natural law
that where there is the greatest in
centive there will be found the greatest
results of labor. So it is you will find
burglars as smart and even smarter
than inventors.
For my part fail to see how you
could make house absolutely burglar
proof. You might make it 50 difficult
of access that the burglar will find an
other to suit his purposes as we'll One
thing is certain, however: A rich man
is a fool not to have bars on his win
dows. They cost little, but they may
save much"
Niagara Wearing Away.
From the report of the State Engineer