The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-10-12


/ that they were accepted as matter OF
course, and were looked upon with disap-
/ pointment by Eddie and hts gang of sand
] baggers.
The slick articles in roguery are the buncc
( experts, the men who stack the innocent
lambs against crooked gaines of cards OF
other games; the swindlers who get checks
cashed under false pretenses; the magioianl
who sell tirebricks for lumps of gold, and
sawdust for greenbacks, and the dignifieC
confidence sharps who have ell kinds Of
patents and businesses to sell, in which they
/ regularly exchange experience for green.
backs without extra charge.
hungry Joe, before he came to grief in
Baltimore, had an income OF from 81, 600
10 SlO,oOO paid by lambs VINO tried to beat
game IN which everything was loaded
| against them. Then there was Ike Vail
who, before he was excluded from all the
| steamship companies and railroad depOts in
the country by reason of his picture being
! posted everywhere, used to raise from
So,OOJ 10 $4,000 year on bogus checks
fraudulent bills OF lading and other pieces OF
| commercial paper.
Barney Mcclure, when the green goods
trade was in full bloom. could sign his
check at any time for $4,000 aud it was a
very poor year when his profits from the
business would not reach 100000 and
even today, when the police and postoeice
authorities are making a dead set against
trade, there are confidence men who make
| S25. 900 to $50 0J0 year.
The hackers Of the policy shops Of this
CITY manage to get from the several hun
dred offices that are run as cigar stores
| about $4,000 year to keep the wolf from
the door. Ike Washburn, who started sew
eral manufacturing companies, was shown
AFTER he was arrested TO have received over
SIUO,OOO in ono year from speculative part
nsrs who never got any better security than
mortgages on the waters OF New York bay.
The forgers and counterfeit moueymakers
reap rich harvest in their line, but there
are so many safeguards thrown around
bonds ard other securities that the trade is
considerably restricted, and there is not as
much profit as there was whei Bill Brock
way and Dave Hyman flooded the market
with bogus bonds and money. There was
one deal in counterfeit $40 and 800 bills
that was Matched in this city that netted
Pop Aaron ard his gang over $500, 600
The most profitable branch Of thieverv
Is that OF the bank burglar. In this line
enormous fortunes have been made In a few
hours, and some of the figures are startling.
The bank burglars have, perhaps, not made
80 much money az the bank wreckers. but
they have generally got fair share of the
assets.
The gang that was led by Dave Cum.
mlngs, whose exploits as a thief would fill
book, made a tour of the country a few
years ago, and they left a string Of rob-
berries behind them that has never been
equAled. These are few Of the places they
paid visits to strictly for business purposes
and the value Of the property stolen: Dew
laln's Jewelry safe. In New Orleans, $780,
600; City Bank. New Orleans, 1850, 900;
the Macon Bank, Georgia, $50 900
First National Bank, Quincy, ILL.,, $3.50, 1000;
San Francisco Bank, 5000. 900; First National
Bank, Kansas City, 1926, 600: First National
Bank i6H Ky. SIPS. 200. Springfield
Bank, $50, 900; First National Bank, Buffalo,
500, 900; Falls City Bank, S40O, 200:
Northampton Bank, 1926, 200; Ksnslng.
ton Bank. Philadelphia, $500, 900, and
the Reading Bank, $425,O1O, Be
sides these banks several other
smaller institutions we're visited, and the
aggregate plumber on this trip reached So
100000 in money and securities. There
were eight thieves in this gang, the very
brightest collection ever gathered together,
ana only four Of them fell by the way. The
Others fled to Europe to enjoy themselves
as thieves do from their standpoint. Then
there was the Manhattan Bank in this citv.
which Jimmy Hope and his gang attacked
and secured 1926, 900, though the actual
loss in cash was comparatively small.
It is estimated that Dave Cummings re-
burglaries about s., O00, 600. and that Jimmy
Hope has had and spent 1000, 001 Of other
peoples money. The bank burglar REQUIRES
such high order OF peculiar combination
of talents that there are comparatively few
of them.
The number of successful thieves is very
large, and enough has been shown 60 indi-
cate how much money clever men in the
different branches OF thievery have made.
If they were all careful business men. who
made Investments OF their capital with
care, it is easy to calculate how long il
would take thief to save sufficient money
to give him an income that would make him
independent Although thieves have the
acquisitive instinct largely developed so far
as the getting OF money Is concerned, they
very rarely think OF saving money. They
live only in the present. The future must
take care of itself. There are no wealthy
crooks.
The reason is plain. Every thief is a
gambler. What the thief makes by steal
ing he loses over the gaming table. They
are all high rollers, and play for stakes II,
proportion TO their pile They have the best
of erything when they have money, and
when they ''go broke" they go back to
stealing to get funds II there were no
gambling saloons there would be fewer
thieves. Crooks are the mainstay of the
professional gambler because they are care
less players. take desperate chances for a
big stake and never kick when they lose.
unless there is some show of crooked deal
ing. II the police were really anxious to
check crime, every gambling saloon, pool
room and policy shop in the city would be
kept closed forever.