The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-06-16

man" called and carried on TIE SllFsT 1S
mad pres i0usly left.
Nvnen he was finally captured It was
found that his success had been n
large MEASURE due 10 his disguise. He
always dressed Ike 4 simple workman.
going arou7s London with q iiUrer Tal
~ one han5-w hich contained MS care
fully made fools-and the straw basket
which carpenters carry here 20 hold their
rnpIeme-tz-fr which 20 place his plum
der. 4 man OF that appearance would at
tract no attention anywhere in London
He committed more than 100 1urglartes
before ne was finally locked up.
But burglary Is BY no means popular
crime ia London The laws governing
property rights are very severe. A man
may be sent - prison for from seven 10
roUTVeen years Tor A theft amounting 70
fourpence ha'penny. while II Is possible
for MIN 70 escape with a three-nonths'
sentence for mansIaughter. London IS 90
well policed that burglary is most haz-
sr1ous profession. Il is well known.
however, that burglary is rife in the sub
uFbs .gd country places which make up
the fringe and the environs OF the me-
tropolis. and that the perpetrators Of
these crimes 90 out from London TO COM
nit them and come back 20 London 10
spend their booty. Thousands Of what
america calls fences. receivers shops
IN London-are scattered over the city.
crate appliances for melting down sold
and siIver-suc1 as the furnaces and cru
chile now in he Black Museum-are DIS
covered. About three years ago one Of
these melting down establishments was
unearthed in a strange way. One Of the
biggest jeweiry manufacturing concerns
I'm London aroused the hatred OF IT'S ri
walls by underseliing them. a war Of
prices resulted. and this firm cut its rates
away below the intrinsic value of the
precious metals used IN the articles on
sale. This aroused suspicion and the RI
sal firms began an investigation with
the help of certain clever detectives In
d short time il was discovered mat the
firm was and had been for years making
its iewelry ont Of stolen metal. which ii
bought OF thieves At much less than It's
weight value
The pickpocket in London IS omnlpres-
ent and expert. He is of all kinds and
sizes and-to resort 10 an Irish bull-he
Is often a woman. The great field for
London pickpockets is now almost gone.
In the old days the omnibuses were pro-
vided with long seats, known as knife
boards 4 gentlcrlanly looking opera
tor on one Of these knife-board seats,
where as IS often the case, there was
good bit Of crowding and jostling, had
easy access to the pockets of the men on
both sides of him. When the omnibus
seats the number of pickpocket cases be-
gan TO fall off Immediately.
But there are enough of them left to
make that man wise who carries his
purse IN an inside pocket. The most puz-
Zlng OF the lot are the little boys-mod-
ern "Oliyer Twists" Boy thieves are
known as "Gonophs" or "Gunnffs.'
They swarm in crowded places, such as
theater exits. procession mobs. or the
concourses that gather about outdoor
meetings. such as those Of the unemploy-
cd on Tower Hin and al Trafalgar
Square They work on regular systems.
cunningly devised. For instance, MOI
may consist of four tiny thieves. They
will pretend to be having a game OF romp
through the crowd. jostling the selected
person once or twice without attempting
10 steal from him. so as TO find by feeling
the location of the pocket in which he
carries his watch or purse, and al the
same time to make him less suspicious
when the real time comes. This feel
ing" for the whereabouts of a mans
valuabes is done very eXpertly. One T.
year-old, who is locked up here. ex-
planned his methods 10 me frankly. He
never used his hands. That would ex-
cite suspicion IF l used be bloody
'ands " he remarked. the bloomin' gent
might fawncy | was agoin' to rob i'm"
Nobody notices how a gamin is dressed.
so this little chap wore merely an under
shirt on warm nights. This was very
thin and permitted him to feel with his
whole upper body. His favorite plan
was 10 get so located that his back would
he pushed up against the intended VIC
TINS person by the crowd, thus enabling
him to tell with his shoulders where the
purse CT watch was carried. The pres
sure of small boys back would not be
likely TO arouse suspicion.
After this part of the work has been
finished and all the members of the
mob" know not only which man is to
be the victim. but exactly in which peck
ct he carries the articles which are to he
stolen. one of the boys takes up his posi-