New-York tribune., 1895-12-31
STILL DEEP MYSTERIES.
NO FURTHER LIGHT on THE BURDEN AND
BARNES ROBBERIES.
WITH HIS CoNsENT-THE ALLEGED COUNT
DE RIvIERE NOT IMPLcATED-THE
STOLEN JEWELS NOT LIKELY TO

| SHOW UP IN THIS COUNTRY
Ask any police official at the Central Office
these days how he accounts for the recent In
crease of robberies in the city. and he replies
| cbeerfully: There more robberes than
usual Crime Is decreasing In the city
| If the reply causes Incredulous stare or an
outbreak Of dersive laughter. the official will
solemny proceed to reel off some statistics, care
| fully prepared. to show that the reports Of rob
berries murders arson cases and other crimes in
| any recent period compare favorably with those
| for any corresponding period during the last ten
years. There Is no apparent decrease or serenity
| In the official mind when 1t Is pointed out that
the perpetrators Of such startling crimes as the
| killing OF Pope in the holdup in Morrisania ana
the killing Of the butler in the house OF M Z. d.
Borden in West Fifty-sixth-st.. are still at lib
erty. II is vain to dwell on the big diamond rob-
| berry I'm the house Of l. Townsend Burden. the
| diamond robbery in the house OF Mrs f. ~
| Barnes or the other robberes which have oc-
| Cured within a few days. The police officials
Will continue to declare that crime is decreasing
| in the city.
| Police Commissioner Parker. who has taken a
| deep interest in the Detective Bureau since he
was allowed to reorganize It. has lately been the
mouthpiece for such official utterances. and the
moment any particularly aggravated crime IS
discovered in the city he Is ready to talk ABOUT
the criminal record of the past He said yester-
day to reporters that he could go over the records
and point out robberies at this season IN each
year for ten years past to match those OF the
Burden and Barnes robberies. except that the
value Of the diamonds stolen was not 80 great as
in the Burden robbery. According to Mr. farKer
theories there are outbreaks OF crime at regular
intervals in the city, and the robbery wave comes
along about the holiday 1t would be inn
of crime. and to try to sto, the robbery wave by
arresting a few ex-convicts known to be at large
wouId have no more effect than an attempt to
eton the tides by pumping few tons Of water out
of the Bay.
THIEVES WHO WERE NEVER CAUGHT.
Mr. Parker declared yesterday that he could
| not understand why the public need pe ois-
urhed bv the diamond robberies in the houses
| of Mr. Burden and Mrs Barnes. There was no
attempt to scare the public, ne said, because
| of the robbery in the house of Bradley Martin.
IN West Twentieth-st, in 1893 and the robbery
IN the house Of Mrs Ambia Boody, at NO
West Fifty-eighth-st, in the same year. The
two men who got into the house OF Mrs. boody
| in broad daylight almost directly opposite the
home Of Thomas Byrnes. then superintendent
Of Police and stole diamonds and Jewelry val
ned at $4,000 never caught although
the servants in the house, who had been fooled
into believing that the robbers were mechanics
were able to give good descriptions of them to
I the police.
Chief of Police Conlin and Acting captain
ORrien of the Detective Bureau. have less to
saw about the recent robberies. but they can
not be induced to admit that there has been
any increase Of robberes in the city although
a robbery is getting TO be an everyday occur
renee and any wide-awake New-f Yorker hears
Of several OF his acquantances who nave been
robbed H. some way Whatever the police olii-
cias may say however, the frequency of rob-
berries has beer causing much comment among
welI-nformed men in the city for several
months. Citizens who know what they are
talking about declare that there never have
been so many thefts by burglars and sneak
thieves in the city at any time as there have
been recently, particularly in fats and in pr-
vate dwellings.
RIVALRY BETWEEN DETECTIVES.
There were as many police detectives work
ing in search of cews to the Burden robbery
yesterday as the day after the robbery was
committed. but they appeared to have made no
headway and there reason to believe that
they were not working at all in harmony. De-
tectives from the Central Office were acting
under the orders of Acting Captain O'Brien,
who wants tC get ahead Of the precinct detec-
tives If he can, and also wants to be made a
real captain Of police. Captain Pickett, of the |
Nineteenth Precinct. is candidate for promo |
tion and if he could catch the Burden thieves |
he might be made an inspector of police soon |
In this case. the rivalry between Headquarters |
and the Tenderloin is declared be SO warm |
that detectives actually interfering with one
anothers work.
From what Acting Captain OBren, OF the |
Detective Bureau said yesterday it APP
parent that his detectives had not got a satisfac-
tory clew to the robbers. When asked whether |
the officers had learned anything that might lead |
to the apprehension Of the thieves Captain |
O. Bren replied: We working. Give us time |
We cannot do everything in such short period. |
There have been robberes as mysterious this |
one IN New-YOrk that have been cleared up
CROOKS LET OFF EASILY.
When asked about the numerous robberies that |
have been reported during the last few days he |
said: The public will rise up and demand |
that thieves and criminals get the punishment |
they deserve We have arrested crooks and they |
have been let off with light sentence. What is
the use? We may get these men. and they might |
get off easily"
Acting Captain O'Brien n)w believes that the |
value of the Burden jewels has been overesti- |
mated He says he thinks the total value of the |
stolen gems will not reach re than s35 900 or |
$40 900 The Acting Captain personally visited |
Mr.. and Mrs. Burden on Sunday night and had a |
long talk with them concerning the robbery. Mr.. |
Burden. he said. informed him that in the
citement Saturday Mrs Burden placed too |
high a value some of the articles He said !
that the value placed on the diamond necklace.
$50 OOO could be cut down to $4,000, which Mr..
Burden believed was It's actual cost.
MI O Bren admitted yesterday that his men |
had under suspicion n second-story thief whose /
picture from the Rogues' Gallery was shown to |