The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-18
MARK sHINRURN. BURGLAR.
The Man said to Have stolen $4,000
600 From Hanks
From the New York sun.

600 From banks.
From the New York sun.
Not since it was built some twenty years
ago, has the little county jail at Middle
burg. y. Y, held as notorious and danger
Gus criminal as the burglar who is con-
nned there now, awaiting trial on the
charge of attempting to rob the First Ma
tional Bank OF Middleburg. on April 16
last. This man has been an inmate Of the
prison for about two months and the fact
that he Is still there does much credit to
the Middleburg authorities. for in Mark
Shinburn they have prisoner who has
a dozen times bafiied the police of this
country and Europe, and whose marvel
record.
Il is matter Of considerable doubt
whether Shinburn will ever be convicted
OF tho present charge against him. II he
Is IL viii end hts career as a criminal for
ne IS much too old to live out the long
sentence which conviction in this case is
sure 10 bring him. With the permanent
Imprisonment or death of Shinburn one
OF the most remarkable criminal careers
81 TINS generation will come 10 an end.
Othef bank burglars have. perhaps, gain
ed more notoriety than this veteran. but
the police Of two continents agree that up
10 the present time the skill of Mark Shin
burn has never been equalled by another
crook. His history, most Of which has
never been printed. Is the story of a man
htted by nature for any trade or profess
sion IN which mechanical genius is need
ed, who fell while a young man into the
clutches of criminals He has directed
more Durglartes, stolen more money, and
spent less time in jail for It than any
other criminal living, and despite the fact
that he is now over % years of age, he
is sun rated as dangerous man by the
police. No better evidence of the sound
ness of this opinion on the part of the
authorities is needed than the fact that
Shinburn, when arrested in this city two
months ago, was busily engaged in clean
ing and preparing for use a complete kit
of burglars tools
Shinburn's stealngs during his life are
said to have been about s. 900. 900 in money
and securities almost all of which was
taken from the valuts of banks protected
by the most modern of burglar-proof con-
triVances. Neither burglar alarms nor
burglar-proof safes ever bothered Shin
burn much, for when the safe makers did
manage TO turn out locks which baffled
even his skill, he introduced the risky hut
effective method of blowing them out with
dynamite. Shinburn was the first bank
burglar TO use dynamite on a safe, and he
also enjoys the distinction of having manu-
tactured the nrst set of portable burglar
tools ever made. In addition to marvellous
mechanical skill, Shinburn had the useful
quality of fearlessness. and his courage
ana coolness have saved him many year
in prison.
He came to America when he was Is
years old. and even then he was an ex-
pert mechanic. He worked with his father
respectable old German. for a year, and
then he fell from grace. He lost some
money in Spring street faro bank, and
for months haunted the place betting
every dollar he could lay his hands on
IN an endeaVor to get back his losings
but he only succeeded in increasing his
losses, At about that time George Bliss
and Fairy" Mcclure, two noted cracks
men, were Matching up a scheme to loot
a bank in New Jersey, and hearing of
Shinburn's skin as locksmith. inveigled
him into joining them. The lob was A
complete success, and from that day Shin
burn was crook. In his next job he had
as partners piano Charley Builard and
Big Ike" Marsh. and later he worked
with such notorious men as Little Adam.
Worth, Big Jim" Brady, Ned Lyons, Jim
Simms, Billy Maher, Tom Kenyon and a
score of lesser lights. To these people
Shinburn was valuable acquisition. The
best of them were crude mechanics be-
side him, and his genius made every iob
he went into almost an assured success
from the moment II was planned. Shin
burn apprenticeship lasted about two
months, and then selecting Bliss and
Mcclure as partners he shook off the rest
OF the gang and rarely had anything to
do with any of them afterward Years
later, when Mcclure died and Bliss was
sent to prison, Shinburn employed what
ne called small fry crooks to assist In his
Dig Durglaries, but he never made con-
ndants OF any and never employed the
same man twice.
AFTER forming an alliance with Bliss
and Mcclure, Shinburn entered the en-
ploy of the Lilly Safe Company, and un-
der an assumed name worked with them
Tor some months. The Lilly safes were
IN almost universal use then, and II was
with the idea of studying them that Shin
burn went to work for the company
Inc most important discovery he made
at the time was that a person with
acute hearing could by putting his ear
near the lock of a Lilly safe and turning
the dial, discover at what numbers the
tumblers dropped into place. He also
discovered that Jby knocking the hinges
off an ordinary Lilly safe and using
powerful Jimmy; the door could be easily
pried off. BY this and other knowledge
which he gained at the time, Shinburn
succeeded later in plundering Lilly safes
all over the country. Shinburn follow
with a careful course OF study of difficult
combination locks, and It was at this
time that he is said to have made a re-
markable discovery. The Pinkerton
agency is the authority for the story II
is that Shinburn removed the combina-
ton from a safe and then placed an i'm
Then he turned the dial slowly. and
found that whenever combination num-
Der was reached the impression on the
paper became more distinct. BY using
a microscope, ii Is claimed. he succeeded
in finding out what the numbers We're
For a year Shinburn kept faithfully at
such studies, and at the end of that time
was easily the most accomplished crimi-
nal of his kind. With Mcclure and Bliss
he travelled all over the country, looting
banks in small villages and large cities
and accommodating large sums of money
The police were hot after the trio all the
time. and Bliss was finally captured
Shinburn was advised to clear out, as
the authorities had a dozen clear cases
against HIM, but he was heavily interest
ed in a deal in stocks and refused to 20
until he obtained his money A sudden
turn in the market put him in possess
sion of nearly half a million dollars. and
at the advice of his counsel he fled to
Belgium, with which country the United
States had no extradition treaty at that
time. Altogether, Shinburn is said 10
I'll v.afll ton An
he arrived in Brussels. With this money
he purchased a mortgage-laden estate
from a decrepit nobleman, the latter
interest in a large silk mill Then, a.
Count Shinburn, the American bank bur
glar proceeded to amaze the Belgians by
his liberality. He wasted thousands Of
dollars in entertainments. His opera.
tions on the bOurse staggered the native