The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-12-27
A STARTLING RECORD.
ASTONISHING OUTBREAK OF BOY Des-
PERADOES.
Tho Eneot of Blood and Thunder Novels
which Are Now Deiuginx the Country.
Some Recent Cases Of Young Criminals
and Outlaws.

Some Recent Cases Of Young Criminals
and Outlaws.
The small boy Is on the rampage again.
He desires to become desperate criminal.
He wishes TO kill Indians, plundor banks
and hold up express trains. He does not
stop at murder, and ordinary highway
robbery Is his delight.
A careful scrutiny Of the arrests being
made all over the country bears out these
facts. An epidemic of juvenile crime has
broken out
The most recent and startling proof OF
this was the deliberate throwing from the
track Of the fast mail train on the Now
York Central road at Rome. y. Y, 10y an
organized gang of young boys OF good
parentage and education, who arc now
awaiting trial, A dreadful wreck and loss
OF life resulted from this criminal folly,
which IL has been shown the boys In
tended To follow up by robbing the passen-
gers OF the train after they had, as they
expected, been all killed.
But whilo the boy outlaws of Rome
have attracted widespread attention by
reason Of tho boldness of their crime and
it's fatal results an investigation of the
subject has shown that they are but few
of the victims Of an epidemic that is now
agitating the whole boy world In this
country.
From every state in the Union como re-
ports Of the restlessness that agitates boys
between IL and 10 vars OF age. These are
by no means the sons of criminals, but
boys OF good parentago and education, like
those who threw the fast mail from the
track.
Everywhere the boy world is just now
showing the signs Of n strange unrest, Of
which these are but the symptoms. What
Is the cause OF this?
The boys themselves cannot tell. But
an investigation of the subject appears to
show that there is an intimate connection
between this criminal unrest and tho lit
orature which is just now flooding the boy
world. Blood and thunder stories are be-
Ing turned out by the ton.
There is vast library Of boy novels
published every month. All these books
are alike. -Four or five men are killed in
the first chapter and from that on TO the
end Of the book murder, robbery and gen.
eral destruction are depicted in glowing
terms. The hero always has hairbreadth
escapes not only from his enemies, but
from the officers of the law, and he glories
In some high sounding name which he Is
represented to have made terror TO evil
doers in two hemispheros.
dare Devil Dick, the Destroyer"
Hank, the Avenger," or "Bloodthirsty
Bill, the Burglar, are sorue of the books
these boys tead. A healthy boy OF 10 can
read eight of these books per day. Their
composition shows no timo wasted on de-
scription. They are all faction" =" and
really popular boy novel kills off a man
for every page. Women never figure in
these books. and there are but two ele-
monts In the plot-blood and gold.
The appearance of new and really
popular book In the hoy world is always
followed by crime in some part of the
country by its unhappy victims. The
Jack Harkaway" series, which appeared
some rs years ago, sent thousands Of boys
toward the western plains and the Apache
tribe Of Indians, against whom their
venom was directed, might have been
wiped out but for the police.
Hore are few of the recent outbreaks
of crime by boys In this country, collected
within a brief period and showing the
widespread nature of the epidemic:
Charles Hays, l2 years old, Of Indiana,
Pa, on Dec. l2 shot the 10-year-old
daughter of Mrs. Zan Guist. The latter
was walking with the girl near her home,
when they met Hays, who was carrying
rifle. After they had passed Hays called
10 the girl TO turn around and as she did
80 he raised his rifle and fired, the ball en-
tering her brain.
A gang of nine boys ranging In age
from To 10 years werc arrested few
days ago in Chicago, charged with being
organized criminals. Two Of them were
y1.t q l.a 10, Il
carrying mail sack full OF slverware.
They led the officers TO AZ Dearborn street,
where others Of the gang were found try
ing to open the safe of Gardner & Co,
and showed fight When locked up, they
confessed that they were members of u
gang of youngsters whose robborles have
recently mystiilod the Chicago police, ad-
mitting that they plundered "A number of
stores that were recently burglarized
Freddie Seitz, 10 years Old was arrested
in Cleveland, and on Dec. IL sent 10 the
reformatory because he had committed au-
dacious robberies It was his habit To
walk I'm on tho principals of the various
schools, and II he found them in he offered
s0IEe plausible excuse fef-his-p presence
One day he entered the Office of the prin-
cipal Of the Lincoln school, (which he found
unoccupicd, and he took q pocketbook
containing S35. With this money he pur-
chased two guns several pipes, lot of
dino novels and n suit of clothes. Two
days later he attempted another raiA and
was arrested
AT Denver few days since Detective
Loomis arrested Thomas Richards and
Thomas Hesterman, 10 years of age, as
they were leaving the Jacobson building
at o'clock in the morning. They had
gone there TO plan robbery to take place
the following night, having entered tho
office OF q. III. Parker. They are character
lied by tho police as expert criminals. T"
Joseph Wolff, IL years old, n son Of Rev.
A. T. Wolff formerly of the Calvary Pres
byterian church of Detroit, was arrested n
few days ago in that city charged with
stealing 13 barrels OF cider. In spite of
his youth Wolf is married to l6-year-old
girl. He was found guilty Of stealing the
cider and fined SIS, which he paid.
David Thompson, is years of ago, was
sent 10 state prison for six months at Mill