The sun., 1897-11-26
Sleepy Burke and Red Chris.

Some of the most eminent, skilful, dex-
ferrous, alert, and daring Of Chicago's
cracksmen, sandbaggers, highwaymen,
"second floor men," burglars, ard maskers
are temporarily absent from that town en-.
joying Thanksgiving in interior Illinois,
Iowa, and Minnesota. To their absence Is
due the present Chicago craze for petty
crimes. There were eleven hold-ups on
Tuesday and number of petty larcenies,
the repetition of which is certain to deprive
Chicago criminals of good share Of their
reprehensiblo but hard earned fame.
The holding up, for instance, of DIR.
KOCH, Chicago physician, for the sum Of
thirteen cents is despicable violation of
all the criminal traditions Of the city by
the lake. The sandbagging of Mendotta
man on Belleplaine avenue for package Of
cigarettes on Monday was another evidence
Of the decadence of Chicago professional
criminals 1t is on this account, perhaps,
that Chief of Police KIPLEY. as o telegram
published in THE SUN stated, has I" issued a
peremptory warning to the inspectora Of the
various districts that unless the alarming
epidemic of hold-ups is checked there will
be wholesale discharge of policemen"
The fact Of the matter is that q NUN.
Der Of the larger Chicago criminals appear,
as we have said, to be out of town. There
is an old saying, that when the cats away
the rodents will amuse themselves, and in
the absence of the big Chicago criminals
the minor criminals, the apprentice crmi.
mails, the understudy criminals of that
town, are bringing its professional cracks.
men into unmerited disrepute by their das.
tardly attempt to secure small sums of
money and articles of value and de t1tae by
felonious methods which are proper only
to more serious crimes.
AS an illustration of the condition of af-
fairs which is causing so much solicitude
to the Chicago local authorities, we may
recall the case of Sleepy BURKE and Red
CHRIS. Those distinguished Chicagoans
are wanted, as the police phrase Is, for
robbery, wholesale robbery. They were
at last accounts in the Crookston Jail in
Minnesota, and it Is announced with all Sc.
riousness that the sentence of Red CHRIS
ais to be commuted 80 as to permit his re-
turn to Chicago" Whether the same lenity
Is to be shown to Sleepy BURKE is not
to be treated alike.
"heH creepy DOhhE gets Ddck, ana when
Sandbag PHIL returns from Sedalia, No.,
and Levee MARY returns from Treator,
there will be an end, for time at least, to
those insignificant, petty larceny crimes
which have brought dishonor, dismay,
and humiliation upon the real professional
criminals of the city of Chicago, and
have provoked the threat of the police au-
thorities of that town to visit reprisal upon
the delinquent policemen responsible for
the continuance of such infractions of the
laws of Illinois during the absence of the
big criminals.
1t seems almost incredible that a man
held up and covered by revolvers," in true
Chicago style on Ogden avenue. was let 90
for less than So. In another case a victim
was permitted to retain, even after he had
disclosed 1t to the sandbaggers, diamond
pin and a seal ring, contrary to all the un-
written laws of Chicago criminals. Red
CHRIS and Sleepy BURKE cannot get back
any too soon.