The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-26
NOT So EASY TO ESCAPE.
TIE zYERl6E CRIMINAL PRACrL-
GALLEY SURE TO BE o. re HI.

FlmNm0N-hNNNOEN
ness. ana Bcianess HELP With Prorsssisnals.
How to escape from tho officers Of the law is
a question that has bothered a'good many men.
To some of them It has been q matter Of immc-
diato Importance. To others II has been only
an amusing speculation. To any ewspaper
reader IL must havo occurred at some time or
another when'he read Of the capture of q crimi-
, al months or years after the commission ola
crime that with the exercise Of a small degree
Of prudence; the malefactor would have been
able to evade his pursuers. On the evening
after the capture of a man for whom the police
had .been hunting for several months a party
Of men who had met by chance in a cafe began
to discuss the case, and one OF them said that
he was positive that, under similar circum-
stances, he would have fooled tho detectives
and escaped.
This matter Of escaping after one has com.
mitted a crime Is one that l have thought about
a good many times - said one of the party. ut
looks at first to no one Of the most simple things
in the world. We are accustomed to think OF
detectives as men who have been trained In n
narrow school. Most Of those we hear about
werc graduated from the ranks OF the uni
formed police. In nearly every arrest or dis
covery by detectives that tho newspapers tell
about there Is a confession or an informer or
motive 80 obvious that no one could miss CATCH
ing the person who the crime. Tho
detectives that I.have seen are men OF very
ordinary education and common intelligence,
and I've often thought that I could commit al
most any crime and escape scot Free
when are you going to begini' asked tho
youngest man In the party.
"That isn't the question" said the first speak
er. you'll all know 1t when l desert the
straight and narrow path, for I dare say that
I'll be caught and by some laundering police
man, too. When 1 used to read all the news
paper stories of crime and criminals I lay awake
nights thinking of what the men / had read
about might have done to save themselves.
ana l made up my mind that'a criminal, unless
he DO of extraordinary, s.nervo and more than
human ability, would be caught or would die
fleeing from the police
1--WE thought of the same thing q good many
tines said another man. land l came to an
entirely different conclusion. The average
criminal, to my mind. is a wooden-headcd
chump, whose chief aim after committing q
crime is to walk into the hands of the officers
and say, Hero ! am. nd I'm guilty II
they were men Of brains, whole brains, I
mean, not half brains, they'd all get away. Tho
trouble with them is that while they may know
how to break into a mans house, or how to
murder q man, or to give knockout drops, or
to sell gold bricks, they don't know anything
else. and it's a mighty lucny thing for us that
they don't"
Maybe you'll tell us how you would escape
IL you had committed a crime said the hrst
s spii what y vow won %dk do up t tee 't take ana a To SSSs
and an easy one. Suppose you went from
your Office 70 Jonos's, here: Jones knows you
bundle OF bank notes. Saw there is $4,000 in
the package. Lots of people are entering the
tention is diverted, You pick up the bank notes
and slip them into your pocket. No one secs
min ua bid him e s@%: M1' and iV Walk out Of the
discover disco his loss sse Sg%s' know H,s'' that ffty PEG;
pected. Now, what would you dor
is altogether too easy" said the self. offered
criminal. 81 should do absolutely nothing
e exeTga s's Was. 70 on mi leaving sySryaJs Jones' sq ! Wesid N walk ak
out OF his office, speaking to the men whom l
knew; and then l would go to my, own office,
velope on my desk as though it was OF no par;
ticular value. | would work until my usual
! would come down here and see you follows.
would not vary the routine Of my business or
day would contain long Accounts Of the mys.
FERROUS theft of $20,000. with q hundred guessei
s %on to 'd dPo iaf IN oS j Hi tae t fGp Sim I " Was .h sorry sif for +
his loss and ask him If | could help him in any
way; He would. bewail his loss and mayb
might borrow O few thousand Of me to tide him
ii would leave the $50, 900 in my, desk. I
but not too much, would say that I hoped
careful not to be too talkstiye about the case.
Jones would send for The police and all Of his
clerks would be e. eKa apnM ~, T tn. detectives Diet itiISs
jobs, round up a few well known sneak thieves
and haye Jones look at them. The matter
had passed 1 could spend the money and my
theft would never be suspected"
thing" said a man who had listened atten.
lively to the conversation. You forget that
cut out out OF oFaa a block 81 He'o Of wv Wood odOC You'd get away
splendld5ly. But The moment you got that
money In your pocket your Tear Of detection
self until You had dnis, ed that chat with Jones
You would be able to do, the strain Would ex.
haust you SO that you would 80 to pieces when
letting the money Kick around. You couldn't
do it. That little package OF bills would grew
lay on your desk. knowing it was there, you
would be in a panic lest some one should find 1t.
II yE%p put it away in 2 yapit the % ~ ole thing min
Your nerve would give way. You would begin
to show the effects of the theft in your actions
nal kept his guilt to himself. You would be-
A that you say about self. betrayal is true"
said the man who started the con, %ersation,
ana tnbro are Otner innings 10 DC cOn5lueTen'
tones would have talks with the detectives. He
Is now a healthy. minded man, who believes all
his fricnus are honest, but in his con vcrsations
with the policemen lie would hear about rob,
berries of mothers by their children, of husbands
by their. wives and OF dozens Of cases where in,
innate friends had stolen from the houses OF
their associates. His mind troubled by his
loss, he would be constantly on the lookout fol-
a plausible explanation OF the mystery. Al
first he would declare that neither you nor any
other friend could have taken his money. Then
as he thought of The stories he would hear
from the detectives, he would begin to think il
possible that some one he trusted as a FRIEND
had committed the theft.
HE would get into a condition in viii Gh h
would suspect every one. and after a while h'
would give your name with those OF all tn,
other men he saw on the day of the robbery
Then n detective would call on you. II,
wouldn't take into account that you were I
respectable mar or anything of that kind. I'm
less you have more nerve than any one l know
his interview would shake you some, and YOU
can be sure that he would see any break yol
made. Then the rest would be easy. Yol
would be caught other by n blunder of you
own, or by the work Of one OF tho detectives yot
think 80 useless now"
THE trouble with this robbcr OF ours Is tina
he stays near the scene of his crime" said on,