The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1897-05-28
OUR BOSTON LETTER,
Bank Messenger Kings Flight
the Weeks Sensation.


Handled Thousands of Dollars on a
BeggerIy Salary Temptation to Strong
For Youth-Captured by Newspaper
Enterprise-Power of Press Recognized
by Police and RefOrmers High Hats
and the Board of Accommodations
to Danish Our Chilly East Winds
mer Shows and Dramatic Notes.
Can a boy or man be expected to be
honest who is handling thousands of dol
lars daily and only receives as a reward
for his fidelity and responsibility the
meager salary of $1.25 per day? This
question has been asked more than once
in Boston during the last and present
week, the inquiry being prompted by
the escapade of young Albert M. King,
who walked off with 100000 of the cash
of the Boylston National bank Every
body agrees that King was, generally
speaking, a good natured, we'll bred,
carefully reared son of an honorable
family, and yet the temptation was too
strong, and he fell. He didn't need
clothes nor food, had good, comfort
able home with his parents, but his sal
airy didn't allow him to buy, among
other things bicycle and a bicycle suit.
Like the shipwrecked sailor drifting
about in an open boat almost dying for
water when nothing but water was
| no nd Of
dollars daily in his possession, but they
were not for him.
In an atmosphere of plenty young King
was, fguratively speaking, dying of
want. His natural boyish instinct, to
devote what money came in to his pos
session to boyish needs, could not be
curbed entirely by the feeling that to
take the wealth entrusted to him would
be wrong, and so on that fateful Wed
nesday he yielded to temptation and fell.
Like anyone taking the first wrong step,
he fled, not only to avoid those who
trusted him, but in a vain attenpt to
shake off the feeling of wrongdoing, and
at the first opportunity bought the much
coveted bicycle and suit and rode out
into the dark and uncertain future. The
road from State street to jail has been
often Travelled, but seldom in such a
way and by such an amateur in crime.
Speaking generally, Albert M. Kings
future is ruined. This is the verdict of
the world at large, but was he RESPONSE
BILE alone for it's ruin? Should the men
escape public reproach who felt they
were doing right and dealing justly with
the young man when they asked or
forced him to accept a beggarly salary
for performing a work of so much re-
sponsibility? If the laborer is worthy of
his hire, should not that hire be some
where or somehow in proportion to the
duty performed starving man can
not be blamed severely if he steals bread.
1t is hard for a boy to dwarf his natural
desires under any circumstances, but
much move severe is the task when he
is in an atmosphere of money and gets
so little of it as his portion.
A boy should not be engaged to do g
mans work, even if he will work for
small wages and a man should not be
asked to take too great a load of respon-
sibility unless the recomepse is ample.
The salaries paid by our great financial
institutions are, as a rule, too small.
When you ask d man to sustain the
dignity of cashier of large bank on the
salary of a travelling book agent, you
force him to either accept privation in
his effort to live up to the standard or
cause him to speculate and probably
default later on. Few men in response
bic. positions steal from choice and many
who fall furnish striking examples of
the saying, Cheap help is the most ex-
pensive."
Bank messengers are human, and there
are 50 of them daily walking cur streets
The salary of the position ranges from
that paid young King up to $4,000 per
year, and each messenger gives a bond
for the faithful discharge Of his duty.
Some of these bonds are for $4,000 Just
think of man giving a bond of that size
to hold position paying less than the
ordinary street cleaner receives. King
Is said to be the youngest messenger
ever employed in this city, and it is GER .
tainly to be hoped he will be the last of .
the age of 10 to be entrusted with thou
sands or dollars daily
The capture of King was a triumph of
modern journalism. The press service
was of more value than all the skilled
detectives put on the supposed trail of
the young absCOnder. The eagle-eyed
sleuthhounds Of justice declared that the
boy had gone to Canada, and not one of
them ever dreamed he was down in the
Maine woods. But the newspapers, with
good picture of King, went everywhere
He himself saw his face staring at him
as he read of his esca.pade The sight I'M
nerVed him, made him feel sure he was
watched, and practically turned his steps
toward Pennington, where he was cap
tured. The old system of secrecy in 20
lice work has gone, and the best officer.
here are now ready to admit that tn
1aily newspapers are the best thief catch
ers in the country. The way of the trans
gressor is indeed hard in these days.
Every year the power of the press
grows and it is now not only a crime
destroyer but thief catcher as well. No
evil that the newspapers unitedIy at
tack can long exist openly in a great city
because agitation will lead to restrictive
legislation by the city councils. Take
as an example the theatrical high hat.
Newspaper writer's have been criticising
ii for months, and until they have prac-
tically driven the nuisance from tho head