Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1898-01-29
ET EASY TO les APE.
AVERAGE CRIMINAL PRACTICALLY
SUITE 10 BE CAUGHT

ccnsclcnce Che First aud Greatest AID Of
The Detectives Letters, Tndisoretions.
careies-ne~s Any or All OF These May
Cause B.tragas
On the evening after the capture OF a
men for whom tho police had been hunt
Ing for scsesA nonths a party OF men
y 10 hid mot by chance in cafe began to
GUS ias case, ana one of them said that
hewas positive that, uasler similar cir
cua.sia.ecs, he would have fooled the de-
iectiyos and escaped
Asaybo you'll tell us how you would
escape IL yaa had committed crime,
sSid tho first speaker. "We'll make up
tho crime and yoa'll tell what you would
do. Let's take robbery and an easy one.
Suppose you went from Your Office to
Jones here. Jones knows you rs a respect
able man. You see on his desk bundle
Of bank notes. Say there is sac 600 In the
package. Lots Of people are entering tho
Office Gnd walking past the desk. Jones'
ettention Is diverted. You pick up the
hank notes and slip them into your pock-
at. No one sees you do It, You chat with
Jones for O few minutes, bid him good
day and walk cut of the office. Wen give
Jones IS minutes to discover his loss. You
know that 30 people have had chance to
stcEl the money, aud that you are ono Of
sho last who will be suspected Now,
what would you do2''
1T seems TO me that the case you make
out is altogether too easy, said the self
offered criminal. u should do absolutely
nothing except attend to my everyday
business in my everyday way. On leaving
Jones 1 would walk out Of his office, speak
ing to the men whom knew, and then
would 60 to my own office, put the money
IN an envelope and lay the envelope on my
desk as though it was of no particular
value. I would work until my usual hour
to 90 homo calno, and then, after dinner,
I would como down here and see you fell
lows. would not vary the routine of my
business or social life. Probably the news
papers of the next day would contain long
accounts Of the mysterious theft Of $780,
COO, with hundred guesses MS to the
Identity Of tina robber. II they did, l
would drop In on Jones, tell him was
sorry for his loss and ask him if / could
help him in any way. He would bewail
his loss ana maybe might borrow few
thousand OF me TO tide him over.
~ would leave the $50, goo in my desk.
] would not touch it. l would let it kick
around. would talk of the robbery with
my friends, but not too much. would
say that / hoped the robber would DO
caught, but I would be careful not to be
too talkative about the case Jones would
send for the police and all of his clerks
would be examined. Th@detectiyes would
look wise, talk about outside and inside
jobs, round up a few well known sneak
Ia 1,,.-, Ts>.,l =. L.
matter would die out after awhile. After
few months had passed could spend the
money and my theft would never be sus-
pooted"
Your theory Is all right except for one
thing" said a man who had listened at
tentively TO the conversation. "You for
get that you are made of flesh and blood.
If you were cut out of a block of wood,
you'd get away splendidly. But the mo-
ment you got that money in your pocket
your fear of detection would become so
great that your knees would knock to-
gether. Even If you controlled yourself
until you had finished that chat with
Jones you speak about so lightly, which
Cont think you would DO able to do, the
strain would exhaust you so thit you
wonld so to pieces when You got 90 your
own olliee. You also speak of letting the
money kick around. You couldn't do 1t.
That little package Of bills would grow TO
q mountain. Your nerve would fail you
If it lay on your desk. Knowing it was
there, you would be in panic lest some
one should find it. If you put 1t away in
D vault the whole thing would weigh on
you. You'd dream Of the stuff. Your
nerve would give way. You would betray
yourself in a fortnight"
"All that yoa say about self betrayal is
true, said the man who started the con-
veIsation, "ani there ere other things to
be considered. Jones would have talks
with the detectives. 10 Is now healthy
mirded man who believes al his friends
aro honest, but III his conversations with
the policemen be would hear about rob-
bcr!es OF mothers by their children, of hus-
bands by their wives and Of dozens Of cases
where intimate friends had stolen from
the houses Of their associates. His mind
troubled by his loss, he would be con-
stantly on the lookout for g plausible ex-
PLANTATION of the mystery. At first he
would declare thGJ 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 it possible that some one he
trusted as a friend had committed the
theft
He would get into condition in which
he would suspect every one, and after
awhile no would give your name with
those Of all the other men he saw on the
day of the robbery. Then q detective
would call on you. He wouldn't take into
account that you were a respectable man
or anything OF that kind Unless you
have more nerve than any one I know,
his interview would shake you some, and
you can DO sure that he would see any
break you made. Then the rest would be
easy. You would be caught either by
blunder of your own or by the work of one
of the detectives you think SO useless
now"
"Remember that you hayo o conscience
and that misery loves company, said the
man who began the talk. Conscience,
confessions, indiscreet conduct, letters
oil of them play part in the capture of
criminals. They are the detectives aids.
Ono of them is bound to crop out In the
lawbreaker at one time or another Think
1t over and consider every side of the ques-
ton, and I'm sure you'll agree with me
In the opinion that q criminal must be an
extraordinary man to escape detection and
capture. New York Sun.
He Had a Recnrd