The times., 1898-10-09
WHEN ONE IS Held UP
How 1t Feels to Hayea Gun
Pointed at You.
MAN BEHIND THE GUN
Something About the Sensations of
the Person Who Is Made to Hold
Up His Hands, and Incidentally the
Experiences of the Man Who Does
to People.

| Chicago has become so notorious for
| footpads and robbers of all kinds that
we may place confidence in anything her
people say on the subject. Thus, the
| Chronicle remarks:
In the county jail in solitary confine-
ment awaiting trial is of the most
daring and most dangerous robbers that
ever held a gun over a victim in Chicago
He is James A. Caldwell who is charged
with the attempted murder of Bartender
Ward Fish and four holdups which were
committed within two months. Caldwell
is a dangerous man. He has demonstrated
that on two occasions when his victims
resisted his attempts to relieve them of
their money. His opinions of highway
men, their victims and the ways In which
he accomplished his work in this city are
startling and original
| caldwell carried gun to enforce his de-
| mands. and when the occasion presented
/ itself did not hesitate to use it. Here is
| his story told by himself:
III dead easy to hold up man or a
woman, too, for that matter All you've
got TO DO Is to have q gun and plenty of
nerve and the person who has the money
and the cash viii change hands at your
command. When l held up my first man
| l felt as much frightened as he but /
! found out how easy 1t was and after that
always had nerve with me. A woman is
a picnic if she don't scream, and If she
does you might as well give UP the game
and try some one else. a woman general
ly faints and that Is a good thing for her
and the man who Is holding her up.
The first man j held up was the
cashier in Thompson's restaurant, at 355
South State Street. He was easy. / lust
in fha fAla
poked my gun under his nose and told
him | wanted his money and wanted it
In hurry. He turned pale, fell back
in his chair and gasped Take it Well.
i helped myself and before he knew il
/ was gone. He was sensible man, be-
cause that night / was desperate and
God knows what / would have done Il
the first man 1 tackled had refused to
give up.
Il was simply an amateur then out
before l tried my second job / had de-
termined not TO shoot anyone unless II
was absolutely necessary. And right
here / want to say that no robber will
shoot a man unless he has to. My ad-
/ vice TO man or woman who Is held
up is TO either cough up the cash at once
without any remonstrance or to quietly
and absolutely refuse TO give up a penny.
The latter procedure would puzzle the
ordinary robber. 1t is a hundred to one
/
! intention OF committing murder and VIII
only shoot if he thinks he is in danger
! of being caught. Now, If a man quietly
but positively refused to deliver the
goods when had my gun on him l would
I be in a dilemma and the next thing
would do if l found threats did not avail
would be to sneak away quickly as
possible
When l held up Wards restaurant, at
Illinois and State Streets there
woman in charge of the cash l pointed
, a gun at her and told her what l wanted
! and she never moved. There is the regis
ter: help yourself she said and that set
tied it. If she had screamed l would
have run away and she would have saved
the money.
, "At the Kinzie pharmacy, Chicago
Avenue and Pine Street, / did my first
shooting l held up the man all right and
he very kindly turned over all the cash he
! had to me.
The amount was small, but I was sat
i isfied and everything would have gone
: along smoothly II he had not chased me
with a revolver when ! left the place.
: Now that did him no good and only COM
: | PEELED me to shoot back at him to scare
l ! him away. / did not intend to get
!. caught and if that man had been hit 1t
> | would have been his own fault. It's bad
= business chasing robber.
''The second time / held up the same
cashier in Wards restaurant she only
= smiled. Whether it was because she rec
: ognized me or because there was only a
4 small amount in the drawer, can't Sry,
!, but I was really sorry for her ana told
= her good night and that 1 would never
bother her again.
Il My next experience was in Joseph T
: Keane's saloon. at Il South State Street
] went in to get glass of beer and saw
the bartender counting huge roll of bills
Here's your chance, Jimmie, l said K
myself. and as I had my gun with me
told the bartender / wanted his money
- Instead of giving it up he grabbed mt
and l was compelled to shoot him to ge
away. If he had only refused TO give mt
6 the money and not touched me / would
q have passed the matter off as a joke
), bought drink and walked out.
e MY experience as robber has taugh
me that the majority of people can bt
o easily awed by the sight Of revolver
: while there are some you can't frighte,
+; with thirteen-inch cannon. That bar
# tender Fish is one of the latter.
|. THE business is exciting enough t.
o please anyone. but you always have II,
s feeling that you will get caught sooner o.
n later, and 1t is this fact that leads yD,
e TO act as cautiously with your victims a.
IL possible and never shoot If you cai
i | avoid it,
e How did I feel when that robber point
n ed his gun at me?" said Ward Fish as h
e raised himself from a cot in st. Luke
e hospital. II felt like kicking him out o
s. the saloon. / was not frightened, not
Y, little bit. and all I thought of was how Il
II save the cash. / grabbed him and in con
n sequence was shot. I would do the sam,
% thing over again..
n Dudley Rhoads, the cashier in Thomp
d sons restaurant, is another of CaldwelIt
victims. when a man points a, gun a
i you and asks for your money give 1t t.
n | him." he declares. Don't argue tn
h matter, but shell out. When I saw tha
e robber with the gun / thought il a small
e cannon, yet l have since found out tha
: | it was q little revolver. My impression
s were that 1 was in tight place and tn,
h best thing / could do was to give il
# gracefully. What will l do the mex
!, time? The same thing. 1t takes all tn
e fight out of man and makes you fee
il like crawling through hole in the foo
II if you could only find one
# Pretty Ethel Whiteford enjoys the dis
II tinction of being the only woman IN Chi
d cago who has been held up twice. Sh
,f was formerly cashier for Wards restau
# rant. but is now living at 300 East Chi
e cago Avenue.
e you feel like screaming but don't dar
IS do So" is the way she explains her feel
s ines when confronted by a revolver il
,e the hands of a desperate man. "The frs
l. time l was held up / was badly fright
l. ! ened but the second time / did not min
l. it so much. 1t was the same robber, yo
n know. and as he did not hurt me tn
r first time / knew / was safe. My i'm
IS pressiens while being held up were that
J. first wished the man would hurry up an
= get through and second. that If h