The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-04-21
CRIME FROM A %. -.
BUSINESS STANDPOINT.
By George AIDE.
>>A>>>>>>>>>>~S


hDOES any criminal ever make a
success of his business?"
This question was asked of Inspector
John D. Shea few days ago.
"What do you mean by success?"
"Well, does he make a great deal of
money and escape imprisonment"
'That depends on whether he calls
himself an out-and-out crook or merely
operates as a highly moral business
man." replied the inspector, with a
smile. among the so-called profess
who get hold of large sums of money
at times, and from the money stand
point you might say they were fairly
successful, but in nearly every instance
they are finally landed in some peniten-
tiary."
"Do you know of any professional
criminal who escaped punishment alto
gether?"
eyes, I know of one, and he is the
only one can recall at this moment.
He lives on the West side. This fellow
has been burglar and all-round crook
that he has done a good many jobs,
but we have never been able to get him.
He has been wonderfully lucky. One
night he was brought into the Des-
PLANES street station with dark lan-
tern, putty knife and some other
tools of the trade on his person. That
is as near as we ever came to nabbing
him in the act. He had been caught
in an alley. If he had been an old
timer we might have got him out Of
the way for awhile on such proof, but
as he had never been convicted before
we couldn't do anything. This fellow
has had a great many partners, and
every one of them has been caught.
Most of them are doing time now, but
he has had remarkable luck. He'll be-
sent over some day, though"
when a man starts out to be pro-
fessional criminal, how does he usually
betray himself to the police? Does he
become overcontident after one or two
successful jobs?"
Eyes; he is apt to take chances if he
has got away with two or three jobs.
He begins to think that he is too
smooth for the police. Usually, how
ever, he first comes under suspicion by
being seen in company with crooks
who are well known to the police.
Criminals naturally flock together and
make friends with one another. The
common danger and the common inter-
est help to make them intimate. It is
natural for them to work in gangs and
pairs, and fellow who starts out on
ms own hook is almost sure to land
in gang very soon, and as soon as he
does he comes under the notice of the
police"
There are some, perhaps, who have
proverbial bad luck?"
"Yes; there are plenty who get out of
one penitentiary just in time to break
into another. Criminals as class are
poorly paid, if you count in the time
that they serve. Leaving the wrong
and right entirely out of the question,
it's bad business proposition. Just
as an instance: A few years ago an
expert bank sneak named Murphy was
le: out of Joliet, and the next week
he showed up here in Chicago. One
of the detectives met him and brought
him to the central station. u asked him
what he was doing, and he said he
was looking for work and was going to
lead an honest life. He swore by all
that was good and holy that he would
Fever steal another dollar as long as he
lived. I didn't want to doubt the man,
but told him that if he wanted to be
straight he'd better get out of Chicago
and away from his old pals and settle
down in some quiet place where the
police wouldn't be watching him all the
time. He thought well Of my sugges-
ton and left town. About week after
that we got word that couple of fell
lcws had been caught down in Ohio
trying to do job in country bank.
The police in Ohio couldn't identify
these fellows, so Andy Rohan went
down to take look at them. OF course
Andy knows more crooks by sight than
any other man in the department. Tie
minute he saw these fellows he rec.
ognized one of them as Murphy. Being
a good professional, Murphy was put
away for few years in Ohio.
Zone night was turning the cor
ner at Halsted and Madison streets and
saw a man and woman crossing the
street. I got just a glimpse of the man,
but knew that had seen him some
where before, but couldn't place him
When I had walked about 100 feet o,
so from the corner heard some one
yelling behind me and saw people run.
ming toward a tailor ship. I hurried
back and pushed into the shop, and
there, standing in the middle of the
floor with a crowd around him, was
Murphy. He was the fellow had seen
with the woman. As soon as I got q
fair peep at his face I knew him. ]
went up to him and says: What's the
matter, Murphy 2 He says: i don't
I. know; but + guess = I'm = crazy The