The times., 1901-03-11
THE LANGUAGE OF CRIME
Slang a Valuable Asset to Defec(
tives and Police.
Necessary in Order to Gnio the Con-
hdepce of the '.CIass"-The 'Estooi''
a servant of Law and Order
How to Get Tips on the "Game."


as a Servant of Law and Order
How to Get Tips on the sGame.r
Slang is a necessity In police parlance,
for without II a line OF mutual under
standing between thieves and their enc
mics would surely disappear 1t is use
less for the critic TO point out that Web
ster says slang is ''unmeaning language"
because to the detective and the thief as
well it means everything In the life OF
the other side" It Is a source OF enlight-
eminent. and Il is understood and appre-
ciated by police and criminals alike.
There is a detective at headquarters. a
veteran of twenty years service. who
last ~Syfht told something OF the adyan-
tage of the use OF slang lie believes 1t
a necessity; that thieves would look
askance at the detective who addressed
them in the language of the drawing
room, say after this fashion; Pardon
me, sir, but l wish a little information
concerning the theft of a diamond breast
pin, said to have been lost on PennsyI-
vania Avenue northwest several days ago.
Can you assist me in any way 1t is ap-
parent that such language might be ac-
ceptable to the -four hundred" OF society.
but TO the thief IL would be weli-nigh uR-
intelligible. Therefore detectives follow
their avocation with slang as a watch
word, much as a trained dog follows MS
scent
1T is true all thieves have a peculiar
regard for the man who can show them
the badge" said the detective last night.
but once he was out of sight there
would be a mighty laugh at the duck
who addressed them In the language Of
the parlor Now I know the class well
enough not to be misunderstood, for IT is
well defined among US that 'geeZer as
they call US, would seek information in an
entirely different way. Now suppose the
theft Of diamond pin has been reported.
and / am assigned TO the case. My first
effort is TO make a connection. which
means to hunt up some one of my
stools, one of those loiterers aoout the
saloons, the streets, or the clubs, as the
case may be. With him 1 must always
be a jolly good fellow; must drink while
the wine is red. and generally must face
the task without finehing Every wise
detective has such a buddy on his staff,
for the stool is almost invaluable. He
hangs about places where thieves c0ngre-
gate; buys drinks for the crowd with the
detectives money. and tells of days past
when he did Jobs before he lost his
nerve.
thieves at times become 'ieary of him.
and naturally shove off that is, leave
him 10 think il over as best he can. Then
/ must go out among the class myself.
Generally the thieves know me, and, OF
course. / know them. So / enter a Sa
loon or hang out with a Jolly hello.
gather the crowd about me. and buy
drinks for ali In sight. | am then good
thing but | must drink what the thief
drinks be it whisky or wine. SO that there
may arise no suspicion in his mind After
several rounds many of the thieves draw
off. that is leave the saloon. leaving me
with a few intimateS, for whom l nave
been searching. If there is stranger In
the crowd. as frequently happens. / en-
quire about him, and perhaps may learn
that he is wise one, yet unknown u
my friends among the class. Again II
the stranger is pointed out to me by
friends as student / know he Is yet
in training, learning the handicraft of
the class and. therefore, not likely 70
have turned a trick OF any particular
size.
After while I tell my lntimates' I'm
the class what am after; that there are
many 'squeais, meaning complaints,
from the big Seventh Street stores. Ave
nue. establishments, or elsewhere. as the
case may be. Frequently l describe the
nature of the 'squealS to them; again
/ ask them if they can help me MI the
bill And many times l am given a tip
on the game.
1T is true that there are many thieves
who would willingly make a holler' ttell
what they know. but they are afraid of
YOU. so you must set the pace. They are
afraid too of losing their graft, that is.
to be disOwned by their fellow crooks.
should ii become known that they had
.peached.' These willing ones, too, VIII
stick by you if you do by them. bur Il
takes a careful pilot to steer the bark
through the meshss and rocks of slang
diplomacy into the harbOF of success