Evening star., 1901-02-02
THE HOOLlGANo OF PARIS
ROUGH GANGS By WHICH THAT
CAPITAL IS sCOURGED.
Are Criminals Through a Long Line
of Ancestors Various Stages
Through Which They Pass.
From the london Express.

From the London Express.
The Hooligan is far from being an essen
TALLY London product. Every big city has
Its own particular sample of the genus.
The Paris specimen was never more con-
spicuous than now. For the last two weeks
he has been the steady topic of the news
papers in the French metropolis, and peace
ful citizens from end to end of the gay
capital have been scared by his exploits
In the French school of crime the curric-
ulum is by no means SO simple as In other
countries. Elsewhere the course usually
comprises only two stages. and from being
a rough or tough" one advances rapidly
until he Is graduated as a thief or full
fedged criminal
In Paris the criminal is usually the result
OF long line of breeding. His father was
pfopaDly thler, and his grandfather per-
haps enjoyed the distinction of being guillo-
tined Even with these precious equip
ments, however, he only rises to be a rob-
ber or assassin by the usual steps of pro-
greSsion.
Their Origin and Training.
Nearly all the criminals of Paris-that ia.
those that are regarded as belonging in
alienably to the criminal classes-are the
children of a mother or father. or both,
who some time or other, and perhaps ma
b!tually, have fallen into the clutches or
the law. When the son approaches man.
hood he inevitably becomes what Is known
in Paris ''voyou" an idle ruffian whose
only daily occupation consists in consort-
Ing with his kind and doing odd chores for
the neighborhood pckpockets and house
thieves.
II he falls to prove an adept in his an
premiership his father forces him to be-
come a camelot." under which title he
peddles stolen goods through disreputable
localities.
In due course of time. whether "voyou'.
or 'camelot." he generally advances to the
grade styled "souteneur." This Is a social
category that Is essentially Parisian. In
return for the physical protection that he
bestows upon some female Of his own
standing he Is enabled to live without toll
ing. except for the periodical necessity or
thrashng some other ruffian or assaulting
some hapless stranger, the latter usually
drunk.
In the usual order Of things he may ultI-
mately become, first. "filou'' or pick
pocket and II he attains skill and renown
IN this line he falls inevitably under the
notice of illustrious patrons, who train
him to become. like themselves. "cambrio-
leur," which means both house thief ana
burglar.
ThOrOuGh-Paced Criminals.
The Paris lawbreaker almost invariably
passes through all these stages before being
considered as having risen to the height of
his profession. There are thousand and
one details characterizing each of these sue
cessive periods Of probation which tend to
make the Paris criminal a thorough paced,
all-around, unadulterated scoundrel, second
to none In the universe.
One of the most conspicuous exemplars of
this type OF Paris criminal was tried the
other day for murder. He has family
name. but II was lost sight Of and in the
police and court records and among tho
lawbreakers Of the capital he was simply
known as Milo"
His career was that of all the Paris ilk
He had passed through the various stages
Of criminal education above described, and,
happening to kill an old woman he only
meant to strdngle temporarily, was ar
raigned for murder. With him in the dock
were three fellow criminals. one of them q
woman; and the chief witness against
them was a former partner in crime then
under sentence for robbery.
The tales the infcrmer told of Milo's es-
capades in every line of infamy would
qualify that eminent citizen for the title of
King of the Worlds Hooligans.
The Danger.
The trial Informed Paris Of one disagree
able fact: That her criminal population has
lately acquired the habit of banding to-
gether for the commission of crime. While
peaceful citizens were still shivering with
fright at that fact, Paris was shocked by
the news OF another horrible crime. The