Daily camera., 1901-10-11
SAFE FROM THE Law
Places In London where Thisves
Are Secure from Arrest.
TAs Einaiag sf . CPiniAal AnlAst
The Teeaing Millions 81 PsoDls
u . Tremendous Task Ter
the SAarDsst DloutAs.

One Of the natural harbors or ref
uges for the criminal classes y th<
city of London. Indeed, all large cit,
ties offer q measure of security &c
lawbreakers, but the English metrop
oils being the most populous city ir
the world gives such characters excep
tional opportunities for concealmenh
despite the fact that the metropolitan
police force is the most efficient and
successful in the world. The fact l,
that to find . hiding criminal In Lon
don with its teeming millions Of peo.
pie Of all nationalities) 10 . temen
dous task, and in the case of alien Grim
inals the magnitude of the task IL dou
bled by the fact that the "descrip.
tions" supplied to Scotland Yard BY
foreign police authorities are proverb'
tally meager and unreliable when they
are not absolutely idiotic.
Despite. however. the advantages
London Offers fugitives from justice
when . British criminal commits . big
crime whereby he obtains the neces-
sary funds he generally gives the
"Axis Of the Empire" . wide berth
and endeavors to get somewhere
abroad under 4 vague sort Of impress
sion that anywhere 10 safer than the
country in which he committed his
crime.
The question Of whittier he shall HE
himself is one which he must And con.
siderable difficulty in answering. and
the difficulty is yearly being increased
BY the concluding Of more and more
extradition treaties. and the awaken.
ing Of those countries with which the
United States already has such trea-
ties to more proper sense OF their
obligations. Owing to the existence OF
scores OF extradition treaties, almost
every country Is nominally ns unsafe
70 fugitive criminals (excepting those
wanted" for political crimes) az the
snug island. but nominally is not actu-
ally. for which difference the emigrat-
ing evildoer has every reason to be
thankful.
More than half the treaties the gov
ernment holds with foreign countries
for the extradition Of criminals who
hy the country are practically dead
letters. Were Il not for this fact there
would be only one actual refuge for
fugitive lawbreakers. whereas there
are dozens. The Bonin islanda. In the
Pacific ocean. and on the coast Of
Japan. constitute the sole remaining
nominal refuge for the criminal
classes. and this refuge - not favored
by any but the lowest and most Grim
inal.
Men who have committed crimes for
which death. lifelong imprisonment.
Siberia. or perhaps torture. would be
due punishment. have flown to the
Bonin islands from all parts of the
world. and have set up a small colony
of all that is most brutal in human
nature. but the gentlemanly criminal.
the bland fraud from the city who
decamps with tens Of thousands. pre-
fers . less certain safety with An ele-
ment Of comfort. and would probably
rather be arrested than be forced to
patronixe the Bonin islands. particu-
larry as there 10 now every hope Of this
refuge being covered by an extradition
treaty in the near future.
Argentina is still . happy hunting
ground for criminals. and Jabex Bal
four's capture was an exceptionally
good stroke Of luck for Law and jus
tice. There are seores upon scores OF
criminals safely retired in the Argen-
tine Republic.