Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-16
THEY ARE SENSITIVE.
Thieves Rarely Use Their Real Desig.
nation, But Saw They Work

I'm speaking Of and among themselves
thieves and others engaged in Legitimate
occupations are sensitive as TO their call
fngs, and eschew terms of designation APP
piled to them by the general public" said a
headquarters detective this morning.
Thus the thief shrinks from the word
thief as applied to himself as a cat hesi-
tates to step on a wet place on the pave
ment. Thief has a harsh a nd hard sound
even to the ears OF thieves, and in referring
TO their companions. or to others engaged
in stealing, they never call ach other ex-
cept In anger, thieves or burglars or
highway robbers
Suppose we were In a resort frequented
by lawbreakers of both sexes II We asked
known criminal the occupation of some
companion at an adjoining table. he would
not say. Oh. that fellow is a thief as 1
would IL the remark were addressed to me.
We would be informed. If the mans real
occupation was to be revealed that he
worked some where-that is, ne worked
the races, the Coney Island crowds. upper
Broadway. or elsewhere where his regular
occupation of 'p:ckpocket' OF sneak thief
could advantageously be followed. but these
latter terms would be conspicuous by their
absence in the conversation concerning the
individual under discussion.
They work don't you see? II is work
to them, and SO they view It, Sometimes
one thief will unbend and call his COM
panion crook and crook is the popular
generic term among thieves which covers
the whole gamut OF crime-from house
breaking to pocket picking. Crook doesn't
sound SO bad as thief and does not sug-
gest the penitentiary so wildly.
ut Is SO with female crooks; they all
work. and never steal from their stand
point If the companion of the pickpocket
at the table excited our interest, and we
asked our informant what she was, We
would be told, for instance, If she were a
shoplifter, that she worked the stores
which Is difference with decided distinc-
ton between working in a store. But II
any of them ever steal anything, or make
their living by stealing well, that's a word
that is cut out of their vocabulary entirely
They may take thing, from brick
house to a child's savings bank, but they
never steal Take is the word they use
when not indulging in slang; just took
mans watch or lady's pin. that's all.
1T is the same with professional gam
blers and with all kinds of professionals in
crime or in making an Legitimate liveli-
hood. No professional gambler will volun-
tarily own up to his being a gambler He
plays the wheel if he is roulette player:
or play the bank II he is faro fiend: or
plays the races IL he is a pool-room
bucker; but as for being gamblers or card
sharps' or players among themselves, why,
they don't know what these words mean.
except when they read them in the news
papers.
And thus we may pass all along the line
of those who live by any means except by
honest work. Knowing what they are they
remain silent as to themselves, except, as
have said, when in anger. During quarrel no
terms of slang or OF proper speech are too
vigorous to be used against each oeher, and
the correct title OF the llegitimate occupa-
ton in which the disputants may be en-
gagged Is always the strongest and most
cutting epithet which may be uttered For
one sneak thief to call another to his face
nothing but a common thief for instance,
with the usual accompanying raprintable
adjectives IL deadly insult, which calls
for instant blows and often for blood and
the life of one or the other, OF both. of the
participants in the quarrel"