The Washington times., 1902-06-23
LOCAL SLEU1H TALKS
OF HOTEL BURGLARS LARS
Those Who Live by Stealing
From Others.
HOW THEY GO ABOUT WORK
Many Methods introduced for Purpose
of Making a Haul-Locks and Bolts
Fixed" Far in Advance = Other
Schemes.

In recent months there has been a
series of hotel burglaries in various
cities of the country and the attention
of the police and detectives has been
called to this dangerous class of GRIM
inals. Washington has not escaped the
ravages of these gentry, but so far as
known only one robbery of note has
taken place. There is no doubt that
this job was performed by a profession
al, who knew his business well, and IL
may be that he worked the game in
other places, but did not fare so we'll IN
| his returns. One of the local detectives,
who has given much attention in recent
| years to the class OF criminals known as
hotel and boarding house thieves, said
yesterday that there was apparently no
doubt that some well-trained men were
working the country at this time. He
said there had been a gradual decrease
| in the number of those who ply their
evil trade in other directions, that con-
siderable difficulty has been experienced
in keeping down the hotel operators.
This, too, Notwithstanding the fact that
most of the large hostelries have de.
tectives employed at the house.
These thieves are dangerous, too,"
he continued, "for they always have
their wits about them. Operating, as
they do, in hotels and fashionable board
ing houses, they must be prepared TO
meet any unexpected emergency. AS
rule they are men of respectable ap.
pearance and OF good address, and TO be
successful must be cool and daring.
Some of the fellows follow their voca- I
tions in the morning, others during the
fa nd ha
shadows of night. In other respects also
they have different methods of pro-
cedure.
Picking Their Victim.
"By keeping close watch on the news.
papers for hotel arrivals and following
prospective prey from the depots and
other places, they manage to find some
thing to do whenever necessary The
coming and going of professionals. ra--
ticularIy female theatrical stars, for
eigners statesmen, bankers, and bridal
parties, and all persons likely TO carry
valuable iewelry and trinkets or large
amount of money, in this way are noted.'
and are objects of special Importance
and ,solicitude. Until he has accom-
plished his purpose the hotel thief pur-
sues his prey from one establishment to
another persistently.
Much ingenuity in getting into rooms
is often shown by these men who, in
working. run all sorts OF risks and take
desperate chances. Sometimes he may
secure entrance into an apartment with
out trouble, while at others Il is neces-
sary to use q gimlet and small piece
of crooked wire TO slide back the bolt,
or a pair OF nipDers 70 turn the key.
AS many as a dozen rooms in the same
hotel have been known to have been
piundered in cne night. and no one saw
or heard the thief. The crafty worker
can carry his entire outfit in his vest
pocket and can literally laugh in his
sleeve at the common bolts and bars.
1T takes only few minutes for an
expert to enter q room. and the door In
most instances can be opened without
making any marks on 1t to show how it
had been forced. On reaching the door
he takes out pair of small nippers.
bent piece OF wire. and piece of silk
thread. which are about the only tools
some men use. By inserting the nip
pers in the keyhGle the lock bolt can be
easily twisted, and the bolt can then be
easily located by pressing the ioor. The
piece of thread is then attached to the
wire. making a sort of bow, and 1t is
pushed through the keyhole and carried
ND or down to the bolt. The looped head
throws the pin into place, after which
the string is moved sideways until It
grapples the pin, and then the bolt Is
slid back out of the nosing.
Fixing" the Doors.
tected by improved locks, the thieves
spend their leisure time fixing the
rooms One of these known as the
thumb bolt needs to be tampered with
beforehand. This is done by removing
the screws, after which the thumb plate
is taken off and a slot filed in the spring
bar. Then the operator replaces tho
plate and screws and marks on the out
side of the door. by slight indentation
in the woodwork or otherwise. the exact
point at which to strike the filed slot
when the door is locked 1t is COM
paratively easy for the expert to Ak a
room. Often months elapse after a
room has been fixed before a robbery
is accomplished.
Another plan, and the one which is
generally adopted by the rogues who
orowi about hotel corridors in the day
time. is to draw the screws Of the
nosing of the bolt and lock. By boring
he screw holes larger and moistenins
he screws, the latter are replaced and
a sufficient grip not to be dis
placed by the ordinary jar. AS tho
wood becomes dry the door can without
noise be forced in at the proper time.
More astute than his brother hotel
workers is the thief who looks for his
prey about the high-class boarding
houses. He is generally an entertain
ng talker secures all the information
about the other guests before he has
,hatted with the landlady many hours.
and is prepared for work. In the dim
rg-room he can usually see the dis
play of iewelry, and the eyes of these
men rarely mistake the real jewel At
breakfast or dinner time shortly there
lfter the thief remains upstairs. and be-
ore the other guests have finished their
'epast their rooms will have been ran
sacked Thieves of this class are rather
lard to follow. but when apprehended
scores of complainants can generally be
ound to prosecute them
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