Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-13
KEEPING OUT CROOKS

York detective who was keeping watchful
eye ON the incoming trains at the Camden
station in the fire-swept city while the ex-
element was at its height. Not more than
half dozen of the cheerful ones have got
off the trains and tried to get by here, and
these, with their own good coin, bought re-
turn tickets and went right back when 1
requested them to. It was swell scheme
on the part Of the detective inspectors in
New York and Philadelphia to station men
at all the outgoing ferries and at the sta
tons to watch the outgoing trains bound
southwark. Hundreds of crooks who tried
to duck past these cordons of men familiar
with the 'mugged individuals were turned
back before they had much more than
made a start for Baltimore and had it not
been for this precaution there would have
been an aggregation Of safe manipulators.
hotel sneaks. second-story men and porch
climbers, dips and so on, providing fur
lively around Baltimore at this moment
ttat would have made the situation here
hundred per cent worse than it is This
is the first big fire l ever took in at which
there has been no pillaging. lootng. rioting
In some shape OF other and robberies by the
wholesale in the residential districts, not
to speak Of fnnumerable pocket-picking
cases on large scale
There has been good deal of growing
over the revocation of the permits allowing
more or less privileged people to pass the
ers find any room for their protests. There
are literally hundreds of millions of dollars
In money and securities and other valua-
bleS Httering the area Of the burnt region,
and the fact that these goodies are tucked
away in safes and vaults doesn't alter the
situation in the least. Why, the crooks
kept out of the financial district of New
York all the time fire or no fire. There's
certain dead line that they are not allowed
to pass, and when they do pass that dead
line, either purposely or involuntarily. they
are always hauled up and vagged' or sent
away on old charges. 1t isn't such hard
job for a top-notch crook to frame up any
old kind Of a fire-line pass that he needs in
his business, and in my opinion the Balti-
more authorities were a bit late in tumbling
to the fact that 1t would be a wise move
to revoke all passes except the very few
issued by the commanding general Of the
National Guard.
Zone Of the neatest and boldest robberies
ever pulled Off in New York was made easy
for noted crook, now doing trick In an
English prison, by the laxness with which
passes through the fire lines were issued OH
the day following a big New York fire.
THE fire was on the East river water
front and it occurred about twelve years
ago. Several squares of a big meat-pack-
Ing establishment were wiped out. 1t made
a spectacular confiagration. and tens of
thousands of people were packed around
outside the fire lines while the fire ragged
and for two or three days after.
The fire originated in the Office of the
firm, so that on the day following the con-
f1agration that portion of the structure was
all cooled out and dead. couple of po-
licemen were put to guard the big steel
safe of the firm, which had fallen through
TO the basement with the collapse of the
building, and had struck plumb on it's legs
on the cemented floor Of the basement,
standing there as if it had been placed
that spot by gang of safe movers. "A
large number of the Office employees of the
firm who had been standing around watch
n ia of ha
moned, along about noon the day fol-
lowing the fire, to newly rented office on
Avenue A, couple of squares away, to
participate in reorganization of the office
forces. That left only the two cops to
guard the safe.
They were strolling around, stamping
their feet to keep warm when a swell-look-
ing elderly man. with mutton chop white
whiskers, approached them, carrying a BIS
Gladstone bag He was accompanied by
another man of somewhat insignificant APP
pearance.
Officer rompousiy said thcDeIderly man
with the bag, addressing one of the police
men, L want TO open our safe and see how
things inside of it, and he flashed a
piece of paper, signed by one of the man-
bers of the meat-packing firnn-a tidy forg
cry, of course-giving him permission as
the manager of the establishment to omen
the safe. He had got a pass through the
fire lines easily enough and the framing up
of the bogus letter was with him me ely a
detail. The two cops were impressed by
his digniffed and imnortant appearance. and
they told him to go ahead and help him
self
1.-The porpous man began 10 fool with the
combination of the safe keeping his ear
glued to the front of it to listen to the
clicks as he turned the knob forward and
backward. but at the end of fifteen minutes
he had been unable to open the safe
Warned by the heat l presume he
said, easily, to the policeman, and the COM
hination thrown out of plumb but he kept
at his job.
"As he worked away at the job a large
crowd of men holding fire badges and
passes through the fire lines began to as
semble around the safe, and this aroused
the wrath of the man with the white whis-
kers.
Officers he demanded of the police
men, chase these people away from here
If you please I am not eager for an audi
ence,' which was the truth, sure enough
although the policemen didn't understand
it the way he meant it. The cops DISPERSED
the crowd and the man with the Gladstone
bag went on tinkering with the combina-
ton.
after about twenty minutes more work
there was rattle and a small clatter in
side the SAFE and the job was done. The
portly man swung the vast door open with
the assistance Of his companion, and gaZed
with a pleased expression at the interior
Of the safe.
"Ah, everything is all right-no damage
whatever he said, in a delighted sort of
y,
large bunch of keys from his pocket, he
fitted several of them into the keyhole of
one of the inside steel doors, and presently
opened 1t, revealing big packages of cur
rency lying on the shelves. The elderly
man and his companion quickly stuffed the
currency into the large Gladstone bag, and
then closed the safe The officers stood
by gazing hungrily at the big stacks of
yellow money going into the valise, but
the idea never entered their minds that
there was anything wrong about the trans
action.
1T was not until the following day that
the genuine representative of the firm
turned up to open the safe, and when he
made his appearance he was promptly ar
rested by the two policemen as fraud
When he was released the two cops told
the story of how the safe had been opened
on the day before and the police were set
on the track of the man they described |
one of the most noted safe manipulators
in the business, a chap who made good
time and again. the boast of his pals that |
he could open any safe in the world not !
fitted with time lock inside of half an !
hour, merely by toying with the combina- |
ton and listening to the heart-beats in
side The fire had occurred on Saturday |
night so that the safe contained all of the |
Saturday collections, about $4,000 in cold |
cash, all of which the crook tucked away |
in his nice big Gladstone bag. He had |
for hat w imnnSSibte