The Saint Paul globe., 1904-12-01
FASCINATING BURGLARS
FICTION NOW GIVES US cRIMI-
NAL HEROES
When a Woman Goes Wrong She is.
Worse Than a Man-The Social
Hiehmaynnan Largely Exists on the
Stage and in Stories

When man who has all his life
been strictly upright and good, sud-
denly goes wrong, he seems to strike
lower depths than habitual criminals.
Just so when a Woman-and for some
reason we take it for granted they are
most all good-undertakes a criminal
career, she falls lower than man. A
woman forger, who has recently been
arrested, has surprised her captors by
the ingenuity of her receptions. It
sometimes seems that boldness in
crime is an element of success in it.
That a man who writes false check
for S5 would stand less chance of OBJ
tanning the money and making off, than
if he had written it for $500. We so
often read of men who go to hotels
and present large checks in payment
of their bills receiving enough change
in return to enable them to pursue
their nefarious way unmolested.
There has sprung up recently style
of fiction which exploits the criminal
of the class referred to, and while the
intention of the writer's may not be to
glorify crime, nevertheless their ten
dency is to do so, and they work much
harm upon i1npressienable boys. Bur-
glars are type of thief which seem
particularly dear to the writer's of these
tales, and we often read of the touch
ing appeal made by a handsome safe
breaker to it's owners daughter in the
dead of night, and ten to one the girl
longs for her sentimental burglar ever
afterwards. An example of this naWk-
tsh kind Of stuff was given us in. "Raf-
f1es,'' which Kyrle Bellew presented IN
4 LOT
guilty and should have been locked up,
every woman in the audience drew
sigh Of relief when he escaped-because
he was SO good looking. 1t is hard to
see a handsome man in durance vile.
Now the truth is there are very
few-if any-burglars in real life, like
the one shown on the stage or in these
stories. A burglar is not apt to be a
gentleman even in dress and appear
ance; he is likely to be grimy and un-
lovely and the construction OF his SEN
tences open to question. The social
highwayrnan is largely a matter of fan
cy and not very desirable fancy
either.
But, strange to relate, the social high
waywoman appears to be a reality. When
a woman is given over to crime, not
merely to an evil life, but forges and
enabezzles, she is sometimes found to
be lady as far as the outward signs
90. She is often educated, refined in
her manners and at times not "A woman
of immoral character. Such women
have been known to flourish even in
good society. Here is an opportunity
for writer's of short stories and play
wrights. We have had the fascinating
hero whose moral sense is oblique, who
makes love to his hosts daughter at 10
o'clock and steals her diamonds at mid
night; the literature of crime can now
have added to its collection the faseinat-
ing woman of the world, who, though
perfect lady," has an uncomfortable
penchant for writing checks which no
bank can honor. This suggestion is Of
fered gratis to the literary world, and
this perfect lady" would go very well
with the hero of midnight adventures;
in fact, if might make further sug-
gestion, it would be well to marry these
two romantic persons to each other and
If they could be induced to draw their
interesting checks one on the other, 1t
would save the righteous folk who have
hitherto been their victims, much trou-
bic and expense.
But all of this sort of literature is far
from uplifting and an example of an
extreme case was given in a magazine
during the past summer when a story
was printed which gave an account of
the holdup and robbery of an express
train and in which the holder-up and
rObber was the hero. Moreover, it was
said that the identical crime was COM
mitted soon after in the West, in ex-
actly the manner of the story, and was
undoubtedly the result of it. We are,
therefore, unique In literature as in
other matters.
II,