The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-20
SWORD CANE is
REVIVED IN CHICAGO
Terrorized Citizens Garry Them
as a Protection Against
the Thugs.

4 canes carried by chicago men a1Cer,
nightfall and you'll probably observe a
metal ring or an almost invisible but
1 ton In the stick six or eight inches be-
/ low the handle. Press the button and
give the cane a sharp twist and you'll
| be surprised to find that the handle is
easily separated from the body Of the
cane, and that metal blade, sharp
| and pointed, is attached to the handle.
4 For the sword cane has lately come
| into new favor with those who make
| use Of Chicago streets after dark
And Of those who do not carry sword
| canes, it Is safe bet that nine out Of
every ten carry reyolvers in their over
/ coat pockets.
The entire city is terrorized by the
exploits Of thugs and bandits. Even
| theater- goers carry weapons to the
playhouse with them. The man who
goes unarmed through Chicago streets
at night, even in the heart Of the bust
| ness and theatrical district, is taking
long chances. fe
At the corner of State and Van Bu-
rem streets, few nights ago, a hold-up
| occurred. In the heart Of the city about
| IL o'clock at night, countryman from
Iowa faced a drawn. revolver thrust
under his nose, and was compelled to
| disgorge his watch and $40 in cash.
| Street cars and pedestrians were within
easy reach of the thug, yet he per-
| formed his feat unmolested
Rustic Turns the Tables.
| Twenty minutes later the country
| man, who had regained his nerve and
| had followed the highwayman, sud-
| denly pounced upon the bandit and
felled him with blow. Then he help
| ed himself to his own watch and
money, took the thugs revolver from
him and forced him to surrender his
| own watch. When the Iowa man re-
| ported the matter to the police they
decided that he had clear title to the
| Spoils won from the highwayman.
| Another Illustration Of the boldness
! Of the thugs is found in the expert
ence Of a young woman from New
| York, who is staying at one Of the most
| fashionable hotels in the city. A few
| minutes before o'clock one evening
last week she entered the hotel by the
| side entrance and passed into a long
corridor leading to the main lobby The
/ corridor was deserted except for a
young man.
Suddenly he struck her in the face,
| forced her against the wall and almost
| strangled her, at the same time trying
4 to wrench loose her chatelaine bag and
watch: She was unable to scream, and
/ was fainting when a messenger boy
| happened to enter the corridor and
| gave the alarm
The thug knocked the boy down and
made his escape blythe side door. This
| happened in the largest hotel in Chi
cago, in the heart of the city.
Take half a dozen casual business
men in Chicago and then take a poll.
and it is a safe bet that at least two
/ out of the six can tell you their expe-
| riences when they were held up by
\ bandits. It is small wonder then that
/ practically. every man who is obliged
| to be out late at night carries a re-
yolyer or weapon Of some kind.
Dangerous to Carry Weapons.
| 1t is rather dangerous, however, to
carry weapons. Not that the police
will arrest you. The law about carry
/ ing concealed weapons in Chicago is a
| dead letter and is never enforced The.
| danger comes from being caught by
| the bandits.
I 1t lisa recognized principle Of bandit
| law that any victims caught with re-
| VolYers must be beaten and kicked I'M
mercifully. The bandits do this to dis
courage the carrying Of concealed
| weapons. AS a precaution against at
| tacks, experienced citizens always car
| ry their guns in their hands when
passing through dark streets.
I The most popular revolver in Chi
| cago-and you can hear all kinds of
arguments about revolvers at the clubs
| and hotels-is the magazine revolver,
| operated like the Mauser rifle. 1t car
ries nine dumhead cartridges, and yet
! Is so small that 1T can be conveniently
! carried in a coat pocket.
But the use of sword canes Is, after
all, the most striking feature of the
| situation in Chicago. The length Of
| the blades varies, but the most pop
| ular weapon is one with short blade,
| not over two feet long. This can be
used as dagger or dirk, and is val
| liable in coming to close quarters with
| the thug. The longer blades, or rapiers,
are useless if the thug once breaks in
| side the guard.
| These blades can be had in Toledo
steel and some Of them are very hand
some affairs. A beautiful blade, at
tached to an ivory handle, Is concealed
| in a cane belonging to a Chicago the
atrieal manager, who has carried 1t
for fifteen years. 1t was made to order
for him and cost $45.
Good Blades for $3.50.
Canes with good blades can be pur-
e.
up. For $3.50 one can purchase a fairly
good stick with an eighteenth dirk,
the stick being made of unpublished
birch.
For S. one can get a very excellent
weapon in polished wood, with a two,
foot dirk. For $40 one can secure q
longer blade, with an automatic flilt or
guard, which unfo1ds as soon as the
blade is drawn from the cane. This
hilt is a very valuable adjunct, as it
prevents the hand from slipping upon
the blade in a scrimmage.
The fashion in hold-ups has changed
slightly since the thugs found out that
many people were carrying sword
canes They learned it unexpectedly
in Buena Park, a fashionable suburb
north of Chicago, in December.
Two of them undertook to relieve
young man of his valuables at the muz-
zle Of pair of revolvers. The man,
as the second thug came near to search
him, made a sudden lunge with his