The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-04-03
CRIMINALS BY IMPULSE

On a trail between New York and
Philadelphia the other day Robert Pin
kerton. the famous detective. in con-
versation with some friends. talked in
terestingly of a class Of persons whom
he called criminals by impulse"
I've known lot of folks with Happy,
outstanding ears. ingrOwing chins, claw
like fingers and close-set eyes who new
er did an ornery. much less Grim
inal. act in their lives. although you'd
never get subscribers to the Lombroso-
NOpdau. head measuring ASA guide
to-crime idea to believe it, he said.
I've met up with philanthropists who
We're shifty-eyed, sneaky-loOking and
possessed Of any number of the pnysi-
cal points of the Lombroso and Nor
daU so-called type of degenerate. and
yet they were men who found it hard
to get to sleep o. nights for thinking of
the misery in the world and trying TO
think out plans to make people un-
happy On the other hand, I've come
i'm contact with case hardened desper-
ADDE'S. crooks of both sexes. craggy
Cnes that enjoyed the very taste and
smell Of deviltry. criminals born. who
didn't have sign on them from head
TO heels that wasn't thel mark Of a
as winsQme a gaze out Of their eyes
and stake you to as appealing line
OF innocent expression as a Colorado
promoter of sailed mines, endeavOring
to sell you a hole in the ground at 20
cents the share that is going to be list
ed at SS4 the share on April the LIST
next. All of the unfOrtunates occupy
ing prison cells are not criminals by
impulse. 1t would help some if. today.
!.
know who. from a life of utter square
ness jumped into trouble like a cat
hopping a trellis by succumbing to
quick and Overmastering temptation.
only a few years ago a New York
bank messenger made a short railroad
sprint with $4,000 after having had
ten thousand opportunities TO jump
with ten times that much, and after a
lifetime Of the most scrupulous honesty,
under the catapultic influence Of one
of these queer impulses TO get away
with a quick grab
The newspapers had it that he was
just plain thief. that he had been
caught with all of the goods. that he
had been tried and sentenced TO five
years. and that's all. But these spread
out recitals Of the case didn't really
cover the nub of the story at all.
That bank messenger had been en-
plOyed by the bank for twenty-five
years. and he was twenty-eight when
his evil moment sped along and gather
ed him in. He was unmarried, lived
with married sister. whom he sup
ported, and. while no goody- goody, had
40 particular vices except the consOl-
alton of a corncob pipe when he got
through with his days work.
I'm the course OF his twenty-five
years with the bank he had the hand
ling of tens of millions of dollars, with
opportunities to get away with enor-
nous bundles as good as those he had
accepted suddenly In hopping with the
$4,000. on the very day before ne took
the $4,000 satchelful ne had been the
custodian Of a valise containing S120-
900 Of the banks currency-but the min
ute for him hadn't arrived.
But he executed the runa way with
the $4,000. all right enough knowing.
too. that if was only $4,000. He got
as far as Pittsburg, when be went al
most insane with remorse. and he took
a train back for New York to confess
TO the bank people and turn over the
$4,000 intact.
He was traced to Pittsburg and then
on board the other train he had taken
10 make New York again, and they
corralled him on that train at Altoona /
There's so letup in some of these bank
people, and the messenger got his FIVE
years. although he surrendered every
tUppence OF the $4,000
81 had bit Of a talk with him before
he was taken to the pen. Said I TO
him.
" Son how came you to squeeze such
a little parcel of it. when you could
have waited a few days for a whole
heap bigger package and have laid bet
ter plans. too. for making a getaway
that would stick
Well he replied with perfect can
dor. J never meant to lift shat bundle
or any other up 20 the very second that
did it. The bunch To take a run for
il hit me squarely as q slant OF wind
striking a catamaran, and turned me
turtle before ] could get a clutch on
myself.
1T was one OF those bitter. sleety
December days. with gray skies and all
that. I got on the l. train at Rector
street to take the $4,000 10 the branch
bank uptown. I was chilled through.
after leaving the warm bank. and shud-
dering with the nippyness of the air
] poked the grip containing the money
between my legs and spread out an
evening newspaper that I bought To
read on the way. In the newspaper 1
got to reading mighty dreamy and
inviting article about the countries
where it's warm and balmy during our
winter months up here. My teeth as
] say. were chattering with the cold. e.
and / was kind O. run down I'm health.
anyhow. and as ] read that stuff about
the balmy lands down closer to the
liner ] found myself repeating. over
and over again: Great Scott, what
wouldn't I give to be in one OF those
places right this minute.'
Then I got to looking up at the
Advertisements i'm the L car The one
Jhat hit my eve particularly was an ad.
Tor a railroad tour 10 Colorado and
california. with pictures of Colorado
mountains and California palms and mn
that. and a lot Of stuff about the sun
phlre country" and the sunset land.,