The Saint Paul globe., 1905-01-01

taught him that thieves were oftenest
run down by tracing the stolen prop
erty. Therefore he made 1t a rule to
take only money or small articles that
could not easily be identified Bet
ter small and safe hauls than rich
hauis, was his motto. He played the
game alone that he might run no risk
of being caught through the fndiscre-
ton Of confederate. Also because it
enabled him to keep all the swag him
self. He never mixed his trade and
his profession. AS a carpenter he
was an honest man as well as an eff
cient one Houses on which he work
ed were frequently robbed shortly aft
erwardS and by him, no doubt but he
stoutly resisted all temptations to steal
while on a job. AS workman his
reputation was above reproach. He
cultivated the police that he might OBJ
tain It ps" from them as to what they
were doing to lay hold of him. Most
OF his burglaries were committed in
the Highgate district. When their fire.
quency aroused the police to make
strenuous efforts to capture the GRIM
inal, additional constables and plain
clothes men would be spread over
the neighborhood. Then the mystic
rious burglaries would suddenly cease,
to be renewed when the extra force
was withdrawn. '9The only Inference"
charge of the case, lis that Parker
learned Of the movements of the police
through being in touch with them
and knew exactly what they were do
ing
Nature had bestowed upon him
physiognomy that helped him to play
his dual role well. His features are
OF the stolfd type of the average Brit
1Sh workman who is content to plod
through life. There is nothing in his
face to reveal the cunning and shrewd
Intelligence which he possesses. He
found it easy to make pals" of the
police, and they never suspected that
his outbursts Of honest Indignation
against the mysterious burglar who,
was causing them so much trouble
We're feigned.
With his plans so adroitly laid, Par
ker might have continued to play his
dual role of an honest workman and
successful thief for a long time to
come had he not succumbed to a
temptation which led him to violate
his rule of making only safe hauls
One night in October he gained en-
trance to the house of wealthy West
H1ghgate resident by cutting out pane
OF glass in the drawingroom window.
He was disappointed to find very little,
money on the premises. On the man
telpiece was silver clock He had
OFTEN passed over valuable clocks be-
fore as too dangerous to meddle with,
but this one seemed to exercise a fatal
fascination for him. Or perhaps his
long continued immunity and the ease
with which he had baffied the police
had rendered him careless Anyhow he
decamped with the clock and later
committed the further indiscretion of
pawning it. The police traced it and
thereby obtained clew by which,
finally, much to their own amazement,
they discovered that it had been pawn
ed by Parker, the man whom several of
them had chummed with.
"A man of his stamp and genius for
crime never reforms in prison." said a
Scotland Yard detective to the writer.
He will go at 1t again sure enough
when he gets out, but it isn't likely he
will settle down to the burglary bust
ness again In London; he's too cautious
for that. He must have lot of money
salted away somewhere, and very likely
he will go to America and resume his
career as a craftsman over there. IL
ne does the Yankee police will find him
mighty hard man to nab, and he may
fool them as long as he has u.s."