The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-08-27
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rHE HOTEL THIEVES SYNDICATE

Thirty years ago, before the advent
of the gentry that steal under the cloak
of business and finance, a thief was a
thief. and made no effort to disguise
his methods. As ! cast back to that
day 1 am led to believe it was the mis-
fortune of some of the then noted
criminals that they were born too soon
to reap the greatest harvest OF loot
from their crimes. Among them were
men with the genius for organization
strongly developed, men bralny, daring
and INSCRIPTIONS enough TO attain
commanding positions in the present
dav world OF genteeI thievery had they
taken their places on the stage at a
later DAY. Then they used the Jimmy
and skeleton key instead of the Sc
ductive circular letter offering fabu-
Ious returns on investments, and
where they met resistance, they
brought into play the insistent six
shooter instead of the legal technical
ity-
The physical bravery that was nee
eSsary to the successful thief in the old
days is probably responsible for the
glamour of heroism and romance that
invests the history of these bygone
kings of crime. 1t is not a fine thing
in any way for a modern thief to fitch
the savings of the poor through clever
" written advertisements; but the
world. while not cOndoning the crime,
ever VIII admire. the courage OF the
train robber-
InNturning the pages of my album Of
criminals pictures 1 pause at the de-
ffant face Of Adam Brown, known to
the last generation of thieves and de-
tectives as James r. Barron. a man
whom his fellows in crime delighted to
honor. Barron was a leader born.
Since the gates of the penitentiary
swung behind him more than thirty
years ago, / do not recall another who
was peer in the organization and ma
incubation of criminal bands, nor one
who displayed the same versatility and
grasp of various forms of thievery.
The operations OF the numerous Cltques
that Acknowledged his leadership were
coeXtensive with the country, the wires
for the most part being pulled from
Chicago. The ensational crimes that
led to his arrest and the remarkable
fight the authorities made to bring
about his Imprisonment in the peniten-
tiary form one of the most thrilling
chapters in the criminal history of the
country
During the evening OF January 10.
1873 Isaac Mills. a travelling salesman
for the Jewelry house of Arthur Rum
riu. Wall street, New York, reported
10 the clerk of the fremont house, Chi
Cage, I'm which he was stopping. that
the trunk containing his samples had
been. broken open during the evening
meal hour and SGT ,000 worth of jeweiry
diately by the clerk to police head
quarters. then in the old ROOkery. The
same night L had returned from New
York. whittier the Shotwell bond rob-
berry had taken me, and the next morn
ing I was assigned TO the case by Chief
Washburn.
The circumstances of the robbery
were these: Mills occupied two rooms,
using one of them for a sleeping room
and the other as a reception and dis
play room. Both of them opened into
the hall. IN the sleeping room Mills
kept the small trunk containing his
samples of solid gold jewelry. The
door from this room into the hall he
kept fastened with a safety spring
that fitted into the lxeyhole and which
could be released only with a key he
carried with him. The door connecting
his two rooms and the door leading
from the reception room into the hall
were kept locked with the ordinary
key The trunk was also kept locked
when he was not taking samples from
il or replacing them.
On the Saturday night in question he
had gone to the-uining room about $3.50
and had spent half an hour there, re-
turning Immediately 10 his rooms. He
found the doors locked and, his trunk
broken open
The manner or the theft was not diff
ficult 60 determine. The thief had