The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-16
A MECCA FOR CRIMINALS.
New York Q FavOritc Refuge FOR Persens
Fleeing From Justice.

rlOehu8 ETvn SusNACcs
Chicago criminals seem to have q liking
for little old New York. One-tenth Of all
those iugitives from Chicago justice who
are overtaken and captured are arrested
in New York.
The Rev. Mr.. Hembree, q Chicago clergy
man, has been collecting information on
this subject and has prepared tables, giving
the relative attractiveness Of various cities
to the unsavory gentry in question.
During the period covered by the Rev.
Mr.. Hembree's figures lila fugitives from
Justice, fleeing before the police Of Chicago,
we're captured at outlying points.
OF these liza criminals II were muir
derers, IS forgers and III embezzlers. Tho
arrests were made in 80 States, 2 Terri
tories and . foreign lands. showing o
small a proportion Of ~fugitives ever reach
foreign shores.
Seven-elevenths Of the arrests; or TO
out Of ia, we're made in six States, as fol-
lows: Missouri, ITS; New York, I45; Illinois,
III: Wisconsin, 1903; Michigan, 90, and In
diana, 90.
The III arrested embeszlers were run TO
earth in IS different States and 1 reached
Europe. OF these arrests II were made
in five cities, namely, New York. 10; Detroit,
g.; Milwaukee, z; Buffalo and Philadelphia, s
each.
The Chicago Tribune says that the attrac-
ton of New York for embezzlers Is accounted
for bv the reverend criminologist not by
the premise thai they were trying to get to
Europe, but by the fact that New York
offers q good place to spend money.
The 81 arrests for forgery were made In
II States and 1 foreign land. or these %,
n were caught in Missouri, 8 in Indiana and
q in Michigan, the rest scattering, showing
the forGer to be more cunning than the
embezzler as a criminal.
st. Louis, either from its geographical
situation or its reputation for negligent
police methods, also was chosen az the
haven Of a great proportion Of the heeing
~murderers. OF seventy-one murderers who
fed thirty-oDe were captured IN States
near by Chicago, as follows: Missouri,
ten: Illinois, eight; Indiana, six; Michigan,
four: Iowa, three. Why the criminals
avoid Iowa to UGH an extent IL not ex-
planned.
thirty-two were caught in nine cities, as
follows: st. Louis, eight; New Orleans,
/ Ave: New York, three; Cleveland, three;
Minneapolis, three; st. Paul, three; Bu-
chanan, Mich, three; Milwaukee, two;
Indianapolis, NO..
The tables compiled by the Rev. Mr..
Hembree appear to show hat the criminal
usually fees by rail, and hat the destina-
ion Is in proportion to the number OF rail-
way trains from Chicago to that point. 1t
destroys the idea that the criminal Is cunning
in flight and affords b police a valuable
table by which to guide themselves in
throwing out the dragnet for fugitives.
A study OF the tables shows that 1t H. a
rare thing for these city criminals 70 take
refuge in the country. Perhaps b town
bred criminal cannot bear the solitude and
the restraints Of country life. He prefers
to hide himself in some large city whore
he may fraternize with the local criminal
population. He finds companlonship there
but no safety, for that is the first place the
police officers go TO look for him.
II il a curious fact, on the other hand,
that the country criminal rarely goes TO the
CITY as a place OF refuge. His instinct
leads him away even from the larger towns
A negro fugitive from the cotton planta-
ton will hide himself in the swamps. The
rural murderer Of the North will go at once
TO the big woods, where he will e en-
ployment as a lumber jack, or on som
little farm far in the interior.