The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-03-26

tionaI pieces Of work was done when he
entered the house of Thomas Cakes. I
then president of the Northern Pacific
railroad, in St. Paul. Cakes fought
Wilson desperately all ever the bed
room and was badly battered n the
fight. He gave about as good as he
received however. Wilson, soon after,
called on William @. Merriam, banks
and afterEard governor Of Minnesota.
and carried away the family treasures.
He was arrested later in New York
while dispOsing of stolen property,
taken back to Toledo, sentenced 10 a
long term in the Ohio penitentiary. from
which he escaped, and was afterward
arrested in Connecticut He was killed
in Weathersheld, Conn, while trying to
escape. This man, like Burke, was not
known to the police as a professional
criminal until his capture.
Recently negroes have taken up this
class of crime. Only lately the room
Of a prominent railroad official from
san Francisco in q leading chicago
hotel was invaded by a negro pTowler.
The rightful occupant of the room gave
battle and managed to keep his vaIua-
bles, but only after he had been severe
~ battered up by the negro thief. The
negro escaped through the window and
down the fire escape. Negroes also
have adopted the sticN-up profession to
a great extent.
when the stick-up draws his pistol
ana orders you TO DIOQuCE your FcAALAeA-
bles the part Of wisdom is to deliver.
When the night worker enters your bed
room turn your face to the wall ana
pretend to be asleep. The history. OF
these crimes shows that the men lhal
commit them will Kill.
II have said that nearly all the stick
ups were mere youths and not known
as professional criminals. The eXcep-
lions are largely the yeggmen. IneSe
are the criminal hobOs, who recently
tai To o
/ tensively. They are nOmadic ana DIM
cult to trace. They travel In summer
/ time, stealing their way on trains, ana
! frequent the cities in winter Iney are
| regarded merely as tramps by the pup-
1 lie at large and not as desperate GRIM
1 mails. The man that tries to sell you
] shoes trings on the street today plopd-
/ bly, will stick you UP or ROD d country
bank tomorrow There is no class OF
/ criminals as desperate, active ana dllIl-
cult to handle as the 'yeggs. 4nsy as
/ cunning physically brave ana VIII XIII
/ at the slightest provocatlon. Anu tAsLe e
is no class Of criminals 50 marc ~ - 4
! or keen q line on as the yeggs Inc
/ onlv pian we ever found that was sue
/ cessfrl was to have our own men traNe4
with them in Disguise from ouI
agents thus employed we get DIS u
! i77Fo-roaf ion that are valuable DuL
/ 49, In This way we have found II most
/ diffcllt to keep track OF them as w
would like or as is possible Win Olli7i
I classes Of criminals
saTbe character Of the men en-
r,1o7-a5 in sticking up the public fur
rr5soss a kew to at least some OF the
/ causes I would say that seIsdIlonSi
iterature-the yeuoW-pach AIM -
one of the most prolific causes 1 dl
country has been dooded WIN II ~
! Years and the period during WhlSh
writer's Of cheap fiction began %
make heroes out Of the most QsspiG-
able criminals was cOncldenl WI
the inauguration OF the wave OF $3.50 $3.50
ms that is rolling over the WiaO4S
country. The sticking up OF a west
ern faro bank and score OF armed
/ gamblers by man on Bufks y Pe
/ carries with it a glamour or DARING
that aDDeals strongly to the mag ma
fion of thousands of boys and when
thse crimes clothed IN Ecuon, are
scattered broadcast over the country
they are bound to have dlsastrou US
effect 1t is a natural process for the
s-54rert,lrous Chicago boy to reason
if Burke could immortalize himself IN
crime and make thousands so easily
the bov in Chicago can operate at
home Just as easily and sarely. 4he
yellow back should be suppressed
'Such plays as Tracy, the Bandit,
have an intellectually evil effect. In
this class a miserable thief and con
Wet like Tracy is always lauded TO
the skies and transformed into nero,
While the officials on his trail are
pictured in the darkest colors. The
weIl-tO-dO ChicagOan, who ATTENDS
only the best theaters In the city and
who never sees one of these plays
produced at a third or fourth class
theater has no conception of the
effect they have on the audience. In
Europe managers would be prohibited
from producing such plays and lax su-
pervisiOn OF such matters in this coun-
try is responsible for a great deal Of
the stick-up business.
tfThe other night 1 attended q per
Torrance at one of the best vaudeville
theaters in Chicago where the vita
scope, or moving pictures, was a feat
ure of the programme Here, depict
ed on the canvas with the utmost
realism, ] found train robbery. Start
ing with the binding of the agent at
the little railway station and following
every detail Of the horrible crime s1as
, nfcloriaIly told. The boarding of ihe
! train. sticking up Of the passengers, the
murder of one who sought 70 escape
the blowing Of the express safa. ca p
ture of the cowboy posse and final kill
: ing of the robbers, all were thrown on
the screen most realistically. It was q
veritable school of instruction to aspir-
ing criminals.
Another cause is the ease with
which such crimes can be accom-
: Dlfshed. To become a. successful Grim
iinal Of the old school-bank burgla-
! confidence man, forger or pickpocket
I required years OF training and e1z-
Derfence along the line of their chosen
profession. The result was that these
5 men did not reach The zenith OF their
( careers until they were fun groan end