Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1906-11-21
IMITATION In CRIME
CRIMINALS FOLLOW ONE ANOTHER
IN THEIR METHODS.

One Peculiar swindlc or Robbery Is
Sure to Beget It's Counterpart by
Another Gang of Crooks-Picture
Stealing and Body Snatching.
The initiative faculty of criminals is
well recognized by all engaged in their
detection, says the London Answers.
One sensational crime makes Scotland
Yard watchful for others in which
Aome of its peculiar features will be
copied.
initiative crimes In modern times &C.
Cured at Windsor. While the Count
and Countess of Marella were one Feb
ruary evening at dinner In their man.
sion near Virginia Water some thieves
assembled by means Of rope ladder to
a window In the countess dressing
room, entered the room and, having
collected a rich booty of rings, watch
es, brooches, necklaces and other trim
kets worth some thousands Of pounds,
disappeared with them.
For considerable time past there
tldu Dtcu IlOllC VI lHCSC iiOhi
robberies. Now the feat of these
thieves was to make them common.
Strangely enough their imitators even
selected the same neighborhood With
in few weeks, while the Belgian am
bassador, NJ van de Weyer, and his
wife were dining in their residence at
New Lodge, thieves made a clean
sweep of madam's jewelry in precisely
the same fashion. The next gang of
ilnitators were not so lucky. Through
O mistake In the dining hour of
Lord Peterborough they timed their
visit to his lordships house too early
In the evening. Instead Of being at
dinner his lordship had gone for a
drive, from which he returned later
than had been expected. On going up
stairs to his dressing room he found
the door locked. When it was broken
open the thieves had vanished, but his
jewelry, scattered on the bed ready for
packing up, was still there. Similar
as these robberies were they were the
work Of different criminals, all imitat-
ing the first. They soon had imitators
all over the country.
Gainsborough's great picture, 1.-The
Duchess Of Devonshire," was stolen
one night from Messrs. Agnew's gal
lery In old Bond street by thieves who
cut the picture from its frame, rolled
1t up and carried 1t off. There had
been no robbery Of the kind since
1850, when burglars visited the picture
gallery In the Earl Of Suffolk's resi-
dence and cut out and decamped with
several pictures, of which they tried
in vain to dispose. In disgust they at
last abandoned the treasures, worth
some thousands of pounds, hiding them
under one of the two arches Of Black
friars bridge, where they were found.
The perpetrators Of the Gainsborough
theft were equally unfortunate in
their attempts to make money by their
crime Still, they had their imitators.
The very next year thieves made an
entry during the night into Woodville
Lodge, Clayton, Sussex, and cut from
their frames and decamped with pic
lures valued at from 10000 to f15,-
600.
In December of 1874 a quick witted
daring thief who CHANGED to be at Pad
dington station took advantage Of the
hustle on the platform attending the
arrival Of the Prince Of Wales to lay
hands upon the jewel case of the
Countess of Dudley, which contained
gems valued at 100000. The jewel
case was in the custody Of two female
servants, who reached the station in
cab. The first, alighting from the cab,
put the case down ON the pavement
and turned around to assist her COM
panion out Of the vehicle. When she
looked for the case again 1t was gone.
SEEKING upon the arrival or departure
of royalty as an opportunity for theft