The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-07-09
NO MONEY IN CRIME.
Burglars, Confidence Men and Their
Kind Do Not Find Calling Profitable

| at least partly. Honesty may not be the
| most paying investment but it is the
safest and most conservative, and dis
honesty in the individual does not pay.
In making this statement must quail
fly it to some extent, but not enough to
| affect the general truth. The qualifica-
| ton is that no one of the forms of dis
honesty which have investigated pays
from commercial standpoint. In making
| the investigation purposely have omit
ted entirely any consideration of social,
| ethical. or moral factors, but have in
! terviewed and investigated only with a
| A-ew of ascertaining whether or not it
| lays financially to be dishonest.
| The police of four cities have assisted,
| and the wardens of two state peniten-
tiaries graciously have permitted me to
! make Investigations. 1 have talked with
142 known and confessed dishonest men
in prison, and 40 dishonest men who are
not arrested, and with three exceptions
not one of them said that he could make
as much money by dishonesty as by
working steadily. Many asked for time
| to remember sums dishonesty secured,
and later, after figuring it out, were as
frankly surprised at the showing as any
| one could be.
HIP said one Me bank robber
and earning less in three years than
the bool1keepers in the banks"
If that man ever reforms Che is serv-
ing IL years. it will be because he figures
that the game does not pay.
Train robbing is the most remunera-
tive form of dishonesty, crooked gam
Ding second, rObbing banks (by officials)
third, and SO on down to picking pockets,
which is the poorest paid branch of the
PROFESSION. Shoplifting is fairly remun-
eratlVe, burglary pays less than the $50
month policeman earns, and the
hold-up man makes less money than the
laborer at 81 a day.
Apparently the deductions 10 be
reached are thar, unless you can enter
into some form of dishonesty with big
backing and powerful political and
corporate influence behind you, or can
locate enc bis pile Of money. which
you can steal and then retire on, there
is no branch of ';,shc' ICES " thai pays.
One of the surprising turns Of the in
vestigation is that what is known as
graft nevec yields anything to the
CRATER unless he has organized graft
behind him A man might as We'll try
l" start department. store on 81 day
as to graft without capital and back
ing and organi alton.
The average earnings IF officials who
wreck banks is, according to the fig
ures furnished by l. who are now serv-
ing time, about $4.25 a day for an av-
erage of seven years three months.
One man who broke a bank, causing |
a loss of about $4,000. actually gained
only $1.40 day, calculating the two |
years he was stealing, for four and a !
half years that he was idle fighting to |
escape trial, and the IA years with |
good time Off he was sentenced to
The average earnings of a conf
dence man. are small I picked 25 of |
these, expecting to discover that the |
noble profession of thinning the |
five men who never had served time,
and perhaps never will The other 20
are in prisons. According to their hg-
ures-which were gone over carefully |
with me in every instance-they earn
less than Sc a day. exclusive of the
time they serve in prison or under ar
rest, and about 20 cents a day inciud-
ing all the time they have been at it.
between.
One man who is known among the
police and crooks as one of the best
in the business figured that he made
$4,000 in the first two years he work
ed, 81, 500 a year for the next three
years, and less than $1,000 year for
four years, after which he went in for |
picking pockets.
The mans case is typical. The con
game" appears to pay we'll at first, but
the mere fact that the man makes big
money acts to reduce his earning capac-
ity. The bigger the first year the soon
er his source of income is curtailed for
he becomes notorious, his movements
are watched. and the police prevent
him from plying his calling until they
ruin him as a con man and either force
him to reform or go to porch climbing
and picking pockets.
Among the con men whose figures
1uick' men. These men declared they
averaged $40 day while working hon
estly for bookmakers at race tracks
and less than SO day from their get
schemes.
One of them, who was mixed up
prominently in great swindltug
scheme al ST. Louis, said that beyond
"a a day actual expenses he never got
1 cent out of the game. This man
figured that one person, who backed
he scheme, got away with approx
nately $2.50O,0OO in money-and that
not one other man connected with it :
earned or received much as he
could have done working for some enc
Here is case where even wondet-
Jul organization and big capital be-
hind failed to benefit more than one Of
he crooks.
That the average house burglar-and
his includes porch climbers, sneak
hieves and Jimmy men-earns, accord .
ng to statistics furnished by 10 who
ire in prison, and four who are free $
ind reformed, less than So a day is ad- !
nitted. One burglar, who is declared I
" the police to be clever and dam
;erous man, told me that in a career
covering over 10 years and including {
our penitentiaIy and two workhouse '
he had not averaged rs cents I
day from that source-and the biggest
Iaul he made, when he tapped crib
or 81 400 worth of diamonds, was $3.50.
or which he was forced to sell the
,lunder. c
Every story was the same-long G
flaming, weeks of poverty and schem- t
ng, and then. even when successful. t
My a months wages for a decent S
rorking man. t.
The police estimate of the average f
arnings of thieves from house bur- t,
laries is even lower There are listed +
18th the Chicago police about 800 is
nown burglars, and If they got full n
alue for all the stuff stolen from Chi il
ago houses during the year they
-ould not make $50 a year each. True,
lost of these men work the outsider"
ut even If the Chicago robbers stole :,
Stnl00 Illinois during he -