Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1907-11-02
Burglars signal CODE
As Practiced in This Country
and IN England
PLAN OF PICKPOCKETS


Some Such Usual Actiou-if CAP
tsred Ore seiaon Rstrays His Psrs
ner.
Through the writing q lae late 1os-
fab Flynt and others uho. ia reeeul
years. have become tramps in or1sr
10 learn the ways o. The ho1o lfis-,
il has developed thar the Weary VIII
lies have their regular code and ein--
er By which one member q tAe Tribe
leaves q warning q hint for 1Ie
next CONFER to read and profit By. 4
certain chalk marx On the barn aoor
means thar here the tramp ui.i a1d
"a good thing" another marx 90 ne
gate post gives is warning 70 beware
OF the dog. b. these insignia. wAl-E
arr but meaninelees marks me aa-
MATED passerby. enc Eaenaold learns
Of The per.ls u pies. dogs and OLess ~
work. Or nnds Out IRE place. ehe4-
there Is sOft snap awaiting a-n.
says the Brooklyn Eagle.
II has been said thar criminals ike
wise have their code OF signs b witch
with a gesture Or a move. -he1 eoaa-
municate 10 one another warnings &C
danger Or hints that sheg can Esu1t
b.. This suggests that criminals haze
4 sort Of free-mas0ury aUo1s them
selves. with certain signs thai 11 *
them know and can interpret A. q
glance, while the well behaved .ceAer-
on would not even discern thar @ syn
had been made. a converted thies Ia
London revealed the fact lhat sueh a
code exists among the crooks of tAe
British capital, even posing ior q
group Of pictures showing the s.sns
that are known % the faferuitg *
criminals.
Thieves, then. have their esprit %
corp ike the members Of any orner
class Of workers. one discerning JAR
ger to another. though be b. uoE a
confederate. viii give the warming and
open an avenue for escape To him $40
Is in peril II the thieves Of this coan-
try have any widely recognized code
II has never been detected 81 the Fo-
lice The men who come more IN con-
tact with them than any outside Of the
fraternity.
Pickpockets or thieves who work
somewhat in the open use signs fhar
are not unusual enough "a awaken
suspicion. The chosen signal nay Dc
to scratch the ear. Or 70 take a hand
kerchicf from the pocket. OF some ssiea
usual action. Safe robbers usually
post their watchers on the outside. and
II Is understood between them thar a
certain number Of knocks E.eals taar
the place is wired. that there - ezu-
ger. that the way is clear or that
some one Is coming Bur these sig
mails. the police from their Varied ex-
perience. believe are always chcss-
especially for one job. and are chang
Cd for fear they might b. mndsrstood
b. others besides the thieves
Thieves usually wOrk IN groups
and they have 70 adopr signs aud sig
malls that can be eCmmgni ased a.
quickly As the fash d the tsIegagn
instrument IN these days u sDeeI4al-
zatfOu and expertress the criminal
too. has bis specialize 4 JOB o.
Cracking a safe requires sexeraI lze1-
each expert and skilled IN bis one task
The man who Dours in the aa-1.
thief term for nits0-gIyceril. Knows
the art Of using the explosive f1raagh
the closest study. He has gone ITO
the chemistry Of the thing a. eeeplv
a. many another man goes into ere
study Of his legitimate trade. Eie
knows 10 a second hoH long after TLe
fuse Is lighted before the ezVsesign
will come. Another member - tre
gang has studied rEe entrances ~ the
building. the best hours for mzsizz
the attempt the axeuues 81 escape
etc. Another or one or tw0 Others are
placed on the outside ~ give warnings
q danger The JOB IS one Tor caref1l
study and planning often. and takes
time as weli - thouzhL
The modern pickDoekel lakes a
sole business q picking pockets ana
would soOTn - - 4 burglar 0ftez D.
Is trained 70 RS trade frczz a Taz1z-
sseT and sticks 70 f. unfI b Sseglez
master q al she fricks and UorEs
with an experrEezs that es8es Gsfee-
tfvee- The piekDoeker. D. tie SAY
does MOI work fn Re fafck - = e-8zT.
IS people Usually think Re s 20