The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1907-01-02
THIEF COLLEGE IN LONDON
4 SCHOOL THAT Is FAMOUS in
Under WORLD OF ALL CITIES.
Lessons Are Given in All Kinds OF
Thievery, Particular Attention
Being Paid to the Science
of Picking Pockets.
of Picking Pockets.

.
and thieves that is famous in the
under world of all the great cities
.of the world. Here you will find
young desperadoes of all nationall-
ties being instructed in the gentle
art of robbing their fellow-men, but
the thing that is taught most in this
college for thieves is the whole
science of pickpocketing.
The college is unpretentious and
/ its graduates do not tlaunt its col
ors. 1t is but a series of cellars IN
reality. The folk who teach and
those who learn are (if one is to
believe certain scientists) lunatics.
Mentally wrong, they certainly are
in their conception OF the meaning
of the words mine" and thine,
but if they be madmen, then they are
the cleverest set of madmen in the
world.
A lad who is sent to this school
is first of all taught how to use ms
fingers. Hour after hour and day
after day he patiently practices until
each finger answers absolutely to
his will. There is possibly only one
man whose hands are more marvel
ously developed than those OF the
well-trained pickpOcket, and that is
the professional card sharper.
Once he has acquired certain
amount of command over his hands
the novice is put to the picking of
pockets on a living model. This man
wears coat on which delicately
poised bells are hung, and the pupil
tries to remove the contents OF the
pocket without ringing the bells.
The teacher meanwhile criticises his
methods.
Every pocket is tried in turn, un-
til each can be rifled quickly and
easily. Nowadays it is not worth
while for the pupil to practice on
female model, for modern women
dress has, practically speaking, no
pocket, and bag snatching is looked
on with scorn by your highly trained
professional A very delicate branch
of the pickpOcket's yillainOus art as
taught in this school is that of
watch sneaking. The crude way OF
your ordinary thief is to snatch
watch and chain, breaking the chain
at the coat, and boiling with the
swag. Such an inartistic and alto
gether unscientific proceeding is not
allowed by the masters Besides be-
ing crude, it is dangerous in the
highest degree.
The pupil is shown how to detach
the watch from the chain and with
draw it with his thumb and first
finger, leaving the chain in place as
an evidence that all is as it should
be. A famous trick of one of the
most expert watch thieves was to
take a mans time-piece and then
ask him the time for the pleasure OF
seeing his rage when he discovered
his loss Wipes" otherwise hand
kerchiefs, the big game" of Fagin S
pupils. are disregarded by the mod
ern folk. Watches and fat pocket
books are more to the point. Ac-
cording to the experience Of the folk
at the thieves college, Frenchmen
and Belgians are the best pickpock-
cts, Germans the best watch thieves
and Englishmen the best house
breakers and burglars. The Ital-
ians are too lazy, as a rule, to reach
high standard in any form of law
IesSnesS that requires deXterlty,
whilst the Spaniard is too eXcitable
to excel. The American criminal is
good at anything he takes up. His
greatest drawback is that he is too
ready to draw a revolver if dis
turbed. Your really expert thieves
object to firearms. His object is to
get away undiscovered and not to
fight.
When the thief pupil is far
enough advanced in crime he is in
structed in the mysteries of the
dummy arm. This dodge is the
great study of the professional pick
pocket. The coat is put on properly
over the left arm, but the right arm
is left out of the sleeve and covered
by the coat, the empty sleeve being
filled with dummy which is bent
across the body and an overcOat is
hung across it to hide its artificiall-
ty. The right arm is then left free
for pocket picking.
Immediately any swag is secured
it is handed to a confederate, who
makes off as quickly as may be,
leaving the unencumbered felon to
bring off another coup. The pro-
ceeds of this picking are handed to
another confederate, ana Lnen the
thief usually stops work for the day
1t does not pay to have too many
folks complaining to the police at
one time. In working with cOnfed-
crate the greatest skill must be
! shown. Thieves of all countries have
| their slang, which is always a Ian
I guage distinct and apart from the
/ talk of the country. They also have
an elaborate language of signs
whereby information can be given
at a distance or in a tight corner
where to speak would be to court
/ discovery. Besides a language and
a sign language the great army of
criminals have ways of their own
/ that are practically never heard Of
/ by the public on whom they prey.
How to Avoid Appendicitis.