Dewey County advocate. [volume] (Timber Lake, S.D.) 1910-1913, 1911-04-28

"
5 7m@9 himself an expert at it.
@mulwf but came to grief over
over again. He is now, at
the age of 81, an old man, broken In
spirit, broken in health. Seven long
terms Of imprisonment in penal insti-
buttons on both sides of the Atlantic
have convinced him that his chosen
profession is poor one, and now
he finished his last term only two
weeks ago-he has resolved to lead
m honest life.
Everybody will say an habitual
Icriminal like myself cannot reform"
said Lillis, the other day. 'T don't
believe a thief can reform. This Is
my opinion formed after association
with thieves for forty years. But
crook can reform. There is a differ
lence between a thief and a crook.
The crook, I say, can reform, II he
takes himself in time. l would place
30 years Of age as the time when the
probabilities of reform are greatest.
OF course, there are exceptions; 1, tar
instance, expect to lead an honest Life
though l am past so.
"The ordinary crook is saturated
with the idea of obtaining money
easily and spending it rapidly. II, be-
fore he Is 30, he sees the difficulties
he will always have to face he can
turn aside with fair chance of bury
Ing his past. But wouldn't give the
average crook much for his chance
Tor reformation If he waits until he
reaches my age.
"ThIeves" and "Crooks."
IT am not thief, although 1 have
stolen thousands of dollars. A thief
is a thief through natural instincts.
Thieves are born, not made. "A crook
lie not thief by instinct, but by pro-
fession. I have devoted my time to
stealing, in the same manner as other
men devote their time to law, to bust
ness or to medicine. Stealing was my
profession. It was misdirected ener-
gy. Had devoted the same amount
of time and energy to law or medt
cine, I should have been a successful
lawyer or physician. There is. how
ever. one great difference between my
profession and others. There can be
no lasting success in it. l am abso-
lutely convinced of this fact. and for
that reason I have now dropped it.
mo, I am not going to reform. I
am simply giving up the profession
which I have followed for nearly forty
years.
There il no longer anything left
Tor. men in my profession. Criminal
Ingenuity has not been able to keep
pace with modern invention. We are
forced into other lines of work. Some
of the brightest of US have become
promoters and swindlers. l have tried
before to drop my profession, but
circumstances have been against me.
was unable to get honest work and
It was either steal or starve. I have
thought OF suicide, but way down in
heart I believe in God. SO I have
never attempted to take my life. Now
that I am a free man, am going to
remain free by abandoning the poor
est profession in the world"
No Money In Thievery.
The history Of this remarkable
man. who is now In New York, earn
Ing an honest living. is a record of
series of astounding crimes and ter
rible misfortunes, and from it only
one conclusion can be drawn-thiev-
ing as a profession doesn't pay.
Lillis was born in County Glare,
ireland. in 1856. His parents moved
to Cincinnati in 1861, and, as his IA
Their Joined the Union army, he had
TO help support his mother. Accord
ingly. he sold newspapers in the
streets. and he received his early edu-
cation from hackmen and from 9TH
er newsboys. He made several dol
lars every week during war times,
and everything went smoothly until
one day in 1867 we'll dressed strang-
Or came up to him. snatched the news
papers from under his arm, placed a
rs bill In his hand and tossed the pa
pers into the gutter.
boy" said the stranger, If you
will work for me I'll give you IS q
day"
you will?" cried the lad, trembling
with excitement Five dollars a day
br me?"
'Yes. viii you work for mer'
II will"
HIs First Successful "Getaway.~
The stranger was Joe" Butts. the
notorious bank thief. He had planned
to rob the safe in the Office of the
Phenix Brewing company. and he
needed small boy to take the money
from the safe while he "newspa-
pered," or occupied the attention of
the clerks. Young Lillis, who was
then II years old. was just the boy
Tor the job.
A few days after the meeting the
robbery was pulled OF. Lillis made
getaway" with $1,000, of which his
employer, the generous Joe" Butts.
took all but 500. Still. that sum was
a fortune to the lad. and then and
there he resolved to be a crook. He.
worked with. or rather for, Butts for
two years and pulled orr several dar-
ing jobs. He made specially of rob-