The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1912-05-30
THE BENEFICIENT BURGLAR.
Annual Business Of $45,OOO,OOO De-
pends Entirely on Him.

"Give the burglar a term in the pen
itentiary or shoot him if you will, but
for conscience's sake don't reform
him." says Clifford Howard in Lip
pincott's. 1--WE need him in our
business. He is worth to us every
day of the year tenfold more than he
ever costs us.
Look at the matter wholly from
an industrial and economic point of
view, we can better do without the
preacher than the burglar. Extermi-
nate the burglar and 10000 persons
would be out of work, and more than
s45,0O0,0OO year withdrawn from
trade.
"There are alone no less than 25,-
900 good American citizens earning
their livelihood as private watchmen,
at a combined salary of something
like SIT, 100000 year. And all be-
cause of the burglar.
"More than s1,000,OOO in capital
is invested in the manufacture of
burglar alarms of different devices,
and either directly or indirectly fully
1000 law abiding family men are de-
pendent for their daily bread upon
this branch of industry.
And there are forty manufactur-
ers of safes-burglar proof safes
with a combined capital of $6,0OO,-
600, paying out each year for wages
and material nearly s4,00O,OOO, and
giving support to no less than 1000
workers laborers, clerks
bookkeepers, statesmen, and so on.
What would become of these men
and women and all the millions OF
invested capital should the burglar
harken to the voice of Moses and
quit his stealing?
"Then there are the makers and
sellers of firearms. Five hundred
thousand guns a year are SOLD Tor
family use as a protection against
burglars, representing a gross reve-
nue. of something like S3,50O,O00.
Without the burglar what would this
business look like? Like the centre
of a doughnut.
"And those families that are afraid
of pistols keep dogs, watchdogs, and
the trade in watchdogs amounts each
wear to over a million dollars. All
the watchdogs of the United States
(2.500,000> of them) have to be fed
at least twice a day. At only 2 cents
per diem for bones and scraps for
each dog the income to the butcher
from this source alone, thanks be TO
the burglar, amounts to S17,OO0'Ooo
a year. p
Even our recreations and amuse-
ments are dependent upon the burg
lar. What would our comedies ana
melodramas be without the burglar!
And the detective stories-What
would become of them and their au-
thors and their publishers were the
burglar no longer available as a
character? The plays and the BOOKS
in which he figures have an annuai
commercial value of nothing less than
million dollars, and this without
attempting to estimate the value or
the pleasure afforded the public.
"In short, we must have the burg
lar We can't do without him. We
have had him so long that there is
nobody to take his place. And sup
pose his helpings' do amount to
trifle over a million year? What
is that compared with the $45,Oo0'-
600 he is sure of putting into our
pockets? Surely none but a skin
flint will begrudge him this little z
1-2 per cent. dividend on a business
that owes it's existence solely to his
energy and perseverance. Therefore
lot the burglar alone. He is all
right; and may his shadow never
grow less"