The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1912-05-15
IN DEFENSE OF THE BURGLAR
HAS ECONOMIC VALUE, AND WE
CAN'T DO WITHOUT HIM
Recause of Him Employment is CIV
en- to 10000 People, Who Are
Paid More Than $40, 900, 900.

Paid More THAI PtOSOOO'OS
Give the burglar a term IN the
nenitenitary or shoot hin, II you
Mill hut for conscience sake, don't
rofo~m him. We need him in our
business. He is worth to us every
dav of the year ten-fold more than
he ever costs us. Looking at the
matter wholly from an industrial
and economic point of view we can
better do without the preacher than
the burglar. ~
Exterminate the burglar and ~
600 persons would be out OF WORK.
and more than $45, 100000 year
withdrawn from trade.
There are alone no less than Z5,-
600 good American citizens earning
their living as private Watchmen at
a combined salary of something ike
s17.OO0,O00 a year. And all because
of the burglar. =.
More than 100000 capital is
invested in the manufacture OF bur
gIar alarms or indirectly, fully 1000
ia,w-abiding men are dependent for
their daily bread upon this branch
Of the industry. And there are AZ
manufacturers OF safes--0urglar-
proof safes-with a combined capt.
tai of $5,000,000, paying out each
wear for wages and material nearly
s4.0O0,000 and giving support to
no less than 1000 workers-me-
chanics, laborers, clerks, book-keep-
ers, statesmen, and so on. What would
become of these men and women
and all the millions of invested cap
ital should the burglar hearken to
the voice of Moses and quit his steal
ing?
Then there are the makers and
sellers Of firearms. Five hundred
thousand guns year are sold for
family use as a protection against
burglars, representing a gross reve-
nue. of something like $4,000, 900.
Without the burglar what would this
business look like? Like the cen
ter of a doughnut. And those taml-
lies that are afraid of pistols keep
dogs, watchdogs, and the trade in
dogs amounts each year to over ST.
100000. All the watchdogs of the
United States (2,500,000 of them
have to be fed at least twice day
At only 2 cents per diem for bones
and scraps for each dog the income
to the butcher from this source alone
amounts to $17,O00,00O a year
Even our recreations and amuse-
ments are dependent upon the bur
glar. What would our comedies and
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 annual
commercial value of nothing less
than $1,000, 1000; and this without
attempting to estimate the value OF
the pleasure afforded the public.
In short, we must have the bur
glar. We can't do without him. We
have had him so long that there ie
nobody to take his place. And sup
pose his helpings do amount to a
trifie over 81, 100000 a year, What
is that compared to the $45, 900
he is the means of putting into our
pockets? Surely, none but a skin
flint will begrudge him this 2 Y per
cent dividend on business that owes
its existence solely to his energy and
perseverance. Therefore, let the bur
glar alone. He is all right; and may
his shadow never grow less.-Lip-
pincott's Magazine.