The Green Forest tribune., 1912-10-04

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 a@ Gg do for him to take any As notice of them. l read & aB in some newspaper the
 S9S19e argument of an old
 preacher, who ought to have lived In the days when they used to break thiefs body on the rack, that the thieves are the nat ural enemies of mankind and ought to be extermipated.
 Well, if thieves are the natural en- emies of all the world, the other side of the argument must stand also, that, the rest of mankind are the proper prey of thieves. With this notion in view, l say that 1t is wonder that in every house which is visited by thieves there is not left a trail of blood. But actual experience and sta tistics will show that fewer murders are committed by thieves when en- gagged in their work, in proportion to their number, than are committed in the ranks of persons who go around with label of honesty on their fore heads
 Speaking Of shocks that fellow is liable to get in any business, re- calls remark made by old Jimmy Hope when he first started out as a crook in Philadelphia, to the effect that the bravest people on earth are the thieves who work in the night. Perhaps you never thought of 1t In that way, but just think for moment. The common notion of a crook Is that he goes about his work armed to the teeth and ready to shoot or stab at a moments notice. To disprove this be- lief let us look for a moment into the mind of a thief who is about to enter a dwelling house in the night?
 First he must satisfy himself that no one is awake in the house. The first evidence of this Is the ab- sence of lights. Well, then, all the lights being out. the thief goes about his work as quietly as possible, but taking into consideration the fact that thievery, or, rather, burglary, is es. sentially a breaking into place, 1t cannot be done without more or less noise.
 "A thief knows that in nine houses out of ten there is some ready means Of defense, usually revolver or a gun, and if any one is disturbed, his entrance will be met with a shower of lead. He is liable to be killed, and thieves appreciate this better than any one else. He must face 0 secret ar d gf1 I s.- houses where the first intimation that We were discovered was the report of f1rearm and the singing of the lead around our ears.
 Tt is only the foolish men who jump out of bed and strike a light when they hear an unusual sound in their houses. That puts them at disad- vantage, and the crook is apt to get in the first shot as a caution to his prey to keep out of sight. Not one thief in hundred will will shoot to kill, and, on the other hand, not one person in hundred, in dealing with thieves, but what will shoot to kill every time. A crook has no right to complain of the vigorous defense set up by any man in his castle, but a shot in the air or fired out of the window will start gang of crooks on the move just as quickly as if a thiefs heart were talk en as target.
 Perhaps a thief's bravery is wasted in an unholy cause, but that does not alter the fact that only the bravest of men can be good thieves. The or dinary housebreaker takes his life In his hands every time he enters a house, and he is cautious about talk ing the lives of others, because he knows that murder done in the com mission of a felony has no defense in court of law
 Its quite a bit ago since I was known as Black Jack, and was the leader of as tough a gang of rangers as ever flashed a bull's-eye Every mothers son of them came out of the old Fourth ward, and from the time we were kids we were out for the dust and were the sworn enemies of the old Market Gang, which turned out such a desperate lot of crooks as Abe Coakley, Paddy Reynolds, Billy Por- ter and Long John Garyey. But our fights were our own fights, and not a man in either of the gangs was ever known to lay down information to the police. There were plenty of oppor- tunities to do each other when it meant money and perhaps the saving of term of five or ten years in Sing Sing.
 "The Black Jacks made the best among thieves. We went from Fort Hamilton to Riverhead, up one side and down the other side of the island, with only the loss of two men, both of whom-Paddy Gillian and Shorty Far rell-were shot by woman in Oyster Bay. During this trip we used black sloop part of the time, but most of the travelling was done by horse and wagong, and 1t was usually the horses and wagons of farmers
 "We visited over 600 houses, and divided about sS0,000 worth of stuff. It was trip of pleasure, for the To- cal police did not bother us at all This was easily explained It was on account of the lack of money. In no small place can you find the men who have control of the public money will ing to spend anything to chase thieves, and, even when murder Is committed, there is never a willingness to put up money to hunt for the assassin.
 When we got back from this trip we were in high spirits. and the Bow cry was painted red from one end to the other with the deepest red, and every gambling house in the town got a bit Of our coin When we reach cd the end of our rope. Teddy McCor-