The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1917-01-02
THIEVES DRIVEN HERE
BY EUROPEAN WAR
MANY of the Agencies Have Received
Calls for More Guards Than Ever
y Before in History-Will Stay Al
ter War is Over.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2S.-If you hap
pen to own a jewel collection anu
your tasle runs toward wearing it Ill
rublic, you had better hire body
guard this winter. The United States
is overrun with European crooks,
some Of them the smootLest thieves
on the continent.
Private detective and police agen-
cies in New York, Boston, Phlladel-
phia, Washington, Chicago and other
big centers are looking forward to
one of the most active years in the
last decade. It's all On account OF
the European war, which has made
theft hardly worth while on big
scale across the water.
In Washington, there's a detective
agency which specializes in the
guarding of guests and jewelry at big
social functions. The business Of this
agency is not confined to events at
the capital, for private detectives OF
faultless manner and speech are sent
out on "jobs" as far West as Chicago
by this same agency.
The man who has devoted years OF
experience and his organization OF
sleuths to the protection of social
leaders and their guests recently re-
turried from trip that extended
North to Boston and west to the Mis-
sissippi.
"It's going to be big year for
agencies like Ours he said. within
the past twelve months Europe has
been sending over some of the clever
est iewef thieves this country has
ever seen, and they have only come
xfere when it was clear that robbery
as a profession was up against hard
times abroad uuti! the war va, over.
War Drove out Crooks.
These crooks saw, at the close OF
the first year of the war" said this
detective, "that the big conflict had
put them out of the running, simply
because it had placed ban on
extravagant functions in European
society. Additionally, the habit OF
thrift is forcing itself upon all class
es OF Europen society n"w and the
wearing of more than the simplest
assortment Of jewelry at afternoon
and evening affairs is considered al
most bad taste. 1t was generally be-
lieved there, however, that the war
would not run longer than two years
and the biggest criminals preferred
to lay low for time, waiting for
peace. Just get it perfectly clear in
your mind that the finished Euro
pean erimanal is not anxious to oper-
ate in the United States.
"As a rule" said the detective,
@.the language puzzles him, his accent
marks him as a foreigner and besides
he's not next to the little ins and
outs of our police systems. He pre-
fers to stay in Europe for the same
reason that a real chorus girl. pre-
fers to stay on Broadway. It's almost
tiemeaning to his art to- be forced to
seek new fields Of operation
Within the past year, though .
this man said, "it has become appar-
ent that efforts to predict the time
the war will end are rather futile
and lay-off Of more than year is
out Of the question for most of these
smooth fingered boys. So they're COM
ing over here, and unless society peo-
pie keep on their toes, so to speak,
there will be some big hauls pulled
OF before spring. The enormous war
export trade of the United States in
munitions, foodstuffs and the like has
created a brand new crop Of war
miIlionaires,' and it must not be
thought that these gentlemen Of
crime from across the Atlantic are
ignorant Of that fact. 1t was just one
of the reasons why they came, and
continue to come