Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-07-10
GEN THIEVES
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN

russo gem robbery, which has been so
widely and efficiently advertised, has
attracted attention to the fact that
thefts of jewels are greatly on the
increase. In New York, where a sys-
tematic campaign of robberies seems
to be well under way, it is believed
that an unusually clever band of
crooks is at work, with master
mind disposing of the stolen goods.
In other cities, on trains, at country
houses, the story of disappearing val
tables is the same.
There Dire two types of jewel
thieves operating now. One is the
professional yegg who works in
gang and uses the latest methods.
lie is only a distant relative of the
old-fashioned safe-cracking burglar
who didn't mind waking up the
neighborhood and counted on luck
and speed to get him away. Nova
days, if he must crack safes, the pro-
fessional crook makes a study of
combinations, or carries an acetylene
drill which will noiselessly put a
hole in the side. But on the whole,
cracking safes and jinmying win
dows is frowned on by burglars who
deal in precious stones and objects
of art.
Each crime is planned down to the
last detail even though it takes sew
eraI week or months. Most often
the yegg obtains a position as butler
or chauffeur at the house to. be
robbed. Recommendations carefully
forged are accepted by the house
hold, and the new servants, who are,
by the way, usually model domeStlcs,
take as much time as is needed 10
study the plan of the house, habits
of the people, and the Vulnerable
spot in the protection of valuables.
The Servant Trick
Then some day when the owner OF
the Jewels is out, paste duplicates
are quietly substituted In the process
of busting the boudoir, Or as the en-
ploye is on his way through the
house on an errand. The pseudo-ser-
want slips off before the cry is raised,
or stays on long enough to prove an
alibi by fellow servant" when de-
tectives are called in.
The other type of jewel thief is one
that Is becoming even more prev
alent than the common yegg. This Is
the hard-up and INSCRIPTIONS mem
Der of high society who is living pc
yond his Or her means. He is far
more desperate than the regular
burglar, for if his true financial con-
dition should become known he wou1o
have to drop out of that particular
desirable.
The gentleman burglar, and his
counterpart, the lady jewel th1ef, are
the result of a disregard for honesty
as a cardinal virtue, combined with
unbelievable carelessness on the part
of owners of precious stones. .
Most men who own valuable gems
keen them locked up SO that they
are at least safe from social pirateSe
but women who wear Jewels get useo
to hiding them in peculiar places OF
even to dropping them into a drawer
From the bride with her 5000 soil
taire to the dowager whose JeWels
are valued at 5000, 900, there is ten
dency to trust too much. to Prov
dence and the police department 10
keep the treasure safe.
And then when detective is calt t,a
in to get back the stolen goods, the
accusation is again made thaI Ing
nubIic is at fault because 1t Will not
cooperate with the sleuths. People
still seem to think that oeIectlvS,
as a supernatural being, ShouIo ptoN
out the criminal unerriGgly wlthouC
nesterine their friends who were on
the ground when the theft occurred,
hecaHse obviously their friends coula
know nothing of the burglars trlcks'
The Guest Thief
Mr.. Morgan Bradford, head of a
weIl-knoWn detective agency, says
that the prevalence of lewe4 di rop,
realized, and that the victims are ttle
last people to be convinced. ms ne
says, is what makes life haroest Ior
detectives. 41
A society woman employs sleutn
tn recover her $4,000 breasrpln,
stolen out of a dresser drawer uur,
ing a dinner party. lie comes any
nuizzes the servants and questions
her as, to how many people saw her
drop it in the drawer. Only two OF
her friends, she tells him, and she
is indignant when he insists on their
names. He looks them up, ana nnos
that one of the young, women mas
only a small income, as money goes
in that strata of society," that she
is in debt and that she made a short
trip to New York the day after the
party. Yet when he reports THIS
to the woman who employs nm NJ .i snH;
him to question her friends, as it
would be an insult. So the detective,
having followed other clues to no
purpose, has to give up the JOB, ana
the amateur burglar continues her
social career with her her honesty honesty un-
This sort of thing, Mr. Bradford
saws, happens all the time. 1t &C
counts largely for the estimate that
of all the jewels reported as miss
ing, only about one-fourth are re-
These amateurs rarely if ever re-
sort to burglars methods. There
is no business of entering windows
at night with fiashlight and black
cambria mask. Thefet for them is
made ridiculous1y easy. Time and
again they have heard their host men.
ton carelessly the fabulous cost OF
this bit of bric-a-brac,. or OF that
necklace, and so when chance sooner
or later leaves the guest alone and
face to face with the object of value,
it is unobtrusively stored away, and
the incident is closed.
A Curious Case
An interesting case of this sort
happened in Washington during a
reception given by a wealthy man,
well known in society. One of the
guests was a popular youth whose
chief drawback to happiness was his
small income. This young man was
alone in a parlor when he was seen
by a detective to finger tiny Japa-
| nese carving. Presently he slipped it
in the coat-tail pocket of his dress
suit. The detective informed the
host, who begged that nothing be
done.
providing space for two litter pa