The New York herald., 1921-01-09
By W. A. DAVENPORT.

middle of Manhattan. Two or three suave
office on the sixth or eighth floor of an
office building. coldly kill defenceless man
and make off with fortune while thou
sand people shuttle around within hundred
yards radius. Or mere youth, fresh from
high school, walks out of brokers' Office
bonds. Or three men push open the door
of a hotel suite in Times square and attempt
to rob the occupants of the suite at tho
theatre hour. In the meantime two young
men rob bank in Chicago of 100000 and
take in jewery establishment on their way
home, netting 100000 worth of diamonds
for their pains.
Just by way of variety few lads rob
mail train out West and almost get away
with a million or so. Incidental to all this
and sandwiched in between you read that "a
dozen citizens in New York and Chicago'are
shot down beneath brilliant street lamps
and robbed while the police are rubbing
their eyes. And then an enterprising burglar
robs few safes in places next door to Police
Headquarters. You get used to it in time,
but finally you begin wondering what sort
of crooks these are.
Looks Like Old Times to Man
Who Remembers the James Boys
well, WELL" cries the old timer sitting
beside you in the subway, the crooks are
pretty busy these days. Reminds me of old
times. 4 remember my father telling me OF
the bad men in the West before the civil
war; about the Jameses and the Youngers
and Billy the Kid and all those boys, ana
I remember for myself pretty tough bird
named Tracy and such yeggs, counterfeiters'
forgers and burglars as Jimmy Hope, Jimmy
Logue. Ned Lyons, Billy Burk, Alonzo
Whiteman who went by the name or Jim
the Penman; Dick Johnson, Billy Boston
and the rest of them. Lord, man. this looks
like old times, according to the newspapers.
Now, if you informed this old timer that,
compared with their successors OF to-day
these WORTHLESS he mentions were frowsy
buns futile bunglers and clumsy dolts,
there would be long and pointess argu-
ment for he belongs to the generation that
insists John l.. Sullivan could have licked
Jack Dempsey, Salvador could run faster
than Man O. War, the Baltimore clipper
ships could outfoot anything with sails to-
day, and that the "Black Crook" was the
you'd get nowhere at all and waste lot OF
valuable time. Meanwhile, too, somebody
might have been making off with your
motor car while you talked.
However William j. Burns would have
been on your side. Mr. Burns knows the
detective business. If he chooses to talk
about crime and criminals what he has to
say commands certain measure OF re-
spect because of his long association with
.x.1l& 1, Nc nv
tended study of the moods and customs of
the malefactor. That's his business.
Criminals Change to Keep Pace
With Progress of Civilization
"Those old timers would have been lost
in the shuttle nowadays" says Mr.. Burns.
"The largest haul the best of them ever
made was not to be compared with hauls
made these days by men whose names are
forgotten over night by the public do
not recall the largest amount of money
taken at any one time by the James boys,
but. IL you recall. some lads robbed car
carrying the United States mail out West
a few weeks ago. 1t amounted to more than
81, 900, ,000--that haul. OF course, they were
captured, because the country has grown up
and there are no such wilds as the James
boys took to for hiding. But / challenge
any of you to recall their names. OF course,
il was their first big job, so far as we know,
and the old timers kept 1t up for years, but
they would have been caught on their first
lob, too to-day working as they did
I'VE have progressed: so has the criminal.
As civilization marches on she takes more
intricate measures to protect herself from
her despoiling children. However. her de-
spelling children--the crooks-adopt new
methods, too. Only n bungler or moss
back tries to break safe with soup to-day.
It's too messy. He uses an acetylepe torch
to bore his hole through the steel door, in
serts a pinch bar or fine steel instrument.
tcsses back the tumblers and there you are.
The genuine crook these days utilzes every
mechanical Improvement of the day.
And the old timer was experienced. He
knew his Job. He was an artist The work
was clumsy and he was leIsurely and slow.
Likewise he looked his part He was big
bruiser who looked like what n yegg sounds
like. The comic papers and the motion
picture still picture him In a striped jersey,
a filthy cap drawn down over a beetle brow,
a three or four days growth of beard, a pair
of hulking shoulders dark lantern, and SO
on. He frequented cellar rendezvous accord
ing to the movies. And the motion picture
generally has a candle stuok In a black
bottle, and always the bad men drink great
slugs OF bad .whiskey.
Polished Manners and High
Technique Mark the New Crook