THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, . JULY 13, 1914
o
1 U 1
1 il, 1 1 "
How Criminals
Are Traced by
Their Work
Each Lawbreaker Specialises Alone
Certain Line, and It la Found That
Be Nearly Alwaye Leaves Some
Telltale Clew.
THAT criminals specialize In their
acts of violence is known to
everyone who is Interested in
detective work. But" that they also
specialize in their methods of com
mitting particular crimes is not so
generally recognized. Yet, by means
of certain earmarks, so to speak, that
they quite unconsciously make, a well
informed detective la enabled very
often to lay his hands on the perpe
trators of certain acts when a less
experienced man would fail for lack of
more definite clews.
One store burglar, for instance, will
always enter through the fanlight over
the front door, another by breaking in
at the back. One will pry open the
iron bars of the back window; an
other will prefer to come down
through the skylight In the roof. One
man will force an entrance to a flat
by means of false keys; another will
Jimmy the door: a third will use the
fire escape. Moreover, they will re
peat the same act in the same gen
eral neighborhood and at or about the
same hour of the day or night, as the
case may be, with results disastrous
to themselves and satisfactory to the
representatives of the law.
It may be easily seen then, how a
detective with a long experience and a
wide acquaintance with the most
active crooks and their methods will
find the task of tracking down his
man comparatively simple. The crime
itself generally suggests the gang re
sponsible for its commission; the exact
methods may actually indicate the In
dividual. Many a time when a burglary has
occurred and the criminal has van
ished, leaving apparently no marks by
which he can be traced, police offi
cials have been able to produce him
in court within a few days, to the
utter astonishment of all concerned.
But the following stories will reveal
the secret of this seemingly marvelous
feat, through, to the credit of the de
partment be it said, it requires no
small practice and perspicacity to per
form it.
An example of the fire-escape bur
glar Is Harry Cohen, alias Katz, who
works at night. His method is to rent
a furnished room in the neighborhood
in which he proposes to operate. Then
he enters an apartment house by way
of the fire escape, burglarizes several
flat, takes all the money "and Jewelry
he can find, but touches nothing else.
Specimens of safe burglars are Sol
omon Schmidt. Gordon, alias Simonskl.
and Masinfessky. alias Polish Jake.
These men never blow a safe: they in
variably "rip" it in the back by what
they term a "can-opener," a specially
constructed crowbar or massive Jimmy,
with which great leverage may be ob
tained. They do their work always
between Saturday night and Monday
morning.
"Funeral" Wells, on the other hand.
Is a pickpocket specialist well known
to the police. It is his boast that he
never goes to a funeral without pick
ing a pocket, and never picks a pocket
except at a funeral.
A few weeks ago Jacob Kosofsky
was convicted for the fifth time of
sneaking Into the basement of a dweli
lag and creeping upstairs to the bed
rbom to clean out the clothes closets of
the family.
On each occasion he gave the same
excuse for his presence he had been
sent by a tailor to get clothes to be
pressed and had got into the wrong
house by mistake.
. "Till tapping" is a specialty of a
lower order of crooks, and for years
six men, headed by Jack Keeley.
"worked" the saloons, grocery and deli
catessen shops down Eighth avenue, up
Ninth avenue and dowrl Tenth avenue
of lower Manhattan. They always se
lected Monday morning for the work,
figuring that the owner would not have
had time to bank the money taken in
on Saturday and Sunday.
One man's job was to discover where
the money was kept. This he did by
making a small purchase, tendering a
$20 bill in payment for it. and watch
ing where the change was taken from.
Then he signaled a confederate outside.
The two next started an excitement by
pretending to steal a milk can or to
flight among themselves anything to
get the proprietor out of the store and
give the first man a chance to steal the
money.
Sometimes Keeley would enter a sa
loon and pretend to be a building in
spector or a health department man,
and while the bartender was investigat
ing some "violation" that the thief
would announce he had found in the
back room Keeley or a confederate
would steal the cash. So notorious was
tnls band of crooks that whenever a
crime of this sort was reported to the
police they at once looked up the mem
bers of the gang and found out what
they were -doing that night.
" Keeley. however, had a specialty all
his own, which finally led to his undo
ing. He would rush into a grocery
store with a hat in his hand.
"I bet a man outside that this hat
wouldn't hold three quarts -of molasses
and he bet me it would. Now, let's
see," he would say.
Of course, the hat would not hold
three quarts, but the groceryman was
interested. Just to prove it. and think
ing he would be paid, he would fill the
hat with molasses. Whereupon Keeley
would Jam it over his eyes and face,
grab his watch and pocketbook, loot
the cash register and run.
The last time he did this was In a
grocery store at Sixteenth street and
Ninth avenue. New York. It was re
ported to the police at once, and they,
recognizing the criminal by his methods
and knowing that he had a sweetheart
in Brooklyn, waited for him at the
bridge. There they arrested him and
found the watch that ! had stolen
from the grocer In his pocket. Keeley
got five years In Sing Sing, but when
he came out he started at his special
ties again. He was the notorious "Mo
lasses Jack."
A specialist of another sort was John
Kirk, who served about 20 terms in
the workhouse, usually for the same
offense stealing a barrel of tar. He
was last arrested in May, 1912, and died
In the city prison of heart disease on
May 26 of that year. Kirk would walk
from the Battery to Harlem looking
for tar to steal, acd his last exploit
waa a theft from the new subway ex
cavation in Center street. He was prac
tically the only thief in New York who
made tar a specialty, and when con
tractors complained to the police that
The American Girl Abroad
By Harrison Fisher
IV
Exactly as she eagerly read of it again and again in the favorite story book of her
childhood, so the American girl abroad, seeking quieter scenes after her Parisian experi
ences, finds the pocket edition of the sturdy Dutch people.
A rosy-cheeked, flaxen-haired girl, with the inevitable two braids thick as her fat little
wrists, her full skirt red. her tight-fitted smock blue, her square-cornered apron white, and
her stiff white and delft blue cap demurely crowning her head, comes clack-dack-clackety-clack
along the narrow medieval street. The American girl figuratively rubs her eyes for.
miracle of miracles.-'tis the Wilhelmina of her precious story book come to life! Mina,
little Mina!" the American girl calls softly before she realizes it. lis she! rox does
not the quaint and dainty little creature turn at the sound of her name and smile shyly
up at the queenly beauty of the West ?
Along presently troops a gawky lad with baggy blue trousers not quite making his
ankles, and a black cap all but hiding his yellow locks. Glowing of cheeks, too. is he.
Another miracle 'tis sturdy little Jan of that old book in the flesh! Jan! oh. Jan!
the American girl calls. Again she does not dream for he turns and flashes two rows
of glistening teeth in his broad, frank smile.
All about her are the squatty windmills that the story told about and that her young
eyes often beheld in fancy's realm laboriouslv and creakingly at work. Now they are
creaking and groaning in reality, their clumsy-looking sails flapping lazily in the wind
blowing in from the Zuider Zee. Everywhere, too. canals streak the low-lying landscape,
and their boats, with whole families dotting them mothers knitting, children scampering
HOLLAND.
about move placidly on to their various destinations. On the pasture lands behind and
beyond the dikes and sand dunes are the selfsame grazing cattle of the book or. at least,
their living successors. And. oh, wonderful to behold, the gorgeous tulips of those youthful
pages are growing in rich profusion before her eyes.
And what is that on the chimney top of yonder quaintly gabled cottage? Why no.
it cannot be yes yes. it is the stork's nest of the story; and the stork is there, too.
standing on one long leg and looking wisely down his impossible nose into the chimney.
Unconsciously, remembering the immortal legend woven about the stork by Dutch mothers
hundreds of years agone, the American girl's gaze drops to the doorway for sight of a fat
little Dutch baby, and, as though it were all stage arranged and timed, out of it toddles
the fattest, cutest, cunningest and dearest little Dutch child a North Sea breeze ever gave
red cheeks! -ill
"Oh. surely, surely, it is Story Book Land all over again, the American girl breathes
softly, as tender memories of her childhood's make-believe companions flood in upon her.
And in Story Book Land she spends many happy days, wandering leisurely from
furthermost Groningen to uttermost Zeeland. fascinated afresh each day with land and
people. And ever and anon, with true artist's inspiration, she preserves on canvas her
impressions of some particularly quaint bit of landscape, the while a group of yellow
haired and radiantly-garbed children look on with shyly smiling lips and wondering big
eyes of Saxon blue, the living images of Jan and Wilhelmina. Anna and Laura of that
old story come true.
(Copyright. 1914. by the Wheeler Syndicate. Inc.)
theirs had been stolen the detectives
knew for whom to look.
Almost as unusual as his case is that
another man who was before the
Court of General Sessions no less than
eight times. His specialty was break
ing the plate glass windows 01 sa
lnnnK He would go around from one
to another, drinking, and would refuse
to leave at closing time. The proprie
tor, of course, would have to put him
out.
Then he would walk Into the street,
pick up the first stone he saw and hurl
t thrnna-h the plate-glass window. The
judges had sent this man to prison so
many times that they iinauy came to
nxDect his appearance about once a
year. The last time he was asked:
"How is it that you always do tnis
thing in exactly the same way?"
.it An. trnnvr " WD the rftnlv. "T
can't help it. I feel that I Just have to
do It."
And here, it may be remarked, is one
particular in which at least the lower
order of criminal seems to differ from
the ordinary man in the matter of
brain. In this he is abnormal, the
parts of his mental mechanism being
seemingly in some way defective, or at
least not co-ordinating in such a man
ner as to render his acts logical.
It is to his interest, if to anybody's,
to conceal hiB identity and to avoid
mannerisms or fads from which a keen
intellect might deduce his participation
in any given occurrence fir scheme. Yet
this he seems unable to do.
Of course, he must needs specialize
in one particular branch of crime, for
any career, lawless or otherwise, re
quires a certain amount of training,
and every man's capacity for work is
limited.
For Instance, an accomplished safe
blower will rarely be a good pickpocket
or a gunman an expert forger. Each ac
tion requires native ability as well as
special preparation. But there is no
reason, psychological or otherwise, why
the crook should not vary his meth
ods. Yet this he fails to do. leading, in
consequence, to his own detection.
The work of the higher order of
criminal specialists is vastly more sub
tle, of course, than the clumsy methods
of the common crook. Still, there ls
always a distinguishing mark, the stamp
of the man's personality, that leads the
well-informed detective to his quarry.
Here is one notable case in which
two men of unusual brains and daring
and no small skill in concealing their
methods of work, yet betrayed them
selves to the keen eyes of trained
sleuths.
The notorious Dr. R. S. Flower, a
fugitive from justice, who jumped a
$20,000 bail, and Alfred R. Goslin. now
safe from extradition in Paris, thought
there was no means by which the de
tectives could recognize their methods
In the various "get-rich-quick" estab
lishments, all under different names
which they operated in New York City
some years ago.
But Dr. Flower was very fond of oil
paintings with large trees in them, and
had them hung in different offices he
controlled. And Goslin liked carpets
with a peculiar pattern in them, and
selected them for the different rooms
in which he worked. Detective Barney
McConville knew this bizarre taste of
his, and others recognized Flower's
idiosyncrasy. Consequently both men
were tracked.
Were it not that criminals thus re
peat their misdeeds in substantially the
same way each time and incidentally
betray their personal habits, of thought
and action, it would be impossible for
the police officials to follow up and
convict as many lawbreakers as they
do. , ,
Every detective force in the country
recognizes this psychological principle
and works upon it. but the law does
not recognize it and refuses to let the
Jury share the detectlve'h knowledge.
When a crook Is brought to the bar
of Justice that body Is kept in aa pro
found Ignorance as possible of the ac
cused's life and character. His record,
for all they know generally, may be
absolutely unblemished, and In their
eyes he Is innocent till proved guilty.
Should the defendant take the witness
stand the evidence which lad to him
arrest may be drawn from him on cross
examination, but he Iexnot compelled to
take it, and "his neglect or refusal to
do so shall not create any presumption
against him'
Should he, on the other hand. Inter
pose the old familiar alibi, the case
frequently turns on the question of his
identity; and in such an event the Jury
is often hard set to get at the truth
of the roatten
The Harem
Is Passing in
the Orient
A Noticeable Decline la Reported
Ancient (natoma. and Better nn
dillon 'r Women la t'omlna to the
Front.
Sermon on Mlk.
. Bxchange.
Silk Is made . by one species of
worm and is paid for by another.
DOUBTLESS bad they known of It
In proper season the Jolly liaiae
lors who engaged passage, at
many times it real value, for the crulee
to th? Orient would have canceled their
reservations for the peep Into a real
Turklah harem, which was ona of the
big things promised them, muat be for--gonc!
The harem. k such. Is being
evicted, slowly but surely, from all the
territory westward of Adrlanople
along with the passing of the Grand
Turk.
We In America have not, as yet. Ml
the full effect of what haa occurred
there in the Balkans. All the vast, fer
tile plain of Macedonia, the tarda.
spot of the Levant, la now open to till
age, with life aafe to the husbandman,
a It hasn't been since ths Turk emu
into Europe. As s result. Roumanian
and Bulgarian and Serb ami Greek,
even the Croat and the Magar. who
had been saving to emigrate to the
distant America, where people spoke
strange tongues and hud strange ways. .
and where It meant yeara and yuais of
work to accumulate enough before ons
could come back and visit home folks,
are now turning lo Macedonia and
coming In, buying farm land and set
ting up In a region where tlllsge Is a
at home, where the language, the cus
toms, are substantially the same, and
where one can take fourth-class pass
age on the trans-Macedonian Railway
and be home Inside of 12 hours.
All of which means that where the
hated Turk lorded it over ths Chris
tians Just two, three yeara ago. the
Christians, now In preponderance, are
giving such of the Moslems as remain
In a given locality notice that there'
been a change in power.
And It isn't in the nature of things,
with an untutored peasantry, not to
make it mighty unpleasant for people
who. along with their ancealora for
generations, would murder tbeae peaa
ants in cold blood, seize their crops and
extort unjust taxes, steal their daugh
ters and perform indignities without
number. Wherefore, In constant
streams, the Moslems are moving out
of Europe, taking their most precious
possessions with them, selling their
stock and their Implements for a song
and passing across the Morn, or at least
making for Constantinople. Along
with this passing of the Grand Turk
comes the passing of the harem out of
Europe.
Strangely enough, there Is possibly
no institution In the Orient In regsrd
to which there are more current mis
conceptions than the Turkish harems,
other than the one belonging to the
Sultan. It Is, for example, the almost
universal opinion In the Occident that
the harem ls of whatever size Its owner
may desire to make it: that polygamy
ls limitless Turkey over, snd that the
social life of the land Is nil. As a
matter of fact the home life of the
average Mohammedan is Ideal, the
share taken by the three wives (for at
three the limit Is set for anyone but
the Sultan) in the menage of the house
hold makes the burden of good house
keeping so light that the Turklak
dames necessarily have time to Idle
and loll in the fashion Jn which we
usually find them pictured.
The reel harem Is but seldom visited
by the jCmerican of tnascullno g nder.
Even the men's part of the house Is
unique enough, though, to repay his
coming. To begin with, one does not
enter a Turkish home directly from the
highway: in fact, there are no doors
opening upon the street. The house Is
built to face upon a garden surrounded
by high walls and entered by a heavy
gate. At this gate the knocker Is set
and no one would think of entering
without waiting answer to the sum
mons. This ls done In order that the
Turkish women, should there bo any
in the garden, may either let down
their veils or else retreat to cover.
Wealthier homes have a porter sta
tioned Just Inside this gateway tu at
tend the summons, and In Salonira a,
black slave (for slavery ls not dead at
all) often attended this duty.
Crossing the yard one enters the
house, the harem or the selamllk, ac
cording as you were bound for. the
women's or the men's apartment Curi
ously enough, while the harera ls men
tioned abroad constantly, the selamllk,
which is quite evident. Is seldom heard
of outside the East. It Is simply the
men's apartments, as the other Is mi
lady's boudoir. Its only essential dif
ference ls the fact that lattices are ab
sent from Its windows and that the
low. little stool of Jujube paste, or
Turkish delight, found In every well
regulated harem. Is replaced by a larg
er dish of cigarettes. Cigarette, are
smoked In the barem. too. but not In
such quantities.
Both In the furnishing of the harem
and of the men's apartments of the
Turkish home, simplicity la the rule.
Beds and chairs, except In the resi
dences of some of the progressive
young Turks, are unknown, being re
placed by the divan; usually a mere
bench extending around thre of the
four walls of the room and made com
fortable with cushions. Tasly soft
cushions ana lona wiv., -viaw ...
gilt and silver thread, adorn th-se ami
upon them the Inmates lounge. In the
center of tire room Is a brazier, with
charcoal, ajid here the water bolls per
petually for the Turkish cafe. Little
coffee mills, of the thickness of a
pump handle and fitted with braas. lie
about ready for moment's use
Doors abound, but always ajar, save
where the heavy leather portieres fill
the void, and windows are also nuroer-
- - W. .111,. t . - h.
oua KOOms are mum mmmvm ...
hold over. Frequently there are but .
two or three, the lower floor ot the
dwelling being given over to the own
er's bazaar.
Housework In such a home devolves
largely ou the first wife She rules,
the others obey.
The choice of a wife In Turkey is an
Interesting event. The usual custom In
the selection of a queen of the harem la
fbr the mother of the groom to note the
pretty lrls she meets from time to
time and then tell her eon about them.
If some of her descriptions prove par
ticularly alluring, he will arrange to
meet the father of the lrl and settle
with him upon the dowry. Not alone
that, but the amount of the alimony
to be settled on the girl ls also careful
ly fixed and put In writing by the cadL
Divorces may be had without any cause
In Islam. Philadelphia, lnquuex.
t