Reading for Everybody.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2139, 14 March 1908, Page 3 (Supplement)

Reading for Everybody.

'VfII&ERN CRIMINALS. v:,;*2T THE MEN WHO ORGANISE GREAT CRIMES. A REMARKABLE BOOK BY SIR ROBERT ANDERSON.

The men who come to-day into close touch with crime, and who are nlarmthe increase of professional criminals, do not go as far os Sir Jamet Stephen, who advocated a return to the death penalty for irreclaimable offenders, but they are none the less convinced that modern methods of punishment are unsatisfactory. While crime in general is diminishing, “professional crime is on the increase.” says Sir Robert Anderson in his new book on criminals and crime, “and this is precisely the kind of crime which is the most serious dauger to the community, and the severest tax upon police administration. i “The true professional is an ad- ! vanced disciple of Hobbes. He is not embarrassed by either twinges of conscience or a sense of shame. And for such a man a criminal career is a life.. of adventure, such as will compare i .favorably with most other kinds of sport. “A friend of mine, the minister of a west-end chapel in London, tells how, in his last visit to America, he preached in one of the larger gaols, and after the service visited some of the prisoners in their colls. One case interested him especially, a man of good education and address, and seemingly of abilities fitted to command success in the world. PAH ABLE OF THE FOX-HUNTER,

“My friend gave vent to his sincere distress at finding such a man in such a position, and was going on to ‘improve the occasion,’ when tlu prisoner cut in with the remark that ho believed in England we were fond of fox-hunting. My friend, regarding it as a broad hint to change the subject, assented. “ ‘And may 1 ask,’ said his eomvJpaniou, ‘when a man gets a fall does he give up hunting?’ And on getting the only possible answer to such a question, lie added, ‘I have had a bad fall, and no mistake, but I count on better luck another time.’ “This case is thoroughly typical. The true professional is not a weak creature who yields to uiicoutrollabk impulse. Living a life of adventure, and having a soul above working for his living, lie pursues a life of crime, with a full appreciation of its risks. “Change those risks to certainties, and you at once supply a motive adequate to influence his course, it every fox-hunter ended by breaking his neck, fox-hunting would be shunned, save by a few desperate men; and the sumo would be true of professional crime of this character if it always ended in disaster.’

There are in this country a comparatively small band of known criminals who are, we are told, responsible for almost all the more serious crimes against property. “Such men live well. They can name their favorite wine, and they know a good cigar. A trip to Brighton is an ordinary incident in their easy lives; and a winter visit to Monte Carlo is nothing out- of the way. They are responsible for the elaborate frauds, the/-great forgeries ,aml jewel larcenies, -and bank robberies which now and then startle the public.” BURGLARS AND FOGGY NIGHTS. The professional criminal is, in fact, a man who takes good care of himself. He is no out-at-elbows petty thief. “He does not work on foggy nights” or during prolonged frosts. “As a matter of fact, a fog causes no anxiety to the Criminal Investigation Department, and a burglary epidemic, like a fever epidemic, flourishes in mild weather, and a drop of twenty degrees Fahrenheit will check it. “And the reason is plain: professional crime is organised crime, and all organising involves time; and professional men, burglars included, do not care- to be abroad at night when the thermometer is getting down to zero.” Professional criminals take themselves seriously. “Burglaries are usually committed b.v men who are burglars in the sense in which other men are doctors, lawyers, architects., llie only difference, indeed, is that in the burglar’s trade success gives proof of greater proficiency than seems necessary in other lines. “I never realised what an amount of determination and nerve it needs to break into a dwelling-liuse at night until I discovered my own deficiencies iri these respects. ESTREATED TO THE COAL-

* CELLAR. “On arriving at Lome late one nierht I found 1 Lad forgotten my latchkey, and being unable to rouse the inmates I decided o en clariously. My experience of criminal courts Lad given me a knowledge of the business, -a u ' •ivitli a light heart that I d opped into the area and attacked chon window. Of course I Lnd o lai- of tlio nolice. Neither Lad I any cause to dr'ead a pistol shot in entering the Louse. • “And yet such was the effect on my nerves of spending twenty minu es in that urea that the sound of a constable’s tread in the garden made retreat into the coal cellar. “I felt than that my case «a> des perate. As there were no steps to the area, escape was impracticable an a now bolt on the v.undow b. tha me, so at last I was driven to break the glass. It is extraordinaryjh « noise it makes to sinus 1 glass when one does it ' ; and the passers-by "fie < it, c _ the sound. But they had no hu ; eye lantern to Hash into the arc ■"'and as 1 hail again taken refuge the cellar they could not account for the noise. As soon as they weie gone it was an easy task to shoot the bolt, open the window, and scramble into *HOW KAYMOND STOLE Among tlie many stories related to prove tli at professional criminals take np crime because they like it not ■ through a craving for money, but jus • through a love of snort, Sir Roboit recalls the case of Raymond, a onin in al whoso schemes were Napoleo-

“ikis man having read about the vast wealth, of the Kimberley mines to visit them and divert ' ' 1 the wealth into his own ■ hands. He investigated the problem limeil to tl.o ma.l steamer for England, a voy were accidentally delayed n route the treasure La to 10 . in ■ post-office till the next mail left. Ray ? l : 'yr '• -• ■: '.• ' • • '• V ■ •

mond's plan of campaign was soon , settled. “Ho was a man who could make his way in any company, and ho had no difficulty in obtaining wax impressions of tlie postmaster’s keys. The postmaster indeed was one of a group of admiring friends whom lie entertained at dinner the evening before lie sailed for England. “Some months later lie returned to South Africa under a clever disguise and an assumed name, and made his way up-country to a place at which the diamond convoys had to cross a river ferry on their way to the coast. “Unshipping the chain ot the ferry, he let the boat drift down the stream, and the next convoy missed the mail steamer. £90,000 worth of diamonds had to be deposited in the strongroom of the post-office; and these diamonds ultimately reached England in Raymond's possession. He afterwards boasted that be sold them to their lawVul owners in Hatton Garden. “Raymond loved his work lor its own sake; and though lie lived in luxury and style, he kept to it to the last, organising and financing many an important crime.”

This is how criminals like-Raymond often manage to escape the law. DOCTOR’S STRANGE PATIENT. “A friend of mine who Ins a largo medical practice in one of the Lou-

don suburbs told nib once of an extraordinary patient of bis. The man was a Dives, and -lived sumptuously, but lie was extremely hypochondriacal. / '

“Every now and then an urgent summons would bring the doctor to the house, to find the patient in bed, though with nothing whatever the matter with him. But- te man always insisted on having a prescription, which was promptly sent to tlio chemist. “My friend’s last summons had been exceptionally urgent; and on bis entering the room with unusual abruptness the man sprang up in bed and covered him with a revolver.. “I might have relieved his curiosity fly explaining that this eccentric patient w-as a prince among criminals. Raymond knew that his movements were a matter of interest to the police; and if he. had reason to fear that lie had been seen in dangerous company he bolted home and ‘shammed sick.’ And the doctor’s evidence, confirmed by the chemist’s books, would prove that lio was ill 'in bed till alter the hour at- which tlio police supposed they had seen him miles away.”

WHAT TO DREAM ABOUT AND WHAT TO AVOID.

THE MEANING OF DREAMS EXPLAINED. Happy is the man who thinks lie is a -tinker mending pots and pans, lor ,t is an indication that he will be prosperous in business, successful as a lovar, and lumpy and contented in tlio .Married state. To dream that you are toil-worn and weary also has a similar iignificance. Spectres and small-pox aro not pleasant things to think about, but .0 dream of them need cause no a.arm. To dream of small-pox denotes porfit and wealth without infamy, while to dream of a spectre prognosticates business to the merchant, work for the artist and mechanic, and marriage- to the maiden. There is luck in dreaming that you see someone beheaded, if you are in love you will marry the object of your affections, and if you are in prison you will speedily gain your liberty. To dream of apples betokens long life and success, faithfulness in your lover, and riches by trade, while, to dream of apricots denotes health and posperity, a speedy marriage, dutiful children, and success in love. A dream about elderberries augurs content and riches. To a maiden it bespeaks marriage, to the tradesman success in business, and to the farmer good crops. . It is good for a man or woman to dream, of their mother, for it shows that they will be fortunate through life and become rick through the inheritance of a legacy. For a person to dream of being ugly or deformed indicates that the dreamer will be surprised by receiving from a long-absent friend a communication of a pleasing and gratifying nature. Pleasing intellegence will also follow a dream in which a flock of starlings figure, while a dream that von arc at play is a forerunner of great good luck. To dream that you are floating on water implies that von will escape many difficulties and dangers and have to travel much, but eventually you will settle down 'in your native town, marry well, and be rich and happy for life. A ferry is a dangerous thing to dream about, for it signifies .that indecision in an important matter will maike you the laughing stock of your friends. To dream of eating beans, too, signifies trouble and clissention; while to dream that you are ascending a mountain shows a life of sorrow and toil. All your endeavours to better yourself will bo in vain; you will never riso in the world, and misfortunes will come heavy tipou you. Ninepins are sad things to dream about, for they iriiply great fluctuations in business and reverses of fortune. Every time you get a little before hand you will meet with some heavy loss "that will reduce you to poverty again. Ninepin nightmares also denote many crosses in lovo and marriage. A villa situated in some pleasant and picturesque situation is an attractive sight, but don’t dream about it. Otherwise a season of affliction, out of which you may be restored with much difficulty, may follow. To tlio bachelor or widower a dream of coalpits is a danger-signal, lor it signifies marring a widow and being very unhappy with her too. To" dream that you are eating is

a very unfavourable omen, for it portends disunion amongst your family, losses in trade, and disappointment in love, not to mention storms and shipwrecks by sea. Many disappointments, particularly in the tiling you are most anxious about, may follow a dream in which you imagine you are at a feast. . Don’t, say some wise dream interpreters, marry your present, sweetheart if von dream you are in a hail storm, for she will prove very bad tempered and make you miserable, a man to dream bis hair is long likd a woman's signifies cowardice and effeminacy,. and that- the person dreaming will be deceived by a woman. To dream one sees a woman without hair signifies a famine, poverty. and sickness, while to dream that your hat is torn or dirty signifies damage or dishonor. Onoits were always conceived a harbinger of ill-luck by gipsies, and if a woman dreams that she is playing the game the possibilities are that she will have some disagreeable undertaking to go through. To man, such a dream is a sign of quarreling. uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” for anyone, to dream of being raised to the dignity of a monarch of a nation is a prognostication that sorrow and unhappiness are in store.

GENERAL NEWS.

Colombo has four tides daily. Malt has none at all.

Snno of tlio icefields of Greenland aro believed to be a mile and a half in thickness.

In Persia tlio man who laughs is considered effeminate, but free licence is given to female merriment.

A typewriter which writes wliolo words at a single stroke will soon bo on the market. Tweiitv-two of tlio small words most used in correspondence are on tlio keyboard.

Criminals in Buenos Ayres who aro sentenced to long terms of penal servitude are frequently released on parole for certain hours each day, so that their private business will not suffer.

IVbon the telephone wires are overland the speed of transmission is at Hie rate of 10,000 miles a second; where the wires arc through cables under the sea the speed is only 0,020 miles a second.

Robert P. Peters, of Sioux, lowa, who has just celebrated his ninetyfourth birthday, has been in tlio city police for seveiity-fivo years, and claims tlio record as tlio oldest municipal officer in tlio United States.

Miss limes Schaffer, a well-known leader of New York society, has just paid £I,OOO for the famous English bulldog Mahomet. This lady is building keiineiis at. her residence in Maryland which will cost £5,000.

The Prince of Monaco possesses one of the most valuable collections of autographs in the world. An entire wing of His Highness’s palace at Monaco is reserved for the display of documents written by celebrities.

A deaf and dumb bride and bridegroom have just- been married by typewriter at- Minneapolis, U.S.A., the registrar typing the questions and tlio bridal couple typing the answers oil tlio same slip of paper.

Naval experts put down the active life of a modern battleship at about fifteen years. A hundred years ago battleships lasted almost six times ns long, and were on active service nearly the whole time of their commission.

Whenever ail intoxicated man is conveyed to the Denver Police Station his photograph is taken, and the next morning lie is shown how he looked the night before. The photograph cure, the police say, is accomplishing wonders.

The Queen of the Hellenes probably dispenses more of what may be described as “official kisses” than anyone on earth. Every lady presented to her with whom she is on intimate terms she kisses on the cheek; others who have not the honor of Knowing her well she kisses on tlio forehead.

Cyclists will he pleased to hear that u doctor has been investigating the proper nutriment for a long-distance ride, and has concluded that no mentor other nitrogenous food should he taken while doing tlie day’s work, lmt that the ideal refreshment is fruit and milk.

Exter has long possessed the heaviest ringing peal of bells in the world. Tlio tenor Grandison, so named after a former Bishop of the diocese, lias been recast, and its weight increased, so that it is now about 3 tons 13cwt., or, roughly, half a ton heavier than the tenor of St. Paul’s.

A man eighty years of age and a woman seventy-two eloped from a home for old people at Dornbirn, a little town near Bregenz, because they were refused permission to marry. A week after they returned to the establishment, stating that they had been married and had spent their money in having a good time. General Booth told his friends in America that thirty years ago the physicans began to give him up, and to advise “rest cures.’ “The doctors gave me up,” he said, “and they 'kept on giving me up so much, that long ago I gave them up.” An American reporter says that there is nothing old about the General but his appearance.

The biggest cannon ball ever i ado weighed 2,6001 b., and was manufactured at tlie Krupp works, Essen, for the Government of the Czar. The gun from which this projectile was fired is also the largest in the world, and is placed in the fortificati ms of Kronstadt. This gun lias a range or twelve miles, and it lias ! eon < animated that each shot costs £oUO.

The railway stations of Berlin are shortly to be provided with automatic machines which, on the insertion of two shillings and a penny, will deliver an umbrella. A tic’ket will also drop out, and, on presenting it within two days to an office of the automatic society, Is 8d will be paid back in return for the umbrella.

A noted firm of fire-extinguisher

manufacturers in Finsbury Square, doing extensive business in Germany, have decided that all their clerks, from the office-boy upwards, must acquire a knowledge of German. Tuition is given in that languago during office hours. Half tlie staff collect in a room apart for an hour’s instruction, at the end of which they resume their ordinary duties, and the rest take their turn in “going to school.”

A centenarian once remarked that the way to live a hundred years was to keep tlio head cool and the feet warm. Very sound indeed. It is the man who keeps cool that emerges most triumphantly from the crises and difficult positions that confront most people at intervals on their way through life. Endeavour not to be flurried; endeavour in moments of excitement to keep your wits about you. It isn’t easy, but its worth trying.

Pins have accounted for many deaths. At a dance given in February 1903, by the officers of Hie garrison at Gothenburg, a young lady slipped and fell on the well-polished floor. A hairpin penetrated her scull, and she was dead within an hour. A similar case occured in Munich. Whilst getting off a tramcar a young woman caught her foot in her skirt and fell on the back of her head. Although the distance was trifling, the teeth of her aluminium hair comb were driven into her head, and she died in the hospital the same day.

Church services in this country arc often punctuated by the announcement of commg marriages, but how would you like vour engagement to be proclaimed in the public for all and sundry to hear about and comment upon ? Aet that is wliat happen:; in Switzerland. If you are engaged to be married, you must not merely suffer it to be known bv a notice pinned in some obscure registrar’s office, where it is seldom seen, but you must be prepared to have it posted in the full blaze oi sunhght on the front of the municipal building, where, the thousands of people continually passing arc able to see it and stop to read it.

Before becoming a Bishop a clergyman must “do the thing in-style ’ m the matter of fees and other out-of-pocket expenses. These range from anvthing between £4OO and £OOO. First comes a trifling £7 13s Oil. tor the Secretary of State’s warrant and stamp. Next £9 18s Od for the Attorney-General. 1 lie Uoyal iecommemlation to the Dean and Chapter costs £9 3s Gd, and the Petty Bag Office must be “gratified” to the extent of £46 19s 6d. Later on tins insatiable department demands a further 4?43 2s Od. A fiat from Lambeth Palace costs £‘2l. The Vicar-General’s Office swoops down with a demand tor £3l: a claim for £2O proceeds from the Doctor’s Commons Library, and | £lO is Urn price of the installation mandate.