COMBINE IN CRIME.

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 31

COMBINE IN CRIME.

HEADQUARTERS IN SYDNEY. A GREAT INFLUX EXPECTED. The sensational discovery has been made (says the Sydney Morning Herald) that there exists something in the nature of an interstate organisation of gamblers, confidence men, and other criminals which may yet become a serious menace to society. Apparently there are no recognised headquarters of the combine or trust, and no board of directors appears to have been elected; still, it is nevertheless a fact that the numerous gangs of " spielers " are bound 1 together b- a description of freemasonry or bond of sympathy, and that communications by telegraph and post are constantly passing between the leaders in tho different States of the Commonwealth. j The expert confidence trick man is as a rule a well-dressed, 'intelligent, and welleducated individual, and to all .outward appearances is a respectable member of I society. He is well read and affable, cair ' sing a good song, participate with credit in discussions on political and other questions, and possesses all the necessary qualificai tions, if properly directed, for becoming ■i a successful professional or business man. i He is entirely different from the average, person's conception or a criminal, and i herein lies his suecess.^ The confidence men ; operate in a variety "of ways. Some devote : themselves to the " man from the country," others make a specialty of the mail ] and other deep-sea, passenger steamers, and j , others again lay in wait for the cute business man, who, strange to state> is. not' infrequently the easiest victim to deal with, especially in relation to mining swindles and other wild-cat schemes. Each gang of confidence men. consists of from four to five members,, and there are many hundreds of these gangs spread 1 throughout the Commonwealth. A daily meeting of those located in- Sydney is held in the forenoon in the vicinity of the Museum, "usually within Hyde Park, and needless to say there is always a detachment of plain-clothes police on watch. There is nothing in these little gatherings which would arouse attention, of the passer-by. The men- are well attired, and apparently prosperous citizens, and they quietly conduct their business. The object of the meeting is to exchange information, with regard to likely " marks," and to allot the duties of each gang and of each member of each gang. Operations, are conducted on business-like methods, and there is active co-operation among all the confraternity. Perhaps the most remarkable fact of all is that these thieves and robbers are scrupulously honest among themselves, and the most dastardly offence that can be committed by a. confidence' man is to " take down " or cheat a comrade. Their hand is always against sooietv and against the law, but they regard themselves as persecuted individuate. > Few if any of them have been forced to take to the life by adverse circumstances, and many of them have been trained in good homes. The explanation of "the whole .matter seemsto be that 'the confidence tricksters, are men of ill-balanced *brain power, and although .rational on many points are' incapable of distinguishing right from wrong. „ There is an inborn hatred of work, among .them, -I and the public at large is regarded as fair. j game for their operations. ' 'It is qufistioni able whether they are criminals in the ! ordinary- acceptation of the term, -or whether they are not the unfortunate victims of a brain disease or malformation. In either case," however, it is in the interests of society that they~«hould be con- ■ fined within four walk. j The " free lance " as he is called,., is in exceptionally smart criminal, and remains unattached to any particular, gang. Most of his time is spent in travelling between the States — from Brisbane right round to Fremantle — with occasional trips to- England. He travels saloon and holds his own among- the passengers with credit. He 'becomes very popular on board, sometimes takes part in entertainments for charitable purposes, and is -always to the fore in arranging for deck sports or for , social gatherings in the evening. The free lance, in short, is a very superior kind j of thief, who never attempts tricks of any i description, and he invariably parts company with his fellow-travellers on the best of terms. His duty in life is to gather j information as .to the means and movements of the travellers, and thus make the way j of the confidence men somewhat easier, j The free lance supplies his information: to any gang- he 'chooses to select, and partici- • pates in the proceeds, according to a re- i cognised scale of commission. Sometimes j the haul of plunder is very great, but i frequently, of course, the confidence men fail in their attempts. At anyrate, thefree lance makes a very considerable competence, and lives an. easy, idle life.- , He passes himself off, if questioned, as a man. of independent means, or an investor, and, apart f.'om the police of the different States who know him, manages to secure the respect and even the esteem of those with whom he comes in contact. But, in 'addition to the free lances, members of the gangs occasionally travel, and keep in touch with their comrades by wire, s Before they board their vessel they ; probably possess a very accurate _ account of a good- many of the passengers, and when once the ship is under way it is a matter of comparative ease to introduce the particular subject in which the intended victim is most interested. The rablice '■ assert that there are boardinghouse-keepers and runners who .work on commission for the gang*, and associates are told off to watch the movements of visitors, partioularly from the country, at the banking and other financial institutions, as well as at the shipping and booking offices. The amount of information cleverly and seoretly | collected as to the business of travellers would, if divulged, astound those most , concerned, and there are hundreds, probably thousands, of persons who have been the subjects of most searching inquiries without their suspicions being aroused. _ . Sydney is expected by the police authori- ', ties to' become very shortly the happy hunting ground of- all the confidence- men, epieiers, petty thieves, and pickpockets' of the Commonwealth, and renewed < efforts- are being made to cope with the evil.- They are being rapidly .driven out of Victoria and New Zealand by Tecent legislation, . and owing -to the fact that our vagrancy - laws are now inoperative this undesirabls _ class iB making its headquarters in Sydney. Indeed, the police report that the spielers are- most" aggressive, and knowing the' weakness :of 'th© law .sarcastically -hid " good-day " :to the plain-dothes' men.

They cannot be arrested as vagrants while they are able to produce funds, and the^ must be caught in the act of trickery ol theft before hands can be laid on them. What is required here is an amendment oj the act, 'which will throw on the suspected person the onus of proof that he came bj his funds honestly. The Inspector-general of Police has for some time past been agitating for increased powers, and th* hope had been entertained until the prorogation that Parliament would have passed an amending law. It is feared that the confidence men will reap a rich harvest in Sydney before powe* is obtained to effectually deal with them, Sydney had been particularly free from crime for many -years, and the Habitual Criminals Act and the Influx of- Criminals Act worked wondeTS. - The stringent measures adopted by the other States, however, combined with the fact that the Vagrancy Act of this State is inoperative, have resulted in a general influx: of criminals from all quarters. "Well-known 'men who have been away for years are now coming here in shoals," a police superintendent said yesterday ; " but if we could only get an amendment of the law on the lines of recent legislation in Victoria and New Zealand, then Sydney would be as free from crime • as , any country in th« known world."