CHAPTER IX
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CROOK
How A Young Life Was Wrecked
The writer of the following sketch received a sentence of twenty-three years imprisonment. He is a bright and brainy criminal. It is the general opinion that had he used his talents and business sagacity along honest lines he would have been a different man to-day. He has brains in abundance, but he uses them wrongly. Let him tell his own story.
“My father and mother as well as all my relatives on both sides of the family were exceptionally well connected and highly respected in the community. My father in his best days had plenty of money. My earliest recollection of my father was as a railroad manager, always full of business—seldom at home except for meals or on Sundays. After the New England road changed hands and became part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford, he lost his job. This was a calamity to my father as it compelled him to begin over again, which at his time of life was a very serious task. I was then ten years of age, and although unable to take in the situation fully, I knew something was wrong.
“Without flattery I wish to say I was not a bad boy at this age. I attended school and like other boys, I cut up once in a while, but when my teacher sent word home to my mother recounting my pranks, she always punished me soundly for my conduct. After leaving the railroad company, my father went into a little town near New Haven, where he sunk sixty thousand dollars in what afterwards proved to be an unprofitable business. When I was fourteen years of age my grandfather died and left my mother ten thousand dollars. This money came like a god-send. Again my father started in business. This time it was keeping a hotel. It was not so successful as we had expected, but my father made a living out of it. When I was fifteen years old I left school and for a whole year simply spent my time loafing. I would not work. I mixed in with all kinds of company—mostly bad. I listened to men as they told how to commit crime and escape punishment. At first my conscience would scourge me for allowing myself to be in such company, but I would dismiss my fears by saying, ‘There is no harm in that as long as a fellow does not get caught.’ I was yet of tender years, although I felt I was at heart a degenerate. I can see now where I made the great mistake of my life.
“I can see now that my mother was far too lenient with me, and should have punished me often for my mean ways, when she only admonished me with kind words. If I had known that I was to be punished for many of my youthful pranks, I certainly would not have repeated them. But I knew that I could impose on mother and make her prevent father from punishing me even when I deserved it. This made me reckless and daring, so I did not care what I did as long as I was not to be punished. I could steal a few pennies from my mother’s wallet, smash a pane of glass in anger, and steal the horse from the barn against my father’s will, and yet be immune from punishment. All this tended to make my downward career swift and sure.
“On my bed at night I often thought of my mad and foolish ways. I knew I was doing wrong—sinning against light and deceiving my kind-hearted mother. It was not kindness I needed as much as a firm hand over me. I confess I suffered greatly from moral struggles within. I came from a good New England ancestry. My relatives were all respectable people. Why should I do anything that would bring disgrace upon my family? But I would not work. I preferred to be an indolent loafer than an industrious young man. Then the inward struggles would return to me again. I fought them to the death, continued to trample God’s laws under my feet and went on to do my own will.
“I believe now that my unrestrained pranks led to my final criminality. I was now seventeen years of age. I was not a gambler, nor was I a drunkard or profane. But I positively refused to work. I spent my days loafing around the village in all kinds of company, getting trained for a downward career.
“One day my father took me aside and said, ‘George, you must go to work at once or leave this house.’ Several words passed between us that had better not been said. I refused to go to work, and left the house the next day. I stayed around the village for several days, living with friends. I soon found myself hard up. Like the man mentioned in the Gospel, I refused to dig, and to beg I was ashamed. I said to myself, I must get some money somewhere, I cannot stand this any longer. I had no wish to be a criminal and yet I must get money without working for it. It was summer time. I saw many houses empty, the Devil said, ‘This is your chance.’ The people had gone to the seaside and the mountains. I selected a house where I thought there was plunder and that night burglarized it. This gave me plenty of ready money. I followed this with a number of more burglaries. After a time this kind of crime became my second nature. Then I became reckless and soon after was arrested, convicted and sent to Wethersfield State Prison for two years and two months.
“After I had reached State’s Prison and had donned the convict’s garb, I was totally ashamed of myself, not to say mortified. I made many resolutions and even cried over my worthless life, but was no better inwardly or outwardly. The fact is my heart was evil continually. I was twenty years of age when I left prison. I was not reformed, nor had I any desire for inward reformation. My heart was still on the old life. During my two years of enforced servitude I had learned the bakery business. I thought when I got out, if all things failed, I could earn a living by it. After my discharge I went to a place called Long B—— in a neighboring state. Here I found employment in a bakery which was kept by a widow woman. I worked so faithfully for her that after a few months she made me her manager. I now made up my mind to do what was right, so I shunned crooked companions. Many wealthy people lived on the Beach, where they had summer homes. As many burglaries had been committed in the neighborhood, I was appointed special watchman. I served in this capacity for two years, during which time I gave entire satisfaction to all concerned.