By Sutherland, about The Thief and Society

The professional thief does not regard society in general as an enemy or perpetrate crimes against society because of hatred toward society. The thief’s idea is to make money, and he must necessarily make it from society. The only persons who can make money off the antisocial group are the coppers, lawyers, fixers, and politicians. Rather than hate society, the professional thief rejoices in the welfare of the public. He would like to see society enjoy continuous prosperity, for then his own touches will naturally be greater.

The thief does not hate those members of society who protect themselves against theft. Thieves appreciate smartness in anyone, and if a store, bank, or individual is sufficiently shrewd to overcome the possibility of theft, they would admire rather than hate. Should two boosters be walking along the streets and one suggest going into Smith’s store for a score, the other might reply, “That joint is out, they’re smart to every angle and cannot be beaten.” Smith would not be an object of displeasure or vilification because of this but would rather be respected.

The thief does not feel contempt for the sucker or think him as a helpless boob. The term “sucker” applies to everyone who is not a thief, mot merely to the prospect of mark. Suckers are considered to be more or less shrewd. This attitude is caused by two things: first, all thieves consider the accumulation of wealth as a sign of shrewdness, be the possessor sucker or thief; and second, a thief believes it is his superior smartness which causes him to be successful, and there would not be much personal gratification or glory in beating a boob. The thief feels that if a sucker is not sufficiently smart to protect himself, his rights are gone. This is illustrated by an unexpected touch of $3,500 on the cannon, when one of the troupe remarked, “If a guy doesn’t protect $3,500 any better than that, be ought to lose it.” It was a jug touch, and the sucker had simply slipped the package of money into his outside overcoat pocket, but the thief’s reaction would have been the same if the sucker ha put the money in his inside vest pocket.

The thief does not like to be beaten any better than anyone else, and it is just as easy to beat him. He will holler as loud as anyone if he loses some money. A thief whose pocket was picked on a train just as it was coming into Detroit yelled and raised hell as though he had lost a million dollars. This was not put on for any purpose either. It probably makes a thief more angry to be beaten than it does an ordinary citizen, for it is a reflection on a thief to be a sucker.

In general, the professional thief does not have any attitude toward his victim. The victims are just means to an end, the possessors of wealth which the thief desires. He attempts to get the wealth without any consideration of the victim. The victims are thought of just like a fisherman thinks of a place to fish or a hunter of a place to hunt.