rt een 2

Commissioner Bryan: “He has done
everything a man could do. He has worked
night and day to complete what he prom-
ised to do. I think myself he has turned
over a new leaf and wants to make a fresh
start in life.”

Q. “Can you tell the court what would
have been the prospects of recovering the
money without his assistance?”

Commissioner Bryan: “We would never
have got a thing.”

The address of the late Judge Cayley
ranks in part as a classic example to those
who scorn leniency for criminals by mem-
bers of the Bench. His clear-cut, concise
deliverance that day was a message that
could be used at any time for defenders of
suspended sentence for convicted unfor-
tunates.

“T realize the seriousness of the crime,”
began Judge Cayley, “and I also realize the
gravity of the situation in which I am placed
at this time.”

“T have taken all aspects of the case into
consideration. I feel, as I have said before,
that there will be some adverse criticism of
any action I may take in connection with
this case. JI feel that the person who should
be satisfied in connection with the case is
myself. Reid has shown to my mind, a de-
sire to be regenerated, to quit the life he
has led and to be a good citizen of the
country to which he belongs. I have talked
with Reid himself and was very impressed
with him.

“A great many criminals of our country
have no particular desire to commit crimes,
but they get into crowds and some person
suggests that something should be done
about getting some easy money. They
‘gang up, with the result that a crime is
committed and the boys have started out on
a career which will eventually lead to gaol.

“I feel satisfied that when the accused
said he was through with this sort of thing,
no matter what sentence might be imposed
upon him, he meant it, even if he went to
gaol or the penitentiary for a number of
years.

“In regard to the public, the responsi-
bility upon me is even greater than in regard
to Reid himself. The object of committing
a man to gaol for crimes committed is in
one instance setting an example to others

Compliments to the Provincial Police

J. E. PAINTER & SONS

Nanaimo-Wellington and Alberta
Coals. Cordwood, Slabwood and

Sawdust

Telephone G 3451

617 Cormorant St. Victoria, B.C.

Page Twenty-Two

who might contemplate a life of crime.

“The only result of letting him out on
suspended sentence would be to show the
utter futility of crime.”

Judge Cayley then granted the prisoner
two years’ suspended sentence.

“T wish to relieve the Crown and police
of all responsibility in this matter,” con-
cluded His Honour.

Were the late Judge Cayley’s remarks
prophetic?

REFORMATION PERMANENT

THE SHOULDER STRAP, after much in-
vestigation, can report that “Smiling
Johnnie” Reid lived up to all his promises.

He reported in due time in Alberta to
end his suspended sentence period in 1926,
then dropped from sight.

Through the co-operation of a United
States barrister who wishes his name with-
held, and a prominent police official, THE
SHOULDER Strap is able to state authenti-
cally that Reid is a reformed man in 1938.

With his past hidden, and under a dif-
ferent name, he now lives in United States,
a model citizen, with his wife.

“They never come back.”

That adage has been proven false.
“Smiling Johnnie” Reid, nearly 15 years
after his arrest, has more forcibly, perhaps,
than any other modern criminal, exemplified
the old time-worn phrase, “Crime does not
pay.”

For respectability and a home life; for
security and freedom; for family and hon-
our’s sake, the smiling, genial cracksman of
the “twenties sacrificed nearly a million
dollars.

What of the remaining duo of bandits?

No trace has ever been found of “Sid the
Duke.” As though the earth had opened
up and swallowed him, he vanished, never
to be heard of in Canada. Police believe he
escaped by boat and is now living in some
far-off foreign land.

“The self-confessed leader of the gang,
“Whitey” Kline, ran foul of the law imme-
diately after the Reid case had been con-
cluded. :

He was arrested, with four others, for
armed robbery of a store at Minot, South
Dakota.

Armed with necessary papers for extradi-

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tion purposes, Assistant Superintendent
Owen left for Minot, and arrived to find
himself confronted by a young District
Attorney, stubborn to the point of defiance,
in regard to Kline.

Insistent upon his rights, the District
Attorney placed Kline and his henchmen on
trial for the hold-up, while the British Col-
umbia officer was forced to stand by, help-
less.

A plea of guilty brought a peremptory
sentence of five years, but the aggressive
District Attorney’s jubilation was short-
lived.

The Kline gang escaped from the county
jail in Minot the day they were sentenced.
: Upon advices from Headquarters, Owen
returned to Victoria. The province had
already spent much money on the crime,
and were not going to ask for any more
extradition proceedings in the case of Kline.

“The Geyser” Kline did not escape the
clutches of the law long, for a few months
later he was arrested, and convicted of
robbing the Morristown State Bank, and
given 13) years in the South Dakota State
Penitentiary, Sioux Falls.

Unlike many sentences in the United
States which mean little, “Whitey” Kline
was not released until November 10, 1934,
according to a dispatch from Warden G. E.
Geelan. Advices from other states have
him placed at present in a western peniten-
tiary under one of his many aliases.

There is the contrast. One man saw his
error; the other still tried to beat the law.

During the investigation, it was shown
that Warden Owen travelled more than
9,000 miles, tracking down clues, helping
to solve the case.

CRIME STATISTICS
INFORMATION compiled by C. I. B. at
Headquarters shows that the police received
9,358 complaints of offences during 1937.
These resulted in 7,788 prosecutions result-
ing in 7,030 convictions and 758 cases dis-
missed or awaiting disposal at the end of
the report year. The small percentage of
dismissals speaks volumes for the care with
which cases are prepared for court.

House and shopbreaking cases show a
decrease over the previous year, but bogus
cheque artists are on the increase.

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THE SHOULDER STRAP