The Dance-Hall Dandy: A Thief Undone by His Own Vanity
A railroad laborer steals a valise of clothes, then wears his finest stolen outfit to a dance hall—where a sharp-eyed policeman spots him.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The career of Jack Stacey, a railroad navvy, who is known among his companions as Jack the Ripper, was suddenly interrupted on Sunday night last by his being arrested for stealing a valise full of clothes from the Brunswick Hotel. Jack took his plunder across the river to the camp on Saturday evening, but unwisely appeared in one of the city dance halls next evening clothed in the best the valise contained. Policeman Pierson spotted Jack with his new outfit and arrested him and his companion. The latter was released from custody as soon as he revealed the whereabouts of the grip and balance of the stolen goods. For thirty days, Jack will languish behind the bars of the county jail, to which place he was taken on Monday by Constable Hennessey. How he earned the pseudonym of Jack the Ripper is hard to say, as he is a quiet, inoffensive looking young fellow. However this little experience may teach him that the officers of the law do not approve of a man putting on style with stolen plumes.
“However this little experience may teach him that the officers of the law do not approve of a man putting on style with stolen plumes.”
A century before viral fashion fails, a thief's vanity proved his downfall. The story echoes today's fascination with crime and the small, human mistakes that solve them—and the enduring power of a good nickname.
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