  FOREWORD PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
The strange circumstances of a visit to the Tombs on an errand of mercy.—Early impressions more than thirty years ago.—Recollections—Humane Overseers. | Page 11 | CHAPTER I. WHAT I KNOW ABOUT THE TOMBS
A modern Prison Barracks—Personal Experiences—Amazing stories of corruption—Ruth Howard’s bomb—Charges pigeon-holed—Commissioner Hynes’ Administration—Bissert in clover—Drunken prisoners—The gamblers’ paradise—Lawyers and clients—Privileges for the few—Abusing the unfortunate—The food—Tammany Politics—City Prisons in charge of State authorities. | Page 17 | CHAPTER II. AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF AMERICA’S MOST FAMOUS PRISON
The Collect Pond of three generations ago—King William’s Experience—Agitation to fill up—How it came to be called the Tombs—Size of the old Tombs—Retrospect—The New Tombs—When Opened—The semiofficial characters. | Page 29 | CHAPTER III MODERN EXCUSES FOR CRIME
Criminal instincts—Moral defectives—Inducing men to commit crime—Examples—The fair sex as tempters—The irresistible impulse—Drawing the line. | Page 38 | CHAPTER IV. HOW CRIMINALS ARE MADE
Increase in crime—Fierce modern temptations—Strong drink as a crime maker—Immigration—Gladstone’s dictum—Finding the causes—Is there a remedy? | Page 45 | CHAPTER V. THE SCIENTIFIC CRIMINAL
The criminal product of the 20th century—A crook’s outfit—Criminal character—Beating the law—Anthropology—Lombroso as an authority on crime—Crime and the Nation—Repressive measures. | Page 50 | CHAPTER VI. SOME FAMOUS TOMBS PRISONERS
The irony of fate—The innocent and guilty—Monroe Edwards—Murderers’ Row—Scannel, Croker, Erastus Wyman, Ferdinand Ward, Buchanan, Carlyle Harris, Patrick and Thaw. | Page 57 | | CHAPTER VII THE DANGEROUS EDUCATED CROOK
The fallacy that education cures crime—Moral training necessary—John Howard and education—Industry and crime—Elmira’s experience—Where the educated crook is dangerous—Examples. | Page 62 | CHAPTER VIII. LEAVES FROM THE HISTORY OF A CHECKERED CAREER
The remarkable confessions of one of the brightest, brainiest and smartest crooks of his day.
How He Pardoned Himself Out of Prison
Admits total depravity—His prayer—Serving time in a Coal Mine—Impersonating a clergyman—Feigning to be deaf and dumb—Bemoaning His sad condition. | Page 67 | CHAPTER IX. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CROOK
How a Young Life Was Wrecked
A New England ancestry—An indulgent mother—Idleness and bad company—The feelings of a guilty conscience—Work or crime, which?—State prison—Liberty—Again arrested—A new career in crime—Many burglaries. | Page 75 | CHAPTER X WANDERING STARS AND BUZZARDS OF THE TOMBS
Thrilling Experiences
The study of human nature—Deception of the looks—Chronic liars—A deserter from Russia—Chump of Harlem—Many dark records—Four years for telling a lie—Capt. Jack—Crooked Kahn—The Panel Crooks—Wilson’s career—The dress slasher—Amazing cheek. | Page 81 | CHAPTER XI. BRILLIANT FORGERY CROOKS
Forgery as a fine art—A skilled crime—Forgery experts—Becker, the King of Forgers—His career—Three of a kind. | Page 100 | CHAPTER XII. CHANGING THE GRAND JURY INTO A BOARD OF CRIMINAL EXPERTS
A New Classification of Criminals
Popular demand to abolish the Grand Jury—Judges ask for legal indictments—Too rapid work in Grand Jury room—The weakness of the system—Rich men on the Grand Jury—Under the control of District-Attorney—Board of Criminal Experts—Save the county millions of dollars—Cases—An original classification. | Page 108 | CHAPTER XIII SCHOOLS OF CRIME
How Young Crooks are Educated
Crime both infectious and contagious—Importing cA Sunday morning service in the old Tombs prison.
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