An Enemy to Society (1915)

Prepossessing young Stephen Adams has been reared as an enemy to society. He truly believes that his mission on earth is to rob the undeserving rich so he can help the poor. Returning to America with his associates, Hilary Quackenbos and George LeFay, after a rich haul on the chateau of a French lottery swindler, he meets on shipboard Stephen Janissary, head of the great chain of Janissary grocery stores, and Decima Duress, Janissary's ward. On the ship, Adams wins $5,000 away from Janissary at cards and gives the money to Decima for the model tenements she is building for the poor. An active enmity springs up between the two men. Adams reports his success abroad to the two men who have schooled him in crime, Wulf Axtell, a modern Fagin, and Balthazar Van Tromp, another doddering old man. Adams comes to realize that his past life is an effectual bar to asking Miss Duress to marry him, so he goes to his old pals to tell them he is through with them. Van Tromp, before Adams speaks, proposes that Adams next rob the Janissary home. Adams refuses and announces that he will go straight. Meanwhile Decima has been approached for help by Alderman McKenna, whom Janissary threatens to crush unless he votes his way on a traction franchise. Janissary holds over McKenna's head some old falsified indictments. Janissary keeps them in his safe. Decima asks Adams to get the indictments. He agrees. He goes to his old associates and says he has decided to rob the Janissary home. They get him the plans of the house. On the night of a big ball, Stephen Adams opens the Janissary safe. Then Balthazar Von Tromp has the revenge for which he labored many years: He goes to the ball and tells Janissary that his safe is being robbed. When Adams comes downstairs with the police at his heels, Von Tromp tells his secret: Adams is Janissary's son whom Von Tromp kidnapped when Adams was an infant and reared in a life of crime. The son has robbed his own father for the love of a girl. To substantiate his statement Von Tromp dangles before Janissary's eyes the shoes which the kidnapped baby wore. Janissary, broken in heart, dismisses his guests and bids the police release Adams. Then his better nature asserts itself and father and son are reunited. Later Stephen Adams marries Decima Duress, the girl for whom he attempted to re-enter the life of crime temporarily, and forswears his old associates and ways forever.