, 1875-01-24

100 expensive 1lAulJ @o1 LILLE SAtJ ~ 40
present fiscal condition.
THE AGENCIES OF CRIME.
One Of the greatest, if not the greatest, en-
couragements to crime in thus city Il fur
nished by the establishments known as pawn
brokers' shops There is no moro reason
why the business Of q pawnbroker may not
be- honestly carried Oh than there is why the
dry goods or auction business should not be
honest; nevertheless, with few exceptions,
they are nothing else than schools in which
liberal prizes are offered to thieves, and in
which a convenient and legal shield is offered
to crime. A recent case, but one OF a class
that is occurring daily, will illustrate what We
have said:
A boy Il years OF age, employed in one OF
our hotels, recently robbed guest Of jowelry
valued at 1880. Eventually, tho boy was
arrested, and he confessed what he had done
with the jewels. He had sold q diamond
cluster worth 81, 900 tu q pawnbroker for S.
He had pawncd diamond pin worth $500 to
the same pawnbroker for $3.50, aud disposed
of the remaining $50 worth Of his booty 9th
ervise. Leaving ont Of question for the mo-
ment the boys crininality, here was case
where man whose business mode him 4
Judge Of such articles, and who OF Ne
cessity was able to discriminate be-
tween the real aud the fraudulent gems
who took from this boy two pieces OF dis
nond jewelry worth $500, and paid therefor
to the thief the sum of ten dol<x,7 and fifty
cents! Tue law stamps the boy with the
brand Of q thief-a fe1on; it recognizes the
other party to the transaction as "mer-
Chant doing legitimate, honest, and CON-
mendable business! We much mistake the
moral sense Of the public II its judgment of
the relative honesty of the boy who stole and
the mon who bonght the jewelry does not
differ from that established BY the law. We
refer to this particular cass with no purpose
to select this pawnbroker for special censure
or condemnation; the law acquits him, and
therefore he is not C') criminal but We refer
to it because it is fair Illustration Of the
general business done daily and openly
in al parts Of the city, under the license and
protection Of the law. The Grand jury Of
this county have, we understand, investigated
this case fully, and, such is the state Of the
Law, no Que can be indicted OF convicted save
the child The adult rnsca1 who purchased
the stolen goods, knowing then,sto he such,
escapes Thereader will, Of course, reach his
own conclusions as to this particular case
but we wish to suggest the probable circum-
stances under which this class Of trading is
done. A boy wants some money he steals
a watch, or article Of jewelry, or a piece Of
silver-ware he knows by previous observa-
ton that certain benevolent gentlemen
in the city are willing to advance mon-
ey on such articles. The boy presents
himself ut the counter Of one Of
these three-ba1l establishments with set Of
diamonds worth several hundred dollars, and
asks how nuch the man behind the counter
will give for them The article is examined
critically, its value discovered with sxactness
by the expert, and the man, holding the dis
monds in his hands, boldly accuses the boy Of
having stolen them, and announces his pur-
pose to keep them for the owner. Naturally,
the impulse OF the boy would be to run away,
but he is not allowed to depart; that is not
business; the purpose is to get the diamonds
and pay as little ns possible for them The
boy is then terrified by thrents of arrest, and
finally signs receipt for 500 or $50 for the
ring, pin, or other article, and is paid S.
and is allowed to depart The boy, of course,
spends the S., does not attempt the impossi-
bility Of returning the fictitious $50 or $50
be has receipted for, and in duo time the din
monds are forfeited as ian unredcemed
pledge" We submit that, morally, the pawn
broker in such = case is deliberate thief,
whether the law recognizes him as such or
not What ia the future Of that boy7 Hav-
ing onoe tastsd blood, having once stolen and
enjoyed tho proceeds, having had his de-
sire for money grati6ed, though altogether
insuf6ciently, and knowing that there il
= place where he can convert other peo-
ple's property into money for his own
use, he repeats his stenlings again and
again, until at last he becomes a convicted
felon. Now, if all the pawnbrokers and
junk-shops Of this city be multiplied by
thirty, the result will be an approximation to
the number Of boys aud girls who are inst
now stealing from their homes, their employ
crs, and from others, and selling direct, or
pawni1ig, their stolen goods at
these licensed and public establishments.
But these boys and girls, thus encouraged
md invited to steal, are not the only p,u7ey-
ors to these receptac1es OF stolen property.
The regular professions Of pickpockets, burg
ars, and thieves do not steal watches, do
nonas, pearls, plate, clothing, or other prop
.rty Except money!, for their OWL uses they
teal thom to cunvert them into cash. These
'awnbrokers know every thief and burglar;
my pzetesse On their part that they do not
now one class of customers from another il
denial of their own intol1igence and con-
ession Of their unftnaas for business They
lictats their own terms, and ths tbiaf hnv-
ng stolen goods 10 dispose sf mist accept
tAAterss Asss nominal p&~zbeokats, hoa