The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1882-02-08
], NUMBER ii u.

tables and cheat the thieves. q. He got
together a lot of old rubbish which had
been designed to look like gold, and had
the chains, ETC., newly dipped and pol
ished. The articles were such goods as
the alleged rolled plate Roman gold
bracelets, which are not rolled plate at
all, but simply German silver dipped in
q plating solution. When visited at that
holiday time by customers whom his ex-
Perienced eye recognized as probable
thieves, he would lay before them
quantity of this special stock, tell them
to make their selection,' and carelessly
turn his back. The trap was success
full, and quantities of the trash were
carried away before the end Of the holi-
days. One thief was so disgusted that
he wrote a letter to the jeweler, telling
him that If his goods were q fair sample
keepers were worse thieves than any in
the ssprofession.' -
Sometimes the thieves who visit Jew
elry stores rob q customer instead Of the
Proprietor.Fj About two years ago, q
banker In Wall Street gave to his wife
large sum OF money, some 81, 600 or
5000, for the purchase of set of dia-
monds. He took her to a jewelers., in
troduced her, and then hurried away to
some business. The lady placed her
pocketbook, containing the money, in
side her muff, and laid the latter on the
counter while she examined an assort-
ment of gems. Meanwhile very well
dressed young man took seat by the
counter near her, and looked at some
rings, finally purchasing one for about
thirty dollars, and leaving the place.
When the lady looked for her pocket
book she was overwhelmed by the dis
covery that her muff was empty. The
young man was doubtless professional
thief who had entered the store to stake
chances" and was probably as much
surprised as gratified when he ascer-
tanned the amount of his ahaul'
Persons who are In the habit of hand
ling valuable goods are apt, in time, to
grow careless in regard to them, and
therefore diamonds are sometimes lost
through gross negligence, as well as by
thieves. A few years ago 8 broker in
gems lost fine pair of diamonds, val
ued at $3 900, while on his way to q
customer in Wall street. They were
advertised, and few days afterward q
lawyer reported. that he had found the
jewels in the possession of his office-boy,
who had picked them up in the street,
and, ignorant of their value, had been
using them for jaek-stones. The recent
case in John street viii be generally re-
membered, where little Italian boot
black picked up package of twenty
small diamonds, valued at %, ,O00,, and
sold them to . jeweler for dollar. The
purchaser Immediately advertised them,
and for days was visited by all sorts of
s'frauds," |" who pretended that they had
lost diamonds, and made desperate
guesses when asked to describe the
stones and their wrapping. The dia-
monds were in fact folded up in q paper
packet, such as is always used for the
purpose by dealers, on the outside of
which was complete memorandum of
its contents. This proved to the custo-
dian of the gems that they had been lost
by some one in the trade, and the owner
finally appeared and identified them.
The bootblack was then sought out and
suitably rewarded.
Some years since diamond dealer
here picked up an unset stone, worth
about $500, with pair of steel nippers,
and as he turned it about to examine it
closely he happened to press the nip
pers in such a way that the gem flew
out. A careful such was made, but the
diamond had vanished as completely as
if it had changed into air. For days and
weeks afterward the search was re-
sumed at intervals; all the sweepings of
the store were preserved, and not even
a scrap of paper was thrown away.
Finally, the last hope of ever finding the
stone was abandoned, and its value set
winter, when the diamond dealer was
about to put on heavy overcoat which
he had worn the previous season he no.
ticed q little rip near the velvet collar.
As he was about to hand it to his wife,
and ask her to take a stitch in it, he
chanced to feel a small, hard substance
in the skirt of the coat, between the
cloth and the lining. A little ripping
was done, and the long-lost diamond
was revealed. At the time the stone
flew into the defective seam the coat
was hanging up on the wall of the store.
The statesmen who travel for jewelry
houses, and who frequently carry in
their trunks large quantities of valuable
goods, used often to be robbed at hotels,
or by thieves changing the checks for
their luggage. OF course they are liable
to robbery now, but the danger Of 1t has
been much diminished since the forma-
ton, about three years ago, of the jew
elers' Protective Union, which has in
spired the thieves with q wholesome
dread of its powers. This organization,
which includes all the principal dealers
in the United States who employ trav-
elers, has now about $50,0O0 in its
treasury, and has already been the
means of sending eight thieves to State
prison. 1t is supported by dues pro-
portioned to the number of travellers
which each firm employs, and it Is pre-
pared to spend any amount of money
necessary to hunt down and convict the
thief who robs one of its members.
Whenever salesman starts out on O
business tour, his name and route are
to the President of the Union,
who in turn notifies detective agency
which has branches in all the principal
cities.
To protect travelling statesmen who
have valuables with them in sleeping
cars, alarm-watches have been invented,
which make a startling noise when any
package attached to them is disturbed.
As rule, however, such salesmen de-
pend more for security upon ''sleeping
with one eye open' than upon any arti-
fetal aids of this sort. An invention
has Just been made by well-known
scientific man in France that may
prove a valuable protection against the
robbery of jewelry trunks in hotels. It
is trunk made with galvanic battery
under false bottom, and so constructed,
it is said, that when it is ssset" for the
purpose, thief can not touch the lock
or any metal-work about the trunk with
out receiving a terrific shock, by which
he viii be temporarily paralyzed. He
not only can not continue his attempt at
robbery, but will be riveted to the trunk
until some one comes and relieves him
by arrest The rightful owner can open
the trunk at any time without danger,
by using key which is a non-conductor
and breaks the electric circuit.-N. r
Evening Post.
"A tincture Of Calabar bean has been
found exceedingly efficacious in preserv-
ing chronological and other natural