Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-12-21
SECONDHAND DEALERS.
They Should be Licensed and Subject
to Police Inspection.

Inspector Block, whose duty il 10 10 inspect
pawn-shops, junk-stores and places Of business
conducted by secondhand dealers, makes .
tour Of the pawn-shops every day and inspects
the secondhand stores as often az he can get
around to them. The inspector thinks that
Washington has a better system Of governing
the secondhand stores and pawn-shops than
any city in the country. yet he thinks there Ii
room for improvement. The clause in the
license law, referring to such places, reads a.
follows:
''The proprietors Of junk-shops shall pay $40
annually. Every person whose business 1t Is
to keep a store or office for buying and selling
old iron. rags, paper, secondhand clothing, or
like old material, shall be deemed the keeper
of junk-shop."
According to the law" said the inspector to
a STAR reporter, persons who go about the
streets and purchase old articles from door to
door do not come under the provisions, and
consequently they pay no license.
THEY CAN PURCHASE STOLEN GOODS,
and as they are not under police supervision
there is no way of catching them except by
mere accident In that respect q change in
the law is desired. In framing the police reg
ulations the Commissioners followed the word
ing of the license law. so that the matter was
not changed Sometime ago the secondhand
for doing business without q license. Many Of
them set up the defense that they purchased
the stock elsewhere, and were, therefore. not
liable under the law. Judge Miller, however,
decided against them, and one case was taken
up on appeal. The consequence is that Of the
fifty persons doing such business less than six
have obtained a license. They are willing to
pay the license tax, but most Of them object to
the police supervision. Many such places"
continued the inspector, '.are receptacles for
stolen goods. They have their dark corners
where goods are laid away, so that they are
not easily found.
''IF THEY PAY no LICENSE TAX
the police have no right to inspect their stores
except under search warrant, and for that rea-
son it would make it almost a safe business to
buy and sell stolen property. In these stores
can be found almost every article imaginable.
Some will sell shoes as low as five cents pair,
while an overeoat can be purchased for fifty
cents. In such articles the quantity and not
the quality is taken in consideration. In many
OF the stores young and inexperienced clerks
do the buying and selling. They are not par
ticular from whom they purchase goods and for
that reason stolen property is often purchased.
Each morning, according to law, each licensed
dealer is required tn send in a list Of articles
purchased. together with their value and a de-
scription Of the person from whom purchased"
''Since this law went into effect, said the in
spector. ''there has been gratifying decrease
in thefts of personal property. That naturally
follows when thieves find it difficult to dispose
of their plumber. They do not care to steal
goods which they are compelled to wear them
selves and always have evidence Of their guilt
about them. think that if the law was so
amended as to include all purchasers of second
hand goods, and then strictly enforced, there
would be but little stealing in this city. In
keeping records of such transactions other cit
les are also benefited Frequently detective
officers from other places come here looking
for stolen goods. and are sometimes surprised
when We can inform them from the records in
headquarters where they can find the stolen
by nearly every city in the country"