The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-03-03
JEWELRY statesmen.
To Prevent Theft Keep Their
ness a Secret

/ tect the valuable samples which thew
| carry around the country constantly,
cases of diamonds and jewelry some
times aggregating $4,000 in value?
How do they guard against robbery on
railroad trains and in hotels in the
small cities and towns they are obliged
to make" while on their trips?
These are questions which the mana
| gers of the diamond firms and which
the Pinkerton detective agency refuse
to answer. They assert briefly that an
| exposition of the safeguards thrown
| around diamond statesmen and of the
system employed to prevent robbery
and to capture thieves when the pre-
vention proves inadequate would open
| the door to holdups and robberies of
| statesmen all over the country and set
at naught the system which has been
| perfected by years of work and trouble.
The men who represent the big Jew
| elry firms of the country carry with
| them on their trips valuable gems which
are the especial prey of thieves, since
| they can be easily converted into cash.
| Diamonds, watches and rings aggre-
| eating $4,000 to $4,000 in yalue.aEe
being constantly transported around
the country in sample cases, shown TO
customers in country towns, kept in ho-
| tells over night. and it would seem ex-
| posed all the time to the hands of the
despoiler. Yet reports of robberies of
| statesmen are seldom heard. 1t is not
| often that one of the men intrustcd
with these valuables is waylaid and as
| saulted or that sample case is lifted"
with its store of jewelry.
All of the principal jewelers. of the
country belong to one or two associa-
| tons, the wholesalers being allied in
| the jewelers. Protective union. and the
| retailers forming the jewelers. Security
| alliance, both of which have headquar-
| ters in New York. For mutual protec-
ton. and that the ferreting out of crime
may be made easier, they are thus Or
gained, and the Pinkerton agency does
| their detective work. What that svs-
tenn is the jewelers. forming the union
| do not know. 1t is known alone to The
management of the William Pinkerton
agency.
When a salesman is robbed anywhere
| in the country his firm at once notifies
the headquarters of the protective
| union, and the machinery of the agency
| is set to work to recover the properts
and capture the thieves. When this is
| accomplished, as it is in a majority of
| cases, the firm is notified of the result
through the union headquarters, but
no detailed report of how it was done
is made to the firm most interested.
That is one of the secrets of the detec-
| tive agency.
All the statesmen on the road for The
big diamond houses are known to the
agency, and a watch is kept on their
| movements around the country, but
| what methods are taken to prevent the
assault and robbery of the trasted
drummers is one of the things no man
| can find out. Robberies of this IA.
ture, as a matter of fact, are very rare,
Sometimes one occurs almost accident
ally, as when a drummer care,esslv
leaves his sample case for a moment in
a depot or hotel, and it is picked up by
a sneak thief who has no idea of the
value of the booty he is securing. De-
| casionally, of course. a salesman is
watched and followed from one town to
another when he has been seen display
ing diamonds to a customer. and his
wares are taken from him by force.
But uperintendent Murray, of the
Pinkerton agency, had to think a long
while hpfOra ha could "a
recent occurrence. That was an acct
dent in Iowa VIXEN thieves assaulted
and robbed a drummer and got away
with his samples, but they were cap
tured and all the goods were recovered.
A robbery of like nature occurred at
the Palmer house in this city a few
years ago. in which the thief got $685.
900 worth of jewelry, but he too was cap
tured.
Expert diamond thieves as a rule
are known to the detectives. A rob
berry of this nature would not be I'M
dertaken by novice, and it requires
smart man to entice the salesman to a
place where he can be slugged and
robbed under pretense of introducing
customer or something of the sort.
Therefore, when a diamond robbery is
reported. the detective agency, having
knowledge of the whereabouts of the
men most liable to suspicion, whether
in Jail or out of it, have a cline" on whom
TO go after, and they usually land their
men. All the work, so far as the firm
sustaining the loss is concerned, is con-
Quoted through the union headquarters
in New York, every jeweler in the as
ISOLATION standing his pro rata of the
cost, since an injury to one is the con-
Germ of all.
A diamond salesman, of course, is
obliged to exercise considerable eau
tion in the display of his goods and
does not go out of his way to explain to
hotel loungers that he has 500, 900 worth
of goods in his possession. But the arti-
fees resorted to by the employees of
various houses to conceal the identity
of their samples are matters which the
jewellers consider the general public
has no right to know, and especially
that portion of the public which looks
lightly upon the commandment: Chou
shalt not covet thy neighbours goods"
Chicago Chronicle.