Daily camera., 1901-11-26
OPEN MART FOR pIunpEREps
IAasvss Sell wAaA They Steal IN Ms.-
sss With KnswlsASs Of Public
aAA Pense.

In the City OF Mexico there 10 q
place known ~ the thieves market
that has a large patronage. some OF
It coming from presumably respect
able and honest citissns. That such
. place should exist in any city ap-
pears almost incredible. yet 1t con-
ducts business with the full knowl-
edge of the police, and with that Of
every resident Of the city. What is
more, says the Chicago Chronicle. it
10 directly opposite one side of the
national palace, the winter home Of
President Diaz, and IL only ore block
from the Offices Of the city admins
tration. And It 10 NO small sstab-
lishmsnt. either. such a. might be
overlooked. for II occupies court as
large a. city block. and is crowded
from morning to night with persons
who are looking for bargains. and
know that the place to hnd them Il
In the "thisvss' market"
Naturally, the thieves themselves
do not act A. the salssmen for the
stolen goods. They keep out of
sight. and either dispose OF the
stolen goods for a lump sum to the
hucksters or allow them to sell for
them on commission. In either case
the thief gets little. the dealer is
content with small profit and the
goods, whose original owner Is un-
known. can be obtained for a tenth
Of their value.
To the visitors to Mexico the mar
ket IL we'll worth q visit, even If
scruples Of conscience should prevent
the purchase Of what are admittedly
stolen goods. There will be no trou-
BILE in finding the place.
Any policeman or any citizen will
direct you to II. II is just east of
the Zoeslo - The park OF the
poems and across the street
from the south front Of the national
palace. Even With this knowledge
you might pass but a high wall. such
a. surrounds many Of the private
homes. But ~ the end Of the wall
10 a huge gate. large enough to drive
loaded truck through. Passing
through this gate you enter the mar
ket. 1t 10 . hg, open court. stone
paved and surrounded by buildings
on three ades and by the wall on
the fourth. Scattered over this. ar
ranged In streets. are the booths.
whore the stolen goods are displayed
for sale. These stalls are crude
affairs. Usually they consist of a
few boards, laid on supports which
raise them two or three feet off the
ground. Sometimes the goods arc
piled up carslsssly on the stone pave
msnt. But over each OF them 10 the
awning OF coarse cotton cloth. sup
ported on rough poles. which the
Mexican huekster invariably has.
Crockery. unwars. cutlery and
cooking utensils form one Of the
staples Of the market. There 10 al
ways . demand for these among the
poor. and 20 the rstsro gathers
them in wherever and whenever he
can. moving tAat they will And a
ready sale. And II 10 not only the
poor who buy these things One
Restaurant proprietor In the city
whose place 10 one OF the largest
there. admitted that nearly all his
table knives and forhs a. well as the
pots and pans used IN the kitchen
were bought BY him In the thieves
market. He 10 . regular visitor to
the place. and not long ago he picked
up a bargain IN the edible line for
his customers In the shape OF a
young pig. which some enterprisinR
theft had gathered in.
How long the th,svss' market will
exist as II does now there is none to
tell. II u An old institution. and no
one thinks Of interfering with it.
Now and then . stranger. hearing
OF its nature for the hrst time, won.
dsrs how the oity authorities can al.
low II to do business a. II doeA But
the native Mexican and the acclim-
atirsd foreigner accept It as II Is.
and instead Of objeoting to II and it a
very convenient place In which to
pick up q bargain and save them
selves considerable money.