Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-16

hasn't the silver plate for which they are
searching they let 1t go at that. and do
down. So that 1t is a sort of mutual and
weli-understocd give-and-take relationship
between the fence men and the police
OF the vast majority of fence proprietors
to unhesitatingly hand over to the detec-
tives such stolen goods as they have been
unable to get rid Of advantageously before
put to the question by the detectives. the
detectives give them that sort of immunity
which consists in their not asking any other
questions than as to whether they actually
have the desired goods at the moment Of
inquiry. Another advantage which is en-
1oyed by the Quick-acting fence men of
today is that very many stable rObberies
are only reported to the police by the vic
tins after a considerable delay. This de-
lay enables the thieves to get rid of the loot
in good time for the proprietor to dispose
of it himself before the arrival of the de-
tectives.
The High Notchers.
While most of the fences in and
around New York city are establishments,
the proprietors of which barter with thieves
for every ina inable sort of loot and are
operated under the guise of junk shops.
many of the so-termed .'high-notch fences"
are pla hts that deal in plumber of a special
character. Not a few proprietors, for ex
ample, barter with the thieves only for val
speciality Of silver and gold plate, and
handle no other sort of goods. Not a few
OF them make speciality of furs. and so
on. Burglars and all-around thieves know
just where to go to get rid of the plumber
of various sorts that they pick up in the
pursuit Of their nefarious trade, and of late
years there has grown up sort of compe-
tition among the fence" proprietors who
are specialists. thief in possession of a
lot of valuable plate for instance, will take
his loot around to a number making a
specially of plate and decker with them and
permit them to make their bids for the
goods. and he will finally pass the loot over
to the man who makes the best bid. But
there is a sort of combination. too between
the propretors, SO that the thief never by
any chance gets anything even approx
them.
Only the fences that handle plumber of
al! sorts are operated under the mask of
junk shops. The fence" men who deal
IN a special line Of articles conduct their
business. more often than not, in flats in
reputable apartment houses. Some aston
1shing finds have been made by the police
In raids upon suspected fats but the char
acter of the finds did not astonish the po-
lice half SO much as did the revelation of
the character of the fiat occupants amaze
their fellow tenants. One of the raided
and arrested men had been posing among
the other f1atters, with whom his wife and
daughters had been on the chummiest imag-
Unable terms, a broker" The other
women In the fiat had for long time been
envytng the brokers wife and daughters
their magnificent jewels and furs-especially
furs. This man had been suspected by the
detectives of unwisely holding OUT on
them, and when they swooped upon his lux
urious fiat of fifteen rooms they brought to
light no less than $4,000 worth of valuable
furs which he had succeeded in keeping I'M
ger cover. He was a fur specialist, and he
had of course obtained the furs from thieves
at the merest fraction of their value
Inere are quite q number Of
prletors OF fences in New York. but they
DO not enjoy the same immunity as a rule
from the police as is shared by the men
who follow the business. This is for the
reason that they are far less disposed to
deal squarely with the police when their
establishments are searched. Every little
while some plant kept by a woman is raid
ed by the New York police and on these
occasions. too the neighbors in the apart
ment houses come in for startling shocks.
Some or the women who follow the bust
ness do so under the guise of dressmak-
ers. The women who run these establish
ments, as rule, deal only with women
thieves, and mostly with shoplifters, dis
honest female servants and the like.
They Know the Thieves.
The pawnbrokers of New York are ia
miliar with the countenances of the pro-
fessional thieves, and many of them are
able to spot at a glance the face of almost
every thief whose picture appears in the
rogues' gallery at police headquarters The
pawnbroking establishments of New York
are under the rigid supervision Of the po-
lice. At the close of business every day
the New York pawnbroker must send to
the New York police department full and
complete list of every pledge upon which
he has loaned money that day, and when a
pawnbroker is caught-as one Of them oc-
casionally is-omitting anything from this
list his license is taken away from him and
he is never again permitted to do business
in New York. The detectives make the i'm
mediate rounds of the pawnshops as well
the fences in their quests Of reported
stolen goods. 1t behooves the New York
pawnbrokers, therefore, to have men be-
hind their counters who know the faces Of
the thieves, or who, If they don't recognize
the thieves, able to detect by their
manner of asking for loans on pledges that
certain customers have not come honestly
by the articles they seek to put in pawn.
The professional thief operating around
New York knows too well of the New York
pawnbrokers little scheme of summoning
the police by pressing a button with his
foot when he suspects customer to take
chances on endeavoring to dispose of his
loot at the New York pawnshops.
C. L. c..