The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-08-15
NEEDN'T PAY FOR
STOLEN GOODS
ATTACK MADE ON OLD SYSTEM
OF RECOVERY.
Police Have Compelled Owners to Re-
deem Their Property from Pawnbrok
ers, Who Lose Nothing in Handling
Stolen Goods-Mayor Takes a Hand
in Investigation,

An alliance between the police de-
Paftment and the pawnbrokers, which
Tor years has prevented the pawn
brokers' from sustaining losses by the
recovery OF stolen property, may be
method has been started.
The present custom compels the vic
tim OF the thieves to buy his own prop
erty, back from the secondhand dealers,
while the police get the credit for the
recovery. Edward Ebert and a few
others, however, have learned that by
swearing out search warrant the
dealer may be brought into court and
owner.
Ellert had bicycle stolen. and the
police notified him that it was at the
store OF Bloomenfeld & Schlener. ZIG
washington avenue S. The trouble
arising over the case has already start
ed an investigation into the methods
now employed
Ellert Wouldn't Pay.
The police told Ellert to 90 to the
Pawnbroker and pay him SIS, the price
the thief received when he sold it. Ell
lert did not like the idea of buying his
own n, wheel, SO he swore out the warrant.
The secondhand store was searched,
the wheel was found and taken in
charge by the court. Bloomenfeld and
Schlener were locked up until they
could furnish bail for their appearance
in court.
In tn meantime, the police depart
ment heard of the arrest, and some of
the officers protested that such move
was detrimental to the work of the
pawnbroker inspector: They said that
when a search warrant was sworn out it
NOT customary To arraSf tho holder
OF the stolen property. The wording CT
the warrant, however, required that
the men be locked up, so Court Officer
Quinn carried out the wording to the
letter. The matter was then referred
to Judge Waite, who said that Quinn
had done right in arresting the two
men and would have been negligent in
his duty if he had not done so.
When the case was called in court,
a technical flaw was discovered in the
warrant, the case was dismissed and the
wheel returned to the pawnbrokers.
Ellert then obtained writ Of re-
plevin and the wheel was brought to
court again. If it is not rebonded by
tomorrow, it will be returned to the
owner.
Fosters Trade in Stolen Goods.
City officials and several attorneys
have been drawn into the case and some
of them have gone so far as to say that
they will not give up the fight until
people learn that they do not have to
buy their property back when it is
stolen, even if the police officers do Sc
quest them to do so. They say that
pawnbrokers are protected against loss
in this way and therefore do not hest
tate to purchase property they well
know has been stolen. This, they say,
creates an every-ready market where
the thieves may dispose of their prop
erty. In this way, the thief, pawn
broker and the police are even with the
world, and the man who owns the prop
erty must stand the expense.
The matter has already been taken
up with Mayor Jones and thoro in
vestigation is expected by those who
have joined in the fight. The Ellert
case has not yet been decided, and the
opinion of the court On this question
is anxiously awaited.
On the other hand, the pawnbrokers
have obtained an attorney and promise
to fight the case as hard as the others.
They say they pay license and are
not going to submit to being locked up
every time some one finds stolen arti-
Gle in their DOssessiOn