Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1907-02-02
i. S. RUNS A FENCE. !"
Spends Millions Year for Secret Serv-
ice, but Does Some Strange
Stunts Besides

Did ii ever occur to you that your
Uncle Sam runs the greatest fence"
for thieves and burglars in the United
States? Startling, but true, he spends
millions year on the secret service and
the post office detective force. Yet in
the government assay office in Wall
street he runs the biggest and most
convenient fence" for stolen gold and
silver in the country.
And while the New York office is the
largest fence in the country, the other
assay establishments are exactly the
same thing. The proceeds of countless
burglaries all over the country run into
them as into a mill. to come out a shin
ing grist of clean gold dollars. For at
all of these plumber mills Uncle Sam
not only refnes the spoils of gold and sill
yer thieves in general, but he also buys
good proportion of the resulting pre-
cious metal at market price and no ques-
tons asked. And the rest can be sold
mt the bullion establishments on the same
terms just across the street-good, clean
money by the kindness of genial Uncle
Sam for the criminals plumber.
OF course, the government does not do
this out of any benevolent feeling toward
that eccentric man about town, the
burglar. The conversion of the loot into
marketable bullion or coin Of the republic
is but part of the enormous business i'll
refining. mostly for legitimate purposes,
that the federal administration does
every year for the coinage, for use in the
arts, for the jewelry trade. Yet no one
realizes how great figure IN that total
is cut by the loot of midnight marauders
and with what ridiculous ease every sort
of plunderer that makes plate, trinkets,
iewelry or any other gold or silver ware
his specially has been allowed for years
to make his loot an easily marketable
productivity, sometimes to convert it
Immediately into clean money-through
the kindness of Uncle Sam.
At the Wall street mill of the precious
metals. for instance, So, 100000 worth OF
gold jewelers. bars, old plate, etc" was
refined and bought during the year end
ed July /, 1906. Nearly a million more
in silver of the same class went through
the mill, coming out as good, clean dol
lars. And it is admitted by officials of
the assay office that more than half OF
this mass of gold and silver is the pro-
ceeds of burglaries. In other words.
Uncle Sam plays the part of chief fence
extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the
houSebreaking profession in an annual
amount of more than $2000000 in New
York city alone and something like $10,-
100000 in the whole country.
The ''old plate which contributes 10
this illicit total is merely the plate which
mas been plundered from various side
boards. had its monographs and other
marks of identity removed and then
been battered up little more to give it
the appearance of age. The Jewellers
bars" are the result of dropping the set
tings of rings, watch cases, brooches.
match safes and plate of either unusual
and easily identified or much ADVERTISED
design-both gold and siver-into Il
plumbers melting pot. The gasoline
flame is hot enough to fuse the metals
into mass lacking all signs of original
identity. A turn of the pot into rough
mold of black sand, and you have the
Jewellers bars" of commerce, which
Uncle Sam so delights to refine and pay
good money for.
Anyone who does not accidentally drop
jimmy" on the threshold can deposit
these bars and old plate in the Wall
street office. An appearance of respect
ability is all that is essential in the
bearer of the brick of stolen bullion, with
plausible story for use in the rare
event of suspicion being aroused. That
dainty proven by the fact that although
these are sometimes investigated, never,
so far as the memory of the officials
runs, has burglar been arrested through
banking his loot with Uncle Sam
The brick is weighed before him and a
receipt given for it. The bar is then re-
fined, and when he calls for it later with
bricks of the pure gold and silver. 80
tine, which have been found i'll his lew
elers' bar" or for the value of the same
at the price then prevailing in the open
market. less a trifling fee for refining.
An odd thing about this is that he
could get the money for his brick the
next day after depositing it, while he
would have to wait one week to get
back the gold and silver which the refin-
cry would separate out of the base met
ais all fused together in the brick. This
arises from the fact that the officials of
the asSaylng plant, if desired. can com
pute the value of each brick deposited
with them in single day. while the
reduction of the brick, according 10 tboi,.
practice, takes six days.
Of course, the suspicious of the officials
are sometimes aroused and the matter re-
ported to the police for investigation
Yet, as has been said, no deposjt0r has
ever been arrested through such invest
cation. This can he easily understood
Ihe possession of a genuine gold brick
is no crime any more than that of n
quantity of gold plate, so long as every
mark has been removed which MIGHT
identity II IS the loot from some recent
burglary.
At matter Of face Rallies always con
verts the bulk of his plumber into the
bullion, leaving out little besides the
man is as cautious a criminal and not
quite commercial enough man to take
risks by holding his stuff for deposit
of the bricks with the federal fence. In
six days. for he is not liable to arouse
suspicion by asking for his money at
once, he comes back and receives in
gold eagles and hundred dollar bills the
gold and silver he stole in the night a
week back. With a little more trepida-
tion he sells the remaining stuff to
crooked pawnhroker or antiques mer-
chant such as every journeyman cracks
man knows. After all. the Junk might
by some freak of fate be identified and
the merchant, to save himself, sCueal on
him. But Uncle Sam never squeals. He
has done the burglar the kindest service
possible. As safe and uncommunica-
tive as a church, he has played the
fence to him on practically all his plum
der without so much as thank you and
hugely to Mr.. Rallies safety. conven-