The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1908-03-07
hioh-Grade Robbery.

News from Silyerton. Colorado, says
the Daily Mining Record, states mat
the o.ncials and the superintendent OF
one of the San Juan mines, as wen as
the sheriff and two deputies OF lh'
county. had received threatening let
ters hea led by the proverbial skull ana
cross boaes, warning them OF speedy
and certain death if they did not cease
their vigilance against the high h-srau-
ers The immediate effect Of the let
ter was The discharge OF sixty-five Aus
trian. Mortenegran and Italian miners
employed at the Gold King Thne' anu
an agitation has been started against
the smp;oymenr of all miners OF foreign
extraction. The arrests mus lar vi
those who have been accused oil pllieI-
ing high grade ore aggregated thirty
four foreign miners and preliminary
hearing Of eight of this number re-
suited in the plea of guilty on the part
OF Ave of them The charge was pet'.
larceny. One man was dismissed anu
two others were held over until the
next term of the District Court. lhe
other twenty-six had their hearing 'he
day following.
The identity OF the writer's OF the
ANONYMOUS letters has not been deter
mined. but evidence pointed 10 the TACT
that those who penned the mlsslVes
were friends of the high-graders sun
in the employ of the company. lhese
letters have been turned over TO the
postoffice authorities and there is smail
question that important arrests Will De
made.
While it cannot be said that the ma
tives OF America are free from the hlsh-
grading habit, there is reason to pc
lieve that the instinct of murder Is not
so strong in the American heart as IL
is in the hearts OF those who have
never had equal chances in the lands
OF their birth. II is easy TO- under
stand how men working in high-grade
ore will be sorely tempted as those
who are handling actual money.
The changeroom has been one OF the
methods of suppressing this KIND OF
larceny, out even the change room can
not entirely eliminate thefts. In the
larger mines there are so many ave
nues OF entrance through the Old work
lUSS lEdt dDSplult 10 Ab''
sible. It would seem. however, that
1t is time for the authorities to strike
At the very tap-root of the high grad
ing. which would bring them face to
face with that class of assayers who
operate what is known in criminal lore
as fences" The fence is merely
place where the stolen goods can be
disposed Of. Ore that has gross value
OF SO a pound would probably net the
thieves s. a pound, or even less II IS
but a few weeks since Telluride. Colo
rado. was shaken to its foundations
by exposures made showing that promi-
nent business men were engaging in
Illicit traffic in ore. To distinguish be
tween the different highgrade cargoes,
so as to tell from what mines they
come is almost impossible, but every
assayer or jeweler who purchased high
grade ore knows that the chances are
at least ten to one that it is stolen
property. The only possible supervls-
ion Of this class of criminal trade is
in the arrest, conviction and sentence
of those who are interested in the
thefts. The only reason that the min
ers do not steal all there is is that they
do not have the opportunity Every
camp that produces ore of sufficient
value to tempt the miners is brought
face to face with high-grading.
There is form of high grading, how
ever, that has thus far not been con-
sidered il its criminal light. This is
the habit of visitors TO the mines help
ing themselves to souvenirs of rich
specimens. Managers of large mines
that have been in operation for a few
years declare that the specimen traf-
fic has robbed them of all the way
from $4,000 to 100000 worth of ore.
The only guard against this kind OF
thievery IS absolute refusal on the
part OF he management to let visitors
into the mine. The same people who
consider the stealing OF small speci-
mems an innocent matter would not
dare exercise the same liberty when