davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
TIE k,uc1 hzzefJ o1aorlQ1zIY IL /o645c fat e>1f
JZes5 LnAak utter tie oluer 1veC IL Tie kA1GfJ
~sTG~ <olu5 coSzeo' ~eoh A7okouT oSzye,

The driver goes into q restaurant for
cup of coffee He pays for it with a
dollar bill torn i'm halves. apologiziuc.
telling how the bill got torn. that IT IS all
he has. and so on. an incident easily 70
called afterward by the restaurant
cashier. He goes out. and returns ia q
minute in excitement. saying that his
load is gone. Several persons rush out
to see. a policeman is searched for. and
there is delay enough 90 allow the thieves
to get few blocks away, after which
they are safe. Then the driver calls his
boss and tells of the loss.
| In another case the alibi j. furnished
fby railroad or pier receipts The driver
has cases for several lines. lie notifies
the fence" where the load will be-. goes
To the pier where he has only one or TWO
cases 10 deliver and while he is deliver
! ing there the rest of the load disappears.
! The driver has the receipt 10 show for
the goods delivered. Sometimes he asks
another truck driver near his truck TO
watch it, but this man is IN on the game
or otherwise disposed Of.
! The railroad and steamship lines are
very nedNy lOSefS INey nlfc tHeIi o"ll
special detectives. use all the care they
can. take their losses and say little about
! them.
! Did you ever see the waterfront streets
late IN the afternoon filed with loaded
! trucks waiting to deliver goods at some
pier? The package thief finds may OPP
| portunities in those jams Of trucks.
Many times a thief has hired truck,
put on "A couple OF cases of sawdust and
stood I'm line. Along will come truck
man who has one or two cases for that
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
KEEPS THEM ION THE STRING"

The fence" keeps the thieves who work
for him as friendly as possible to him by
loans. protection OF their interests and so
on Drivers are especially valuable allies
SO the fence" never loses an opportunity
To give a driver dinner money" some
thing for drinks. a dollar here and there
to keep the driver in good humor. The
business got through the driver is very
profitable, because the driver seldom
knows anything about the real value Of
the goods stolen and must take the
fences" word.
How do the fences develop? Take
Smerling for instance. who got away
with $4,000 worth of one mans goods i'm
three years. He had two clothing stores
on Canal street, was doing compare
lively honest business and had credit
worth $4,000 made by economy and hard
work. lie saw now profitable IL was to
buy stolen goods. and did 80 often Then
he became envious of the fences" profit.
for he saw that many times the fence"
got the goods from the thief for song.
Smerling became fence" He began to
squander his money his clothing business
suffered until he had a failure. Then he
had only small store on Canal street,
near Baxter, but did a good fence" bust
ness, having man out soliciting thefts,
especially among truck drivers. Smerling
got into trouble by getting drivers whom
he had done out OF most of the value of
what they stole sore and they, when
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
Isu~ Svk C1Zy zr tie 1uckeC< Lea M Tie
W1,1a /Sr 6sMSYe oNd hWcR EkzeVeT
Wily Tricks of the Thieves Often Make the
Fences, Real Leaders Of the Felonous
Traffic, Wealthy-Expert Fore
casts Doom Of This Man
ner of Knavery.

arrested. squealed. Smerlins went befors
the Curran committee. but did not saIL
immunity. and is now doing his bit
Lizzie Cockroach. another famous
fence" came from Russia. where his
parents were wealthy. honest, religious
people of nigh standing His people used
10 give him. as a boy. considerable sums
for spending money. but these came TO
be insufficient for his CANT needs.
He got to picking pockets Of people who
gathered at the public market IN his
town i'm Russia. Then he skipped TO
New York. got in with burglars. and be-
came second story man, making
speciality OF lofts I'm this way he got
an idea Of the proftableness ~ selling
stolen merchandise. so worked into that
business. lizzie was very slick at
avoiding serious trouble. He did get
sentenced once or twice. hut had good
connections with the detectives. was
stool pigeon for an influential one. and
although arrested many times got on
altogether or lightly
There are many ways Of beating cases
The receivers of stolen goods are banded
together for defence They have the
same lawyers-and capable ones they are
too. They have their bondsmen within
call and capable witnesses To furnish
evidence on order. il it becomes neces-
sary. But standing i'm with the detective
is the best way. usually.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
THE RIGHT PLACE.

Jack London. the novelist, was contrast
ing the acquittal Of a millionaire manu-
facturer on a dynamite planting charge
with the severe sentence imposed on a
poor editor for too strongly champlonng
the Paterson strikers.
THE rich are over leniently dealt with
in our courts" he said. and the poor are
over harshly dealt with This will keep
on until the American people come to re-
spect only honest wealth-tlll they come
to regard all wealth gained through trick
cry and deceit as the Engllshman did.
This Englishman. at dinner In New
York. hailed with delight the conviction
by the courts of an American who had
stolen millions by means Of bogus mines.
But a friend of the criminal heaved a
sigh and said.
Poor old Charlie. Ills hearts In the
right place. anyway
Yes said the EnglIshman, and 80.
thank Heaven, Is the rest of him for the
next four years. "
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
INGENIOUS BIT OF KNAvERY

Here is a still more ingenious plan
worked successfully about month ago
The thieves watched until the driver MAD
arrived with his load and then from a
nearby saloon called the place where the
goods were being delivered and asked TO
have the, driver called to the phone, say
ing that it was the stable calling. The
driver came TO the phone, was called by
name and told that another truck from
the same stable had broken down at such
and such address Ga dozen blocks away
and that this driver was TO go TO the as
sistance of the broken down truck, leaV-
ing his load in charge of his tail boy,
the young lad who rides on the tail OF a
truck to prevent the stealing of small
packages.
The driver was told TO leave his receipts
for the rest Of his load in charge OF the
tail boy with instructions to deliver them
to another driver. who would be sent TO
take the load and finish deliveries. The
driver went to find the broken truck
another driver came along. got the re-
ceipts from the tail boy, sent the tail
boy after a box of cigarettes and stole
the load while the boy was gone. The
presence of the tail boy made this more
complicated plan necessary.
In nine out of ten cases of truck steal
ing the driver is an accomplice, say men
in the Horse owners Protective Associa-
ton, which is working to stamp out truck
and package stealing. Here is an illus
tration of the way driver is gotten
into league with the fence"
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
Continued from second page.

wife. And then strange thing happened,
for Captain Smith. who was apparently in
perfect health when he left his vessel.
was stricken witt apoplexy and died
shortly after reaching shore, while his
wife. after surviving for some weeks, died
less than a month ago.
As a proof that the excite nent OF Old
whaling days Is not yet dead and done
with there are the curious facts concern
ing The bark Kathleen. which was sunk
by whale on the "l2-i0 ground APP
proximately thousand miles off the
coast of Brazil in the spring IF 1902. The
accident awakened national attention at
the time and the captains account Is dra-
matte
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
TEMPTATION OF DRIVERS.

The fence" himself, or one of his lieu
tenants. invites driver 10 have drink.
and they talk it over. The driver is free
ly treated. After being sounded" the
thief tells him he is "A fool to be working
for less than is paid for the horses. when
he might easily and safely make a thou
sand dollars now and then. The tempts-
ton is too much for the driver. II Is
explained that all he has TO do when
he has a load Of good, salable stuff, is 10
telephone the fence" as to when and
where he will leave the load unmatched
for few minutes. II Is arranged that
sound proof that the driver had nothing
TO do with the theft shall be provided. A
load is stolen. Here are a couple Of in
stances of the manner i'm which the driv-
or's abb Is arranged:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24

brought up as soon as the truckman goes
and the goods taken of.
Fut what about the man in the business
of regularly receiving stolen goods? How
does ne work? Why isn't he caught? I'm
the first place. the fence knows ms Ousl-
ness. and part II his business is avoiding
trouble. Probably there Is no important
fence" who cannot depend upon getting
tips" from some friendly detective. The
detective makes a good thing out or 'he
fence" This graft is richer for the
CRATER than graft from gambling or vice
for there are few TO divide up the stolen
goods graft Various ones i'm whole
line Of grafters have lists Of gambling
Joints and houses OF i'll fame from when
regular assessments are collected. ana
each CRATER knows what share should
come 10 him. Few OF the police know OF
tho fences business. and there may De
only one collecting from HIM. II is es-
sential 10 the fence" that he stand right
Tor his own protection and in order TO
look out for the men working for NM
80 he and the detective work together.
The combination Of fence" and detective
is not only profitable, but otherwise al
vantageous for the detective. When
there Is n bad" case on which a SHOW
ing must be made the fence gives lntor-
nation so that the goods arc recovered
probably from the fence" himself. the
detective protecting him i'm return for the
information Recovery OF the goods IS
usually enough TO satisfy the man who
lost them. if not. a victim is chosen for
arrest. who may or may not he IN OF
the game. Sometimes the case against
the thief is beaten" sometimes he has 70
be sent up. but this only i'm emergencies.
Sometimes. Of course. "A fence" gets into
trouble with honest detectives. or the
case against him is so bad that he has
Ito go up.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
A SHIFT IN PHONE NUMBERS.

Fourth avenue silk house was the VIC
finn NJ a similar game. \ letterhead OF
the company was used In preparing the
o,dcr FOR getting the goods to be stolen
ON the letterhcad was printed "Ielephohe
Creamery -" the number Of saloon
being inserted instead Of the number OF
the silk house When the order was pre-
scented. with cash to pay the freight' IT.
s,ead Of A check. as was the company
custom. the delivery clerk was suspicious
Tb. driver NOTICING this said: call up
Mr.. So-and-so. the bookkeepcr.' The de-
livery clerk reached for the telephone ~
roctorv. The driver said: You've got the
number right or the lettcrhcad. IN"
clerk glanced at IL and called that num-
Der. asked for Mr. So-and-so. got the
thlers accomplicc in saloon, received
the reply that they did send for goods
and were paving the freight by cash DC
cause the treasurer was out ana theS
didn't want to wait for him 10 return 10
sign a check That little game resulted
I'm the thiers getting nine cases of SIX
worth at least 5000.
There are other clever stunts WORKED
I'm stealing packages. \ thief Will stahd
I'm front OF the delivery entrance OF loit
building to which he knows goods are
coming for one OF the tenants. The truck
comes up. He calls To the driver: Got
those two cases from the Mallory Line
for Smith & SOM" The truckman has
them and the man with the pencil Signs
the receipts saying: Hustle and chuck
those of. will you? We've been waiting
an hour for those" The thiefs wagon Is
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
REMNANT OF OLDTINlE WHALING FLEET

guessed at. but whale oil Is being used
more widely than II was some five or ten
years ago. II is valuable for diluting'
aud h. one of the best machinery oils that
the market can produce. Whalebone, on
the other hand. has largely lost its value.
But as the whale comes to be recog-
nzed as food animal IL is probable
that II will be pursued to the verge OF ex-
tinction. that thn whalemen may appear
once more in the foreground and that
canned whale meat may yet take a prom
inent place on the metropolitan menu.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
A REMARKABLE AFFAIR.

large sperm whale was sighted close
To the ship when most Of the boats were
fastened 10 other whales I'm the imme-
date vicinity. The mate, who had re-
turned to the vessel. was promptly low
cred again. but by some unaccountable
accident missed happening the intruder,
which was then within five hundred feet
of the main vessel. When the mate had
launched his iron fruitlessly the whale
rushed at the ship, striking IT forward of
the mizzen rigging and about six feet
under the waterline. Captain Jenkins
asked the cooper IL he thought the vessel
had been damaged, and the cooper replied
that nc did not believe so, as he had
heard no breaking timbers at the time Of
the collision.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
FENCES CAN BE ERADIcATEo

More efficiency on the part OF the po''''
in apprehending and Furnishing these
thieves and receivers OF stolen goods ma,
be expected. Much has been learned .,
late about the business of fences. uo''
detective work would seem sure 10 ih""
short work OF fences" II a man is KNOW"
or believed to be receiver OF sto'e"
goods il is not difficult to kno" no"
get" him. He must be Swallowed chue"
receiving the goods from the actual '"'
One fence" put out of business mean
that fifty or a hundred thieves are VIZ"
out an employer. The man VINO
much of the material for this aru0'''
intimate acquaintance OF man! 81,
sters (and one of the few honest n'
whom they know and truso. says 'a
there are ten important fences who -
be and ought To be put out OF o"'"
and il they are put out of business 80 80
will be a thousand thieves who WI" w.
their chief employment cut on 20.
must be the established. dependaoe
ceiver of stolen goods or the th'ei '"'
work. ,ore
There should be, further, muc"
rieid surveillance of aucuoh ,...,s
MANY If not most of these. are reeeN..
of stolen goods and furnish th'
market outside of the few DIE '..ss
who are distinguished specialists - ~"
m.asures are followed the prophecy
xuiii .n,n. trina
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
THE kNEll OF THE TRAFFIC.

Here's a prophecy: The traffic In stolen
goods will be stopped. II will never oe
completely wiped out. Of course. but IT
can and will be reduced by nearly
per cent. Horse poisoning has oeen
choked OF. practically eradicated, as was
explained m last weeks article IN thls
series Horse stealing has been reduced
tremendously. and war against The East
Side gangs is on. as will be explained III
coming articles Methods similar !"
those used by Morse VI. Frankel ana
his associates OF the Horse owners Pro
tectiNe Association in stamping out horse
poisoning will be tried in connection
with package and truck stealing.
An organization of truck drivers mas
been started. In connection with TINS
there will be an employment agency iei
drivers The record Of each driver VIII
be kept and his membership IN the asso-
citation will be practically a guarantee
that he is honest. There will probably
be sick and unemployment benefits TOO
The drivers association will have is own
employees To watch for careless drivers
who give thieves AIN opportunity and 70
run down dishonest drivers and get them
punished one OF the most essentsi
things is TO punish thieves who are no"
often. II not usually, able TO get OF oy
restoring the goods stolen in a case when
gets them into trouble
II is figured that 30 per cent Of the truck
stealing is the result Of dishonesty smons
drivers. The drivers association VIII anu
TO eliminate that 90 per cent. in so far as
possible. and TO fight gangs OF thieves
There are many gangs known l'i''i,
Archie's." The Wops," The Allen anu
Stanton Street Mob" The ForO
Thieves" The Cannon Street Cans
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
sUPPLANTED BY STEAM WHALER

Economically the steam whalcr has sup
planted the old bark and while the New
Bedford whaling fleet is first I'm interest
II Is by no means the most prominent part
of the worlds whaling outlay. Whaling
is now conducted scientifically by Nor
way and other nations. and the value Of
whale meat "a a food supply Is fully real
lied by the Orientals. In many parts OF
the world steam whalers ply profitable
trade and have largely taken the place Of
the old banks. while the New Bedford
whaling schooners remaining at sea for
periods of eighteen to twentyfour months
sometimes bring to port part of the
cargo OF the bukier and more old-fash-
toned vessels
The future Of the whalcr cannot be
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24

may be stored in a vacant basement
hired by dummy under false name
and left there In either case, If the
goods are discovered. no one is caught
for the fence never comes for them
unless all is safe. He knows. even II
there is no friendly detective to tip him
off--but more of that later.
Truck stealing isn't usually so simple
a matter There has been so much oil IL
that every honest driver is cautious ana
careful not to violate his instructions
never to leave his truck unmatched
Various methods are used by thieves 10
get the driver away from his load. In
one instance. successfully worked recent
~, the thieves who knew the driver
destination. telephoned to the people to
whom the goods were going and left
word for the driver (whose name they
gave to call the stable when he came.
The message was given to him, and while
he was at the telephone discovering that
the stable had left no such request for
him TO call the load disappeared.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
ON A FAKE ORDER.

II was learned that a New York mer-
chant. Morris Hermann. had twenty
seven bales Of woolcns waiting for him
at one Of the piers. that there was some
disagreement about the goods and that
Hermann had refused To accept the
goods A driver appeared at the pier with
an order from Hermann for the goods
and paid $50 freight. The goods were
stolen. the driver being "A thief and the
order a fake.
The dock checker asked FOR the number
Of the truck when the truck with the stol-
en- goods came along to get the pass nee
essary to get out with a load. but. the
driver said, this is a store truck (whlch
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
THE INDEPENDENT WORKERS.

The fence" does not always have his
thieves working directly for him. nice
ARRANGEMENT for the fence is 10 act as
sort OF commission merchant for the
thieves who get stuff that they know the
fence" wants. deliver it to him when the
is ready and are paid according 10 the
value OF The stolyn goods. These thieves.
working somewhat independently. must
know the game not embarrass the fence
with the wrong kind OF goods or too large
amounts in too short spaces of time.
The prices which the fence" gets for the
goods he receives depend upon the ease
with which the goods can be sold. II the
goods are undentihable the fence is safe
and can get fairly close to the wholesale
price of the goods. The men who steal
for him get widely varying amounts for
their services. \ capable thief who en-
gineers thefts. gets the minor workers
instructs them and attends TO the details
may get 30 per ceat of the value OF the
goods II he is one who works indepen-
IDENTIFY and uses the fence" as his COM
mission merchant. for he is free to deliver
TO whatever fence" he pleases and must
be well used TO keep the business. thief
who Is I'm the employ of the fence" will
rarely get more han 10 per cent OF the
value OF what he steals, and is often paid
"A lump sum for the job.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24

pier and the rest of his load FOR else
where II he stands in line al each pier
where he must go. he will be late To get
all his goods Of that day. So az the
first pier. where he has only TWO cases to
leave. he picks out a tru,kman waiting.
who has some spare room on his wagon.
and asks him 10 take the two cases
Tor that pier. The truckman with whom
he trusts his cases is the thief who has
q couple OF cases of sawdust on his wag-
on for "decoys' and may collect dozen
cases that way In single afternoon.
lie stays In line. slips Off his cases of
sawdust and goes OF with the Others
This trick is old and not worked 50 much
now. truck drivers being too careful q
trust their cases with other drivers whom
they don't know.
Frequently the knowledge which the
fence" gets Of the movements Of GER
tain goods is the secret of his success
Here is an example:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
eGLo2H

needs no license and So has no number,
the checker was not satisfied. for there
was no name ON the truck. SO sent the
driver 10 the CHIEF delivery clerk. The
driver told the clicf delivery clerk that
Hermann regular wagon was at the
wh.elwrights that day. and that the
vh,clwrlght had loaned this wagon
without the name I'm answer TO the
clerk question. the driver said that he
had delivered bills OF ladug in getting
tho goods. Since driver cannot get bills
III ladmg except from the consignee al
the goods. everything looked all right.
and the driver was allowed To 90 with the
goods. \ coollv told lie put this game
acro.s"-the driver did not present bill
of .adng FOR these goods. but the fake
order. The thicf-drivcr drove OF with
ten bales. came back and GOT another
load of ten and had the nerve to return
the next DAY for the remaining seven
bales.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
CASES OF WORK OF EXPERTS.

some incidents Of the way goods are
stolen will be helpful for an understand
ing of methods. These are actual cases
ard typical Of the ingenuity and cool
ness of the technique OF the experts IN
this profession.
.'fence." or one of his lieutenants,
earns of a truck load of salable goods
n he carted from one pier or ware
hopse to another. Two thieves follow
the truck; probably one is in a small
carriage or wagon and the other walk
ing. The man walking has truck
mans hook in his pocket and is the one
DESIGNATED TO steal the truck. Just the
,,ornent the driver is out Of sight OF his
truck the thief on the sidewalk is on
the seat and drives il off, having taken
off his coat and hung the hook ABOUT
his neck so that he appears to be
regular truck driver. He drives the truck
around corners till in busy sectioh'
eight or ten blocks away. the accom-
Mice in the carriage following and watch
ing for danger In front of large build
ing with a number OF tenants and usu-
,llv with other cases on the sidewalk.
he stolen cases are dumped, the sides
with the address down, so as not 10 be
visible. Then the empty truck is driven
a few blocks further and left 10 be
found too late TO help in the discovery
Of the goods. for not for several hours,
st least, will anybody know that the
truck has been abandoned.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-24
THE sUeTERRANEAN CHANNELS.

The fence with whom the thieves
who have stolen the truck do bust
aess is notified. sends another truck
for the cases and takes them away.
Sometimes they go to the fences
store, where the goods are taken from
the cases. the cases destroyed and the
goods cleaned Of any tags which might
help in identification and repacked;
sometimes the goods may be driven into
a friendly stable, receipt in a fictitious
name given by the stableman the may
have a storehouse Also. and the names