The Washington times., 1915-07-04
Would Empower Police Officials
to Prosecute Fake Sales
Operators Here. .-
AUTHORITIES ARE HELPLESS
Only Recourse at Present Is in
Civil Suit-CriminaI Statute
Is Desired.

while the ofice OF the, Corporation
Counsel is preparing for q fight TO
bring the proprietors Of auction rooms
where the public is being daily VIC
tfmized. undef the control of the civil
authorities. another campaign is being
planned to give the police officials
power to institute valid prosecutions in
Individual instances Of sharp practice.
Already two members Of Congress.
one from New York and one from Vir-
ginia. have declared that they will In
terest themselves in the fight for a
criminal statute to cover the conditions
which have. SO far, bafrled the city
prosecutors.
These men, according to the District
officials with whom they have confer
red, have received complaints from con-
stituents who. while visiting in wasn-
inston, suffered financial losses at the
hands Of certain unprincipled auction
establishments here.
Ready To Cooperate.
THE efforts of the Corporation Coun-
sers office toward obtaining legislation
which will result in the proper regula-
ton of these sales rooms Is in every
way an important and proper move. If
there Is any manner in which this office
can aid in the fight, we shall be glad
to give 1t our support" is the indorse-
ment which Assistant District Attor-
ney Ralph Given gave today.
AS to our own efforts to have GER
vNNA ANtt tDA. L.. -
GERS indulge brought under the criminal
law. l am sure this can be. and will
1.-THE matter. I believe, can be ap-
mon law Of cheat. New York city has
brought these auctioneers who deal in
snide jewelry under the ban. and am
told that one piece Of proposed legisla-
next session will be localized appii-
cation Of the New York statute through
which the salesrooms there have been
brought to book.
THE great obstacle which we are
facing at the present time in making
case against an auctioneer of this type
10 the refuge which they have taken
behind 'technicalties.
Refuge In Guarantee.
''In most OF these rooms where sharp
practice is indulged in, the auctioneer
may permit himself the widest and
most unfounded Of statements concern
ing the quality of the article he is offer
ing for sale. secure in the knowledge
that the written guarantee which al
most every one of them gives with the
article. will estop any action save that
OF the nature OF civil suit against
them.
IF man is brought into court on
charge of having made false pre-
lenses concerning an article sold, or
~ MyurtT ltYarr -AL 1.
bases his defense upon the representa-
tons made in the terms of his guaran-
tee, and the guarantee is couched in
terms so carefully chosen, that it con-
tains no misrepresentation and no
false prctenses.
For instance. a watch Is offered for
sale. 1t is touted as an electrically
gold plated time-piece, and the price is
run up by buffers so that when it
is finally knocked down to the victim.
he has bid 1t in for three or four times
its value. Perhaps week later. the
plating. which though really electrical,
was pititully thin, begins to wear off in
patches. and the watch itself refuses to
run.
Only Recourse In Civil Suit.
When the victim consults his guar
antee. he finds that its terms merely
certify the watch to be electrically
gold plated. without designating the
thickness or quality of the plate, and
that It has been guaranteed to run for
five years. and If 1t does not. that the
vendor will keep it in repair. That al
tentative clause Is the joker in the
guarantee. The only relief the victim
has Is repair without charge. II the
auctioneer Is even willing to do that.
And II he refuses. the victim has now
no recourse except by civil suit.
80 you see the hands OF the police
authorities are tied. There will have
to be legislation to make it possible
for us to wage any kind of an effective
campaign against these men,"