The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-05-28
Operations Conducted on
Such q Vast Scale That
Police Are BafHed
WHOLE CARLOADS
HAVE DISAPPEARED
Fence Proprietors Re-dyed Cloth
to Make Recovery Impossible-Auto-
mobiles Used by Operators in Carry
ing Goods Away.

NEW YORK, May 2S.-The Silk AS
ISOLATION of America has sent to all
dealers in silk and to burglary insur-
anee companies list of robberies which
reveals that since January /. 1918, silk
thieves have operated 1874 times in the
New York and New Jersey districts,
stealing parcels or bales of the valu-
able material worth at least $l,50O,O00.
The war time price of silk has resulted
Ia the organization of bands of thieves
that rob lofts, express company stations
and railroad ears night and day, and
has produced also an incredible number
of fences for the reception and dis
posal of the stolen goods in this city.
The bulletin mailed by the principal
organization of the silk trade notifies
dealers and burglary insurance com
panies to be on the alert for the stolen
silk. complete description of which is
furnished in every ease The thefts
include parcels valued at a few dol.
lars only as well as bales and bundles
containing thousands of yards worth
up to $4,000.
The .Erie Railroad alone has suf-
fered to the extent of about S7500OO. =
said j. ]. Hamil, .and other roads re-
port thefts proportionately large. Mucl
of the thieving is done by railroad
employees, yardmen and switching men
who rob cars at night. conceal the loot
and then get rid of ii through confed
crates and fences
Never in the history of the sill
trade has there been so much stealing
as Ill the past six months. In Paterson
last Friday night band of thieves
backed wagon up to silk warehouse
removed bales of silk containing $4,000
yards, worth 81 yard, got away with
| out detection and rushed the goods tc
a dye house, where they were changing
the color from black to pink when We
got upon their trail and recovered thu
goods, That S just sample of what
has been going On. A few weeks ago
tisf one of the railroad Yards iir sIerse,
CITY, ah entire carload of silk wa.
cleaned out between darkness and dawn
In New York city lofts have beer
looted of the last pound of silk. Auto
mobiles have been the biggest help tc
silk thieves in this kind of work. r,
| using motor cars they have been able
to rob six lofts in one building in the
course of a single night Hauls have
| amounted to So, 900 at time. and the
crooks have acted with such boldness
as TO imply no fear of the police.
The Silk Association s investigation
proves that the city is full of fences
conducted by cunning raseals that work
hand iii hand with the actual thieves
The bigger the haul the better the
fence keepers like it, The instant .
set of stolen goods is taken in at a
fence the keeper removes all distin
gushing marks, cuts up the lengths Oh
redyes it, and usually within an hour
after he receives the stuff changes its
appearance SO that the owner cannot
possibly identify his property. We hay,
tried to beat that game bv reouestins
all manufacturers to work their private
| marks III the texture of the material
so that the mark will go through and
through the goods and cannot be DYED
, out or removed -
| The list of robberies sent out shows
that. every important silk manufaetur
ing concern or dealer in the metropoli
tan district has suffered heavily. I'll,
list of robberies, with details of stoler
| goods, covers fifteen closely typewrit
ten pages.