The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-12-23
DESOLATE HOMES
Of RICH CONTAIN
MILLIONS IN ART
New York Palace Of Prick Only
One Of Several That Were
More Like Museums Than
Private Houses.
BY Herbert Corey. In Kansas City
Times.

NEW YORK. Dec. 1.-THE semi
ai'lual heElra OF New Workers Is on.
5;ath summer those who can migrate to
IleOaht farms ana rocking chair hotels,
IN the iall they come back to bore
NloSe VINO nave llVed comfortably in the
cry oy recital of their troubles. and
"heh the mercury exhibits bearish
leuuellVles, they look about for some
sunny spot IN which TO spend the win
YET;
lueIe are houses on F1fth avenue
ana lhe platinum set side streets that
hdruIy snow a flicker Of light from one
year ehu. 10 another
Inc process OF opening one Of these
houses Is about as complicated as
iauhchlng a yacht Charles NJ. Schwab
IS 100 busy to visit very often the
french chateau he marooned on River
sac dTiNe' but when he doeS--when he
reels Ike having jovial party Of
ilenus IN TO spend an evening at
.Drluge, say, or the good wife would like
TO get the place warmed up so she can
serve tea without Chilbains-~it takes
nun month To get the place under con
trol' Rugs must be taken from the
storage NauIts' pictures from the ware
houses silver from the banks. The ac-
tual cost runs into the thousands of
dollars
Prick Kent His Secret.
some or these lavish places are,
properly speaking, never closed The
FLICK mouse, on Fifth avenue, was al
ways IN commission, for II contained
dontsy tb sG Fck Of bo are "PeSs nc
proof that now and then men are found
VINO Know now to keep secrets It is
pam as a pikestaff now that this mag
lllicehl place was bullt for a museum,
and as men do not build museums for
their natural heirs, someone might have
guessed That II was Tricks intention
to leave IT. to the city, But no one did
guess-and he never told. For years
photographers, resident correspondents,
visitors and chautauqua lecturers set
their sprlngboards of comment in the
Flick lawn. But his lips did not open.
The fact that Tricks home contained
S3O,OOo,0QO worth Of art set police Of
ficer talking, He said that the actual
negotiable cash value Of the properties
contained in some of these magnificent
city houses is breath taking, Not one
but dozens, contain collections worth
all the way from $500, 900 to $4,000 900
But broadly speaking, they are as safe
as churches. Nine cases out Of ten the
successful looting OF wealthy mans
home Is an inside job" or one in
which honest but stupid servants have
been fooled by the dishonest but aStute
servants Of rich neighbor, Breaking
and en'eTihE in ig the simple odia%n,S o.,
lapdog or an under footman or late
returning son in the way,
Little Appeal tn Rrains
The practical immunity from rude and
| dirty handed thieves which these houses
| enjoy is, to his mind, a proof Of the low
| type Of mind the average thief pos
sesses Years ago there was in New
| York man who. rightly or wrongly
| was suspected of being an INTERNATIONAL
| fence for stolen art of the first quality
| More than that, he was suspected of be-
| ing the inspiration and stage manager
| of many Of the greatest Coups brought
| off by the criminals of his time,
! There is no such man nowadays,
| said the police officer. yet the field
was never more promising, A great
| criminal-a criminal of the sort one
| reads OF In ftction--Could rip these
houses open like bean cans, In hall
| an hours time his men could strip one
| Of them clean. He could pay running
| expenses by the sale of the smaller and
| more easily disposable objects and hold
| the paintings until opportunity came
| The fact that there Is no such mar
shows that the more physical forms OF
crime are not worth the attention OF
really intelligent men now They so If
for other ways of getting easy money
Tale of A. Jewel Theft,