New-York tribune., 1919-12-29
81 Insurance Firms Charge
Years Losses Increased
80 Per Gent Over 1918;
Value of Goods Doubled
Disastrous IL Months
Premiums Often Wiped Out
and 20 p. C.. Rate Raise
Barely Saves Companies

Burglars, leggmen, loft looters and
thieves of every description have
robbed the people Of New York within
the last year of cash and goods amount
ing approximately to S25. 900. 900.
This estimate was given The Tribune
Yesterday by officials of the thirty-two
burglary insurance firms OF the city.
They say that the twelve months just
ending have been the most disastrous
in their history. Their records show,
they declare. that the number of rob-
berss has increased more than 80 per
cent, and that the value of the goods
stolen has almost doubled. In many
cases their premiums, it was said, had
been entirely wiped out through losses
and that the recent raise of 90 per
cent in premium rates hardly enabled
them to keep their heads above water
10000 Separate Thefts
The criminals left no field of in
dustry untouched in their operations
They are said to have perpetrated no
less than 10000 separate tnef1s during
the year Police Commissioner Rich
ard r.. Enright recently declared that
1,4l2 crimes of this kind in 1918 had
been reduced to 6,S56 for 1919.
The insurance officials point out that
their estimates are based only on their
own records, and that the number OF
uninsured losses which the police have
made special efforts TO keep from the
public would undoubtedly make the
figures much larger. They go even
further. In advertisements and circu-
lars sent out by one of the largest Of
the firms it is set forth that the rob
berries average one out of every twelve
persons, with the chances for hod-ups
in some places much greater.
survey Of the hauls during 1919
discloses that the silk industry has
been hit the hardest The Silk Asso-
ciation of America estimates the losses
of dealers in this business at 50 000,-
600. Leaders in the industry said the
thieves were particularly attracted by
the high values placed upon silks dur
ing the year and the comparatively
small bulk that had to be handled
Next comes the fur business, which
estimates its losses for 1919 at con-
slderaby more than S1,500,000. Fur
dealers attribute the invasion of their
industry also to the extraordinary in
the ease with which it could be dis
posed of
Sl,000.o00 in Jewels Stolen
The trucking firms of the city assert
that more than Sl,500,0 600 worth of
goods OF every description, aside from
furs and silks, have been taken from
their vehicles durngs the year, driving
many of these concerns out of busi-
The jewel robberies are said to total
about 81 900 600 Strangely enough, the
great proportion of this plumber was
taken from private individuals rather
than dealers, the biggest robbery of
the year being the theft of $37o, 900
worth of jewelry from guest at one
of the most prominent hotels.
The banking institutions Of the
city suffered mainly through an un-
precedented number of messenger
robberies, the frequency of which has
kept the financial district in cor
stant state of fear The total of the
Liberty bonds and other securities APP
propratcd by seventeen year-old bank
runners IS said to 20 we'll past the
Of this 9lundcr was recovered than
was the case in the silk, fur or jewel
business, because Of the easier man
ncr in which they could be traced.
As for the rost, sneak thieves, gold
brick" men and others of their ilk
reaped a rich reward in the city's big
hotels. The series Of crimes reported
from these places came to climax
with what is regarded the most spec
tacular burglary of the >year at the
Hotel knickerbocker, where two rob-
bers broke through an adjoining door
to the apartment of Mr.. and Mrs.
Aloysius Broderick. beat and bound
them, took $1,000 worth of their
Jewelry and tried to escape by scaling
down the front facade Of the hotel
in the fashion of human flies.
Nine Autos Taken
Among the other outstanding in
stances of the years record Of rob
hcfies was the removal Of nine auto
lNoblles from a garage at 436 West
Eighteenth Street on August ~ valued
appearance of Benjamin II. Binkowitz.
The twenty-three- year-old messenger
Tor Richard Whitney & Co., bankers
with $11S,000 worth of Liberty bonds
and other negotiable securities. Bin
kowitz's body was later found bat
tered beyond recognition along road
IN Connecticut.
Another runner, Leo Julofsky. sew
enteen years old, messenger for T..
10 disappeared with $141,O 900 in bonds
and securities belonging to that firm.
The robbery of the fur establish
ment of Starobin & Dublin, in Brook
lyn, disclosed widespread conspiracy
involving several policemen in Brook
I'M who were found TO have been in
league with a gang of burglars and
to have engineered numerous hauls.
The thieves, IN many instances, have
Not hcSItated to commit murder to srot
away with their loot. The slaving of
'atharine Dunn in Brooklyn recently
recalled as an instance of their
brutality. IN great many cases their
1obberies were found to be the result
G carefully worked out plans by highly
organized gangs, with shops and deal
ers known as fences" on the "inside"
20 whom they could dispose of their
loot Immediately after the crime.
Fences Work Rapidly"
lt was found that raw goods stolen
enc day had been cut up and manufac-
tured INTO wearing apparel Oyernirht