Evening star., 1923-03-18

of furs alone half a million dollars
year in New York. His estimate is
careful and even too conservative.
| From other sources-furriers. in
| surers, detectives and thieves them
| selves-I get an estimate at least dou-
BILE Mr.. Scotts, but mine includes the
| wharves, the surrounding waters and
the Jersey railway terminals. Per-
baps that accounts for the difference.
| The center about which the whole
| fur stealing business resolves is the
fence-the receiver and disposer Of
stolen goods. Under the direction of
! this man work bands of burglars.
truck robbers and sneak thieves. They
! get the furs he needs by breaking into
| the lofts OF other furriers. BY holding
| up delivery vans or sneaking the pre-
cious packages Of furs out Of them.
! In various cities, from Bangor TO
| Seattle, the greater fences have their
| outlet stores where pelts stolen in
New York can be made into garments
and sold with utter safety.
Stories have been written Of the
methods employed by burglars in en-
| tering lofts where rich collections OF
| fine pits are stored. OF the manner OF
| beating burglar alarms, OF inside and
| outside Jobs, Of all the technique of
| mercantile burglary. 1t is the same
in the case of furs as in that of silk.
| All this has to do with the CONNER
| cialized larceny OF great city. II is
mcthodical. workaday, cool, repetitive.
The only thrill comes from the occa-
den eucountering Of honest officers.
the prodigies of courage displayed by
the robbers here and there.
| But there is another side to fur
| stealing in which keen wits. sharp
planning. auixotic daring are always
| romantically present. Here We may
! exhaust our delight in clever viii
| lainies. In this field of fur stealing
the confidence man, that Abraham of
| the underworld, makes felt his ef-
| ficient cunning. Here we find humor.
! drama, even tragic note, and always
! a vigorous, sardonic tone. Intelli-
gence is at work; we feel the writhing
of the. plot.
IT Asst spring "A wealthy woman. oc-
l. cupying large apartment in
the chosen section OF Riverside Drive.
telephoned to her furrier and asked
! him to call for her furs for storage.
She explained that she wanted to
wear her mink coat once more and
that he should. meantime. take out
f,,r ri 4
| them ard get them ready for use.
Finally. il was agreed that the win
ter furs should be called for on the
| following Monday, four or five days
off,
| On Friday the woman's personal
maid came to her little shyly and
said she had been married that day
and wished to resign. She was sorry
TO give so brief notice. but her new
| husband had suddenly received a
| good offer in Chicago and there was
no way but to marry and leave at
| once. The employer growled bit,
. but ended by congratulating the
! maid, wishing her we'll and handing
her $50 as a wedding gift. And i'm
| medistely after dinner on Saturday
! the maid departed.
! At 8 o'clock on Monday morning
there was a ring at the delivery en-
| trance of the rich woman's apart
ment. A parlor maid answered and
was confronted by a uniformed de-
| livery man. who said he had come
from Pourboir & Co. for madam's
furS.
The maid bore the message to her
employer and that cautious woman
asked that the man be brought to
her. She looked him over carefully,
saw that he was in correct uniform,
with the name Of the firm on his cap
and a receipt book in his hand.
II came for the furs," he said with
crude simplicity.
You'll give a receipt for them"
she asked.
Certainly he said, opening his
book. "Just what do you wish to
send?"
The wealthy woman's maid brought
out a fine mink coat worth $4,000 or
$4,000, a short coat of squirrel worth
81 900, an evening wrap of broadtail
and cloth worth $4,000. a silver fox
worth $500 or $500 and ono or two
minor pieces. The uniformed man
noted all the items on his blank,
signed the name of the firm, scrawled
what might have been his initials and
walked away with an armful OF costly
garments. at least $4,000 worth.
He went down the service elevator,
walked out of the rear entrance,
turned toward Broadway, stepped into
a closed car with his precious burden
and was swiftly driven away.
At 1890 there was another ring at
IA the delivery door Of the wealthy
voman's apartment Outside stood
another uniformed man from Pour
boir & Co. The maid brushed him
away impatiently. Madam had already
given her furs to another collector
| from the same house. The driver
rang the doorbell again and insisted.
There must be some mistake. Would
+be maid please ask her mistress and
make sure? The girl returned in half
| minute and said madam did not
| wish to be annoyed further; she had
given her furs and held a receipt for
| them.
Ten minutes later the rich woman's
telephone rang. An ofacial OF Pour
boir & Co., wished to speak with
her. There was q quick exchange Of
onestions and answers in an ascend
ing key. The man at one end Of the
line said he would send detective