The Confidence Man of the Colonial Hotel
A prolific hotel thief, captured in Minneapolis with $12,000 in diamonds, claims he offloaded stolen jewels in Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
James Walters was arrested in Minneapolis, charged with robbing Baroness Helene Hadsikwele of $6,000 worth of diamonds at the Colonial Hotel in San Francisco three weeks ago. Police believe Walters is one of the most clever confidence men in America. On his person when arrested were found $12,000 worth of diamonds. Walters confessed to having disposed of stones worth $15,000, claiming he sold $10,000 worth in Tacoma, Spokane, and Seattle. Tacoma police officials were shown the dispatch but had heard nothing of Walters' alleged operations in the city. One officer noted, 'There are several firms in Tacoma who handle diamonds, and any man who has diamonds to sell can find a buyer very easily if he makes the price right. People who buy diamonds at a bargain price do not, as a rule, tell the police department.'
“People who buy diamonds at a bargain price do not, as a rule, tell the police department, or anyone else, for that matter.”
The ease with which stolen property could be liquidated in 1904 through unregulated private sales underscores the shadow economy that thrived alongside Tacoma's rapid industrial growth. Today, this 'no questions asked' culture of secondhand trade has migrated to digital platforms, yet the local challenge of tracking high-value stolen assets remains a persistent civic frustration.
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