Smyrna times., 1880-05-12
The Ways Of Shoplifters.
WOMEN WHOSE HANDS MOVE FASTER THAN AN
OBSERVERS EYES.


What is said about them IN a Store from oLich
they Steal Ten Thousand Dollars Worth
IN Year-CaSh Boys Tricks.
We estimate our losses from shoplfting
at $4,000 year," said one Of the proprie,
tors OF large east side dry goods and fancy
goods store yesterday. In the busy hours
you cannot estimate the number of people
that come to this store. If you watch them
from the galleries, they swarm like ants.
10 serve them we eMploy between 900 and
1000 persons. We have to watch them all.
customers and clerks alike. On the other
hand, 1t is a prime necessity to display our
goods, and to display them in such
manner as will tempt The dishonest.
"Shop girls are burdened with a reputa.
ton they don't deserve, and [ hate to say
anything against them, continued the shop
keeper, for there are girls working for us
who bend their necks to the yoke of labor
only from necessity, and whose every in
stlRct and action is that of a lady. But
some of the girls formed ring with out
siders, and we discovered them selling the
best goods and sending up checks for a
nominal figure, 25 or so cents, when the
real price might have been as many dollars.
We get information against the girls some.
times from customers. For instance. the
last case was that of q person who wrote
that such and such looking girl at such
and such counter was seen to drop a bill
on the floor, and send up a check for lust
so much less than the real price When
ever our attention is directed against EN-.
ployes we generally catch them."
DO the cash boys steal?r he was asked.
We lose "a great deal by boys, both in
our employ and from outside. You'd be
astonished if you knew the number of the
sons OF respectable People-often little
boys-that we catch stealing. Among our
cash boys there have been somo very in.
senlous thieves One little fellow tore
leaves from his cash book so nicely that it
was not discovered by the cashier, although
1t might have been that night. We sus.
pected him and took him into private
Office, where we talked to him earnestly.
lie admitted his guilt, and said he put the
money IN his shoe There we found over
$l4, the stealings of only few hours But
there was Smarter hoy, although suspect
| he had adult accumpliccS outside. lie
carried on hls person y little pad, soake ed
with printers ink, and an exact fac simile
OF the cashiers stamp, cut OH the end of
cork. Whenever he got the exact price of
an article sold from the saleSwoman, he
went away and stamped his cash book, and
brought it back as if from the cashiers
desk"
do you cause the arrest of many shop.
llfters?' the tradesman was asked
:" Yes, good many, but not all, by any
means We don't disturb persons unless
we have the most positive proof of their
guilt. When the article stolen is Il trife
we watch the woman so as to remember her
face, but usually do nothing more. Not
| ia
women that we believe are not habituallv
trsspassers, but were urged Oh by strong
temptation aIFd poverty. Such women we
take to Il private room. We tell them of
our suspicion. If they confess and give us
what prove to be their right name and ad-
dresses we let them GO But all this is u
very delicate matter, and to make a mis-
take Is very dangerous You must know
that Shoplifters are generally among the
best dressed and most respectable lookins =
women that come in our store. | stood at
the second story skylight one day looking
aimlessly down on the first floor. | saw
two elegantly dressed women putting away
rolls of silk ribbon. | watched them, and
there wasn't any doubt about it. | hasten.
. ed down and told the floor walker. He
; was astoundsd. persisted and lac spoke
to the women. They were violently ndig
nant. AS they walked toward the door we
saw them throw the rolls of ribbon among
some boxes between two counters. We
had them followed. They lived in an ele
6 CANT brownstene house in Forty eighth
| street.
a Professional shoplifters," continued the
speaker, Every often wear great cleaks
: They can put away good deal under them
BY raising their folded arms under theil
, cloaks they conceal the added size the
stolen articles give them. They have
). pocket made in the front of their dresses
big enough to hold a number of large pack
/ ages. Why, when we unloaded q woman
: here one day, we took out of that pocke
y all that a COED sized boy could carry OF
! his outstretched arms. l remember hov
: indignant that woman was when accused
q al was walking through the store one da,
a when a clerk told me that he thought
4 woman he was serving had stolen SOM
!, Leghern hats. l walked up to her anC
= raised her arm suddenly. Twenty-Five hat
q fell to the floor. You know what Lsghorl
hats are. They are made of a kind o
:. grass and fold close together. She hat
% concealed $37 worth. She said that sh
. had picked them up on the floor and wa
# going to put them where the rest of tn
n hats were kept. We arrested her.
% "The hands of an experienced shoplifte
Il work faster than the eyes of an observer
,. A Central Office detective standing in tn
q. store one day saw woman putting ava
n silk handkerchiefs. She'd hold one up a
q if to examine it, and then she'd suddenl
:. pass it into her other hand and then into
> big front pocket with such lightning lik,
- rapidity that the detective couldn't tel
# what she was doing, but he thought sh
h was putting them back on the counter
"a He made study of the subject and caugh
n her.
a Shoplifters often steal our vslises an
!, basket, and then go around the store film
them up. We know good many of tn
- profession. We sent a man to the trial G
:. Mr.. and Mrs. V0lkener, who were accuse
n lately of an attempt to poison Mr.. Blair, G
n Chatham, n. Y. You remember it wa
a. said that Mrs. VOlkener and Mrs. Connolly
!. who lived with her, were shoplifters. II
/. came back and said the face of the bi
% woman Mrs. Connolly was familiar on
?. in our store.
>. "Ths worst thing shoplifters do," h
"A said in conclusion, sis to steal from GU
- customers. They are fond Of taking pocke
;o books and valses. We would great dea
- rather they would steal frOm us, for tn
ia victims are sure To give store where the
70 ara robbed bad reputation. Not lon
nf ago lduy WuO uhu p1Ao ia SILVER III
"a valss rested it on the counter q momen
! and it disappeared. She found an cid on
" : in its place. We believed that the thisve
: : who stole it knew that she had the money
' and followed her fer long distance."-
~ ". Y. Stn.
70 It is very probable that Mayer Kallec
h will have to " go" before long. At NEE
ing Of the San Francisco Board of Supe
visors, on Monday evening, at which th
- Mayor presided, a resolution was adopte