The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-08-14
SHOPLIFIING.
Features ANA Phases in u Peculiar |
Kind of Life,

New York Herald.
There are very curious features abou
shoplifting. II is not confined to tho poo
or needy, but includes the wealthy as vel
Not inirequently tho worst offenders are til
bsst dressed. Agsiu, motive for tho Grim
is not often found. That person who
unableto buy either necessary or orna
mentsl article of goods should be go pos
ses'ed of the desire to gain it that no or sh
risks arreet, imprisonment and disgrace
something that can be explained. So also /
the theft of anything bya hungry pergol
with the intention of selling or pawning
to buy food. These classes of people Ar
hardly ever found shoplif!iDg. They com
init thefts, but in holder and more rockies
manner. II ia the woman who has none,
in her purse, friends in comfortable circum.
stances, home for herself and family and
husband in business who is three times ont n
four charged with the crime. One,bslf o
he time she visits the store with the beat q
Intentions. She has some little things to buy
and enters the store TO make the purchase
She even pays for what she wants and
starts for the door. The contents Of
the counters arrest her attention
She fingers only to be temnted
is tempted only TO fall. These cases stLrsci
The most sympathy from storekooners
courts snd the public. The Complainant
although no feels he a discharging an i'm.
pera.ive duty in pressingA charge, vet feels
Discrimination to push the matter. The
woman's arrest awakens her to the terrible
truth that she Is a criminal. She thinks of
her husband, his position, his love, his re-.
spect, OF her children and the shame she has
brought on them, of herself woman
stunned BY her neighbors, arraigned AT The
bar of justice with the loves! kind of ueonIn
disgraced forever. Her first impulse ia ~
deny the theft Search reveals the stolen ar.
ticles in her possession. Tears womsn's laat
resort, next, and then her appearance in the
court.
KLEPToMANIA,
Many women are kleptomsniscs. Thew
are we'll of, yet the desire 10 steal is irre,isti.
BILE. They can no more keep their hands of
the storekeeper's goods than the small bow
can be deferred, by fear of pepper and salt
or bulldog, from robbing the farmers frui,
trees. To more successfully carry out her
plans she has false pockets made In her
sacque. Ifsuspected of theft she can defy
her aocusers to find the stolen property upon
her. If they search her the false pockets of.
tentimes escapes detection. The value of the
goods stolen Is very little A SHOP litter il
seldom charged with grand larceny. The
ofense is the most petit of petit larcenles.
It frequently ranks with tho crime of the
street boy who robs some stupid looking or
recently arrived Italian OF a couple Of peach.
es, bananas or oranges. Very rarely docs
the amount involved reach 40 high rs two
dollars. A pair of gloves, Some stockings. a
collar, spool of thread, pocketbook-
these are the articles stolen. The frequent
stealisg Of them is what sunoys the store
keeper. The total reaches TO a considerable
UNI OF money.
The ''old offender" is easily detected by the
employees of the stores. Her first arrest and
trial, her denial of guilt in the face of over
whelming testimony against her, her improb.
able story of responsibility and other Incl,
dents fix her face in their minds. She will
be missing for time, but this she cannot vel
help. for she is serving her time 10 the peni
tentiary. SiHgularly enough IS soon as shC
regains her liberty she repeats her ofIensC
and selects the very same store for her oper
atoms. Now and again she will 60 from ONT
store TO another, but without fail her steps ar,
eventually turned in the old camping GROUND
where she Is recognized, caught in the &C
and resentenced TO the pentenlisry, osly &c
turn up again in the course Of lime. Ell
treme old age and inability 10 move her an,
. cient limbs alone stops the old offender frou
her predatory raids. Only recently Mary
Grimshaw, sixty years Of age, and said 10 bt
the Oldest female shoplfIer in this city, Wal
arraigned on the charge of stealing a paraso
from leading house on Broadway. Sht
had more method IN her crime thar
the Younger members OF her kind, for III,
parasol was costly one and would hay,
paid her somewhat for the risk she ran.
The plea of confirmed klep,omania ia no
In favor with justices in special sessions
The offering of such plea In that court i
not on record. In the Newcastle COUNT
court of Delaware last year Chief Justice
Comegys, however, gave On interesting do
cision 10 case Of that kind. A female pris
cner was charged with larceny. Tue dc
fencs failed to prove insanity but showed
eillg deposition, accompanied by an uncon
trollable mania for taking tho property Q
others. The justice instructed the jury &
, acquit the prisoner because she was con
flrmed kleptomaniac.
sHoPLirTING AS A PROFESSION.
To what extent shopliitrg IL carried on Il
4 this city Is shown by the case Of Sophi
Frey, a German woman. who was arreste,
\ about a year ago 10 0'Neils store on Sixt
avenue. She carried a satchel 10 which wor
found the proceeds Of no less than fifty rob
4 berries. On her we're discovered throo pocket
8 books which did not belong TO her, demon
q strAling that she had successfully carried o,
+. pocket picking as we'll MS shoplinirg. He
4 time was we'll selected, being ON Saturda
8 afternoon, when the store was greatly crowd
s cd. Mrs. Mary KNIT was one OF the person
4 robbed. She discoverek her loss almos
4 Immediately aud created ouch oommos
II that the commission Of the theft quick
became knowa 10 all those who were 10 III
E place. Detective Schmitlberger, who WI
S passing along Sixth avenue, saw the oonfu
slon, and as he was entering to discover |,
= cause he mst the woman Frey excited
Z runnina into the street. AT her feet lay Mr.