Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-19
THIEvING WIVES.
Women Who Steal from Their Husbands
"A Police Lieutenant s.Story.



/ 'Do you see that man goinO out tba
1 door asked Police Lieutenant Ouigley
at the seventeenth district station house.
he mas been robbed, and his wife robbed
/ MN. ABOUT three months ago he came TO
me and told me he had been robbed. /
Drought hln into my private office and
/ closed the door. Then / examined him
lie told me he had put ST away on the
upper shelf of closet and that il was his
rent money. When he went TO look for
the money it was gone. l asked him if he
suspected anybody. He said yes, be sus-
pected sixty johnson, an old iail-bird.
didn't say anything, but Sixty was in
the workhouse at the time. Presently |
asked him very abruptly: Did your wife
know where this money WASP He looked
at me IN astonishment, and SAID ''of course
she knew where it was, but she didn't
touch it, L thought differently. but
kept my susplclOns to myself, and sent
TWO special officers to the mans house 10
examine the premises and see if a bur-
glar had broken in. Well the men came
back and reported that they could find no
trace OF thieves. Then | was satisfied
that the wife stole the money and spent il
while be was away to CRAFTY some appe-
tlte that she kept secret from her husband.
That man has been here three or four
tunes since and reported his house robbed
The fool don't know that his wife's rob
bing him."
"Why do you think the wife had stolen
the money when you could not find any
evidence of burglary -
just this way. l instructed tile special
officers to make inquiry about the neigh
borhood as TO the woman's Ii abits, and it
didn't take long to learn that a beer
bucket was carried in and out of the house
all day long.
- had another case oc hur,rIor,, ,.o,,,rt
ed to me short time ago. The man was
a young Englishman. He lived on Tasker
street, near Tenth. He came to me one
night and told me he had been robbed of
$40. | asked him where he lived, whether
be drank and if he was married. He told
me he had been married month. He also
told me he didn't drink. | asked him if
his wife drank. He got very indignant
and was very much put out at my allusion
to his wife. Well, | told him to 20 home
and to come back to the station house the
next night and would tell him who stole
his money. He was a mechanic in some
shop down town, made big wages and was
a thrifty young fellow. Tie went to work
next morning at $3.50, as usual About
O'Clock | sent couple of special officers
around to the house. They didn't 90
in. They first kept an eve on things.
About or $50 nice-looking
young blonde came out of the vouns
EnGlishman's house and walked hurriedly
down the street. The officers followed at
a respectful distance. They saw the
woman enter a house. Then theV went
back to the neighbOrhOOd where she lived
and in an apparently careless way found
out that she went out nearly every MORN
ing and staid out until or O'Clock in
the afternoon. Then the men came back
to me. had to smile. couldn't help it.
| thought how that fellow would look at
me when | told him who stole his money.
lie came that night about s O'Clock, and
said to him: Don't 90 to work tomorrow
morning. Start out as usual in your
working clothes. Get a pair of Opera
glasses and hide them away in one of your
pockets and walk down Tasker street
about three blocks. Keep far enough
away from your house so that you would
not be recognized and use the glasses fire.
quently. If you see anyone come out of
your house during the morning follow the
person, and you'll know then who stole
YOUR money
"He did just as | told him, got the opera
glasses and watched his house. He was
about giving up the watch when he saw
somebody come out Of his house: as the
person drew nearer he saw that it was
his young wife. He went INTO a grocery
store and waited for her to pass, then he
followed her at a safe distance, saw the
house she entered and fifteen minutes
later rang the same door bell. He
asked for his wife. The woman who
answered his ring said no such woman
was there; just then he heard his wifes
laugh. He rushed through the entry past
the woman, found his unsuspecting bride
drinking beer with several women and
the jig was up. He came to me the next
day and told me how he caught her, and
how he made her pack up and clear out.
Bless me-" concluded the Police Lieuten-
ant, 81 know of lots of women who rob
their husbands right straight along and
spend the money for beer while the hus-
band is at work. But you can't make the
men believe that their wives are thieves.
oh, no.