Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1885-03-26
sH0PLIFTERs.


this claes OF thieves exceed all estimate.
and there is one house which places its
loss as s., 900 a year. All the leading
retailers are obliged to employ private
detectives, but even this precaution Is
not sufficient One man who has suf-
fered constant loss in this manner saws
that they often detect women in thefts
which seem due to extreme poverty.
These they never prosecute. Profess
sional shoplifters, however, are inyari-
ably handsomely dressed and have an
air Of good breeding and respectabiIity.
'T once, said he, 4-Iooked down from
the second-story skylight and saw two
elegantly-dressed women stealing rolls
Of ribbon. 7 came down and ac-
cused them Of theft. They were, Of
course, highly Indignant, but before an
arrest could be- made we saw them drop
the rolls, and this ended the case. These
women, as we afterward learned, lived
in an elegant house and moved in good
society, but they were evidently expert
thieves" Such cases occur daily in all
the great establishments, and the crowd
of fashionable shoppers gives an oppor-
tunity which is well improved. A lead
ing retailer says he would give SO, 600 a
year to be insured against shoplifting.
The rapidity with which an expert
shoplifter works is often astonishing. As
one man remarked, s'their hands move
faster than our eyes can watch them. !"
To illustrate this I may refer to the
statement of a detective who saw a
woman tucaxing away silk handkerchiefs.
She would hold one up as if examining
it, and then, while appearing to lay it
down, she would slyly slip it into the
other hand, whence it would 60 into a
big front pocket with rapidity that
was almost incredible The detective at
first supposed the handkerchiefs were
laid down on the counter, but he ven
tured to make an arrest, and then learned
the extent Of the theft These shop
thieves seem to have their specialties.
One class picks up small things, perhaps
because it has not the nerve and skill to
make larger thefts. Others, however,
approach the counters where the most
valuable goods are kept, and then by
artfully engaging the clerks attention
the thief will contrive to hide in the
folds ofher cloak piece Of silk or some
other valuable goods. The expert shop
litter must be well dressed and ladylike
in manner. She often wears veil, and
is occasionally in deep mourning, which
abates suspicion. After making haul
she goes home as rapidly as possible, and
is careful to avoid the counter that has
been thus worked" for several months.
Professional shoplifters generally travel
In pairs, SO that Ito use police term)
one ''stalls = for the other. These con-
federates do not enter store together.
They know that watchful eyes are to be
met, and hence great care is necessary to
avoid suspicion. An elegantly dressed
lady steps up to the lace counter and
asks for expensive embroideries. She
is difficult to suit, and the clerk soon
has several boxes open before her. While
thus engaged another lady approaches
and interrupts the clerk by inquiring for
some goods of entirely different char
acter. The clerk hands them down as
rapidly as possible, and this lucky nick
of time is not lost. In a few minutes
the ladies walk off, each different way,
having made no purchases, but when the
clerk puts the goods away he notices
that two or three cards of embroidery are
missing.
A man sometimes "stalls" for female
''pal, and this is commonly done at
counters served by lady clerks. A bright
young fellow can to a great degree
monopolize the clerks attention while
his "pal' slips things up her sleeves or
into her pocket Another method is as
follows: One day modest looking wom-
an created sensation in crowded store
by frantically declaring that her purse
had been stolen. She thus engaged the
attention Of the floor walker, the store
detective and several of the clerks, who
felt relieved when the pocketbook was
at last found, having slipped into the
wrong pocket. A few moments after
her departure several packages of gloves
were missed, and then the clerks remem-
bered that young man who stood near
suddenly disappeared amid the excite
ment Of the scene.
In view of the rapidly increasing ex-
tent Of shoplifting I may quote the
language Of leading business man,
which certainly hope to be exaggerated:
''The fact is, said he, 'sthat New York
women are gradually getting into habit
of stealing, and we know that habit is
second nature. Ladies of acknowledged
position do not scruple to pilfer any lit
tie thing that comes in their reach.
Custom house officers say that the greatest
ladies think it no crime to smuggle when
they come from Europe, and many Of
them think il just as proper to rob
merchant. we often let things pass, for
we do not want to drive customers away
and then when we have to make an arrest
there is the worn out plea Of kleptoma-
MIA. You will find some first-class ladies
taking refuge in this excuse as soon az
detected. Sympathy is always with the
lady, and we have to suffer the risk Of
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