, 1885-04-11
THE FLOOR IVA
ONE or THE RESPONSIBLE POSITIONS
IN A RETAIL STORE
The Man Who Meets You at the Door Of a
Dry Goods Estabilshment-shoP-
nnerz the Bans Of His Ex-
Istenoe.


kANtaS1 AHi aAAaI An"
In conversation with . reporter a floor
walker IN one Of the largest retail houses in
this city said: ~The responsibility that rests
upon our shoulders Is by no means light
We have 10 keep our eyes open and be ON
the qui vivo every minute Of the day. We
must be ON duty as soon as trade opens IN
the morning. and remain until the doors are
closed at night, and WI get no rest We are
obliged to be on the move constantly, keep
ing as far as possible every customer Under
our eye just so long as he or she is within
nothing more nor less than detect
ives, but, OF course, It wouldn't do
for Us to be looked upon by
the public In that light, as the majority OF
people who come hero 10 do their trading are
honest, and to give them to understand that
they are doing business under the eye OF
suspicion would no doubt rufiio tho dignity
OF many Of them and drive them away, SO
we call ourselves ~hoor-walkers, and the peo-
pie are satisfied"
In answer to tho reporters query, II poo
pie were often detected in the act OF taking
goods he replied. AOh, yes, there is hardly a
day passes that We don't discover somsbody
slowing away laces or remnants of silk and
velvets, when the attention of the clerk Is
attracted in some other direction More OF
this business is done in winter than in summer
as the heavy cloaks OF the ladies enable them
TO conceal articles which 1t would be i'm
possible for them to get out of sight when
dressed In summer apparel l speak OF
women exclusively, as It Is them we have to
fear. have been employed in several large
establishments In various cities and never
knew OF a man being detected in getting
away with goods while pretending to be a
purchaser. The majority of men are too
clumsy in handling dry goods to attempt to
fitch them in broad daylight The people we
catch stealing are hardly over prosecuted
unless they are found to be professional
counter workers. in which case they are
summarily dealt with.
AYou will DO surprised when l tell You the
class Of people we have 10 watch closest are
shop girls and ladies In the intermediates
grade Of society. Some women, no matter
where you find them within the pale OF civil
~ization, have an unconquerable passion for
dress, and though they may enter a dry
good store with absolutely honest Intentions
their conscientious acrnples are often over.
come by the fascinating array OF rich goods
and their attempts to gain by stealth
that which they have not the money to
obtain. When caught in the act Of pilfer-
ing you can hardly imagine the contrition
of these poor creatures They don't seem to
realize what they have done until they are
taAAA RhNf AANA NtaAa ~ ~
to the house in prosecuting such girls. 1t is
moro than likely that they ave never boon
guilty OF a crime Of this nature before, and
TO bring them into open court and disgrace
them before the eyes OF the public would, in
nine cases out of ton, harden their conscion-
ces, and they would drift into a current that
would carry them to ultimate ruin.
"I rcmember, while in a New York houss
a Few years ago, u singularly pretty girl
came into the store one afternoon and, going
to the hoisery department, had the clerk lay
before her a nne display Of footwear. After
looking the stock over she made n trihing
purchase. and turned to leave. l noticed
that as shs came down the store she walked
with a hurried step that seemed unnatural,
and her checks were highly flushed, while
she kept her eyes fixed ON the door as II she
was measuring the distance, inch by inch,
that lay Between her aud the sidewalk. | at
once felt assured that she had been doing
something that made her uneasy, and when
l laid my hand on her arm she started AS II
she wero stung, while a look OF fright
camS into her face. Ga my
invitation she reluctantly followed me
mo Into the managers office. where l told
her that she must give up tho articles she
had stolen. At first she showed signs Of in
dignation, and accused mo OF insulting her
but I was sure I was right, and told her II
she did not do as requested / should get an
officer to search her. THIS throat had the de-
sired effect, and In the midst Of historical
sobbing she took several valuable pairs OF
silk hose from beneath her cloak. The sor-
row of tho girl was painful to behold, and
ON her knees she begged me not to
make her guilt public. OF course l promised.
The strangost part Of the story, however, is
that two years later the same girl was mar
ried TO a well-known business man, and the
secret Of her first and only attempt at shop
lifting lies between her and myself.
"Professional shoplifters are hard to catch;
thoy are as cool. calm and collected when
'nipping' a roll OF lace or silk as a corpse, and
they do 1t so deity It is seldom they are de-
tocted~ A shoplifter rarely enters n store
alone, but bring ! an accomplish with her.
who engages tho clerk in conversation and
averts his attention while she gets away with
whatever she eau conveniently stow away.
She always dresser elegantly to dis
arm suspicion, aud the various plaits an
trimmings on her skirt conceal tho opening
OF large pockets into which the 'swag' is
deity slipped. Shop-lifters are NOR
common in New York and Boston than IN
Chicago, rs they easily cnn find receiver
for their stolen goods who pay them such a
pric a. makes their vocation profitable. D
course we arc not free from shoplifters by
any means, but the eastern cities seem to be
headquarters for them Il Is not seldom
that clerks are in league with these thieves.
Floor walkers as a class are well paid
many Of tho shrewdest men In the New
York aud Boston houses get as high as So, 0O'
a year, but the majority got from $500 to
$e,5oa. Yes, we ars well paid, but our work
is tedious and our responsibility heavy
A Kingdom OF Contrasts