The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1885-06-02

suspected two Young women OF shop
lifting. Watching them closely she
saw one of them stuff a dress into q
large pocket, carried under her dress
skirt. where it was found when she was
arrested. The other girl pretended to
be respectable, and said that she had
met the thief in the street. She had
accompanied her TO the store to see her
buy silk dress. They were both sent
to the penitentiary.
In all sorts of WAYS the shoplifter
tries 10 escape detection. Even wnen
she is seen taking articles from the
counters the stolen things may not be
found upon her unless she is thoroughly
searched. Nearly every shoplifter has
her false pocket, where she secretes
what is not hers by purchase or right.
Besides this, she does the trick of put
ting small articles in the folds of her
shawl or dress. A detective suspecting
a woman of shoplifting in a shoe-store
on Sixth avenue arrested her after she
had left the place and took her back.
The stOre-keeper said that he did not
have any reason to suspect the prisoner.
The detective insisted upon her being
searched by the store-keeper's wife. A
pair of shoes were found hanging to a
hook attached to the woman's garter.
With some women shoplifting is a
mania. Although comfortably off they
will steal as often as they get an OPP
portunity. The store-keepers do not
arrest women of this class, because
they have ways of recovering the value
of the stolen articles. The husband is
made aware of the facts in the case,
and he always makes good the loss.
The most pitiful cases are those in
which the woman, otherwise respecta-
bic, is caught in her first attempt. She
can not tell why she was guilty of her
crime; all that she can say is that
she was tempted. and in a moment OF
weakness committed the act. When
these women are arraigned in court foI
trial they are overcome with shame.
This feeling of disgrace at being pub
licly arraigned as thieves is so intense
that the court, approaching the fact
generally lets them off with a day OF
two's Imprisonment. Some of these
women resolutely refuse to give their
own names. Not long since one of
them was arrested in a store in
Sixth avenue, near Nineteenth
street. She confessed her guilt,
and a large crosswise pocket, con-
cealed in the folds of her dress, was
found filled with stolen goods. She
said that she dared not bring disgrace
upon her family by letting her friends
know of her arrest. She had ample
means, she added, and was tempted to
steal upon the spur of the moment.
Another case was that of an old woman,
dressed in black, who was arrested in
an Eighth avenue dry-goods store. She
was accompanied by her daughter, who
was also arrested. Two manipulating
young men next day called at the
prison and said they were her sons.
They had been looking for her and her
daughter all night. In the possession
of the prisoners were found eight pair
of gloves and three handkerchief,
identified by the store-keeper by a
private mark. The women had given
an assumed name and wrong address.
Poverty sometimes makes shop-lifters
out of otherwise honest women. A
woman was tried in the Court of Spe-
cial Sessions short time ago for steal
ing piece of cloth from Grand street
store. She was quiet and respectable
in appearance, but her face was pinched
as if from hunger. She cried bitterly
upon her trial. She pleaded guilty,
but said it was her first offense. Her
husband, book-publisher, had COM
mitted suicide. At one time he was
wealthy, but at his death left her desti-
tute.' In moment of despair she was
driven TO commit the crime. She got
off with five days Imprisonment.
The store-keeper not only relies upon
his employees TO detect this kind of
crime, but has also the help of profess
sional and private detectives. These
men, dressed in civilians clothes,
mingle in the crowds, pretend to see
nothing suspicious going on, and sud-
denly pounce upon some one they have
been watching for long time. If the
party bounced upon does not turn out
to have stolen or attempted to steal
anything the detective does not feel
alarmed if he can prove that the party
has ever been arrested for similar of
Tense. If the person arrested has ever
before been guilty, no matter how in
nocent she may now be, the detective
talks sharply to her and tells her to
Get! quick"
When an innocent party is arrested
it is very different matter, particu-
larly if good character or social posi-
ton can be proved. The store-keeper
generally suffers in action for false
imprisonment. 1t is this that deters
them from making more arrests. They
prefer TO let ten sinners escape rather
than arrest one innocent. The private
detective very often is compelled under
the circumstances to let his suspicious
lead him no further than to eye with
fierce distrust the person he himself is
perfectly well assured may be a thief,
but who might turn up in court as
claimant in suit for fifty thousand
dollars damages.