Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-08-12
shop Lifting.

You would be most wonderfully sur
prised." said one of Omaha's prominent
dry goods men, to a reporter yesterday,
''lf l should tell you how many people
and who they are, that have a mania,
as they cali 1t, for 'nipping' articles
every time they go into store, and
hiding them under their clothing. Why,
I'll stake my honor" he continued, ''on
the assertion that there are no less than
one hundred professional shoplifters i'll
the 81, 500 population which goes to
make up the life and soul of this town.
No, they are not all among the low,
hard-up class either. In fact a very
large majority of theE move among the
upper circles and have plenty Of
money"
The merchant contended, when asked
why, that to prosecute and expose them
would be very detrimental to his trade:
81 get pay for everything they steal, so
what's the diference?"
"Make them pay double price for
what they buy?"
I'm some instances, yes; but let me
give you pointer and cite little case
that happened in my store onl y one day
last week.
"All right. fire away and talk slow"
well, you see, We have got all these
people, or at least nearly all of them,
spotted so closely that it is impossible
for one to come to the store without our
knowing it and keeping an eye on her.
This particular case was an elegantly
dressed woman. She was out shopping
in handsome rig, with liverled driver
and stylish horses supposed to be her
own. She came into our store and
went to the lace department. Before
going out / received a note FROM the
lady clerk who waited on her, saying
that she had stolen several pairs of
gloves and silk hose and was about to
get away with them. L called the wo-
man into my Office and asked her about
it. At first she became very indignant
and threatened to send her husband
down, who she knew would paraiyZe
me for Offering her such an outrageous
insult, but l was not to be frightened
in that manner, and when she found
ont that | knew she had the articles
hidden about her garments, and pro-
posed to satisfy her that knew by
having her searched, she broke down
completely and offered to give, me 800
if l would let it pass and never give her
away. The woman buys any amount
of goods, is wealthy. and has no excuse
whatever for stealing, but she said to
me then that she didn't know why she
took those gloves and hose; that she
L. Int
couldn't help it. They were worth
about S1.50 pair, but charged her So,
which she gladly paid and went away.
At sanother time well-known woman,
whose name will not mention, came
in wearing a silk dress, the goods Of
which we had missed and l knew 1t.
The next day we sent her bill for the
dress, and you can bet she paid 1t with
out saying a word. Numerous times
have we missed gloves, hose, bolts of
ribbon, handkerchiefs, etc., but We
generally know who takes them, and
when they come III the next time We
respectfully request pay for such arti-
cles and the pay is always forthcoming.
/ don't know how other merchants are
harassed in this business, but If the
shoplifters were not known to us We
would be stolen blind.
1t is not probable that Omaha is any
worse off in this respect than other
towns, but possibly Omaha has more
of the shoplifting class than many
places of its size. Many Of the mer-
chants complain, and why they don't
cause some arrests to be made Is strange.
As stated above, no doubt they would
to a certain extent iDiure their trade.
1t is quite noticeable also that when
cornered and brought into close quar-
ters nearly all of the professional shop
llfters make the same defense, as an
excuse, for their crime, and that Is,
that it is a mania they can't control and
are not responsible for.
"What kind of actions do they 60
to get away with the goods?"
was asked of the gentleman interviewed.
'You would be amused" he said,
''to see them. While pretending to
look at goods they lean away over the
counter, play the blind racket, and get
down with.ther face almost against the
counter. While in this position il is
easy enough to rake of with one hand
anything lying near, and stuffing it
under their cloak. 1t is noted that
those kind of people always wear some
kind of a loose sacque or cloak, hot or
,old weather"