Morris tribune., 1888-02-22
METHODS or aIsoPLlFrsRs.


Enlistment. ave have our own private
detectives, some Of whom are women, ID
protect our property but shOplifting 3 co.
prevalent that not . day passes without
the detection OF one or more thieves The
professional thieves, 1adroit aa they are,
give us less trouble than the new hands.
All the notorious shoplifters are well
known to our detectives, and the mo-
ment one shows her face in the doorway
she is warned away. As soon as q pro-
fessional finds herself spotted she takes to
the road and works the principal cities In
regular order. IL takes her several
months to work the circuit, ut the endof
which time she can start all over again
without much fear Of being recognized.
The expert shoplifter doen 7 resOrt'tadis-
g,lises as muchas the uninitiated would
suppose. She takes o pride In her pro-
fession and looks upon stealing merely as
a means of livelihood. She Is courageous
to the extreme and steals with an audaci-
ty that Is startling. When detected she:
becomes logged, Gets with the sindiifer-
ence of a woman Of the world, looks
upon the matter as one Of the fortunes OF
war and never tries to crawl out of the
hole by adding lie to her. ether crime.
There is some satisfaction in outwitting q
foe like this, whose life ID tinged with ro-
nance, and who will wage AZ fair war
fare against you as the dishonesty Of her
practices win admit.
.sOn the other hand, the amateur thief
or kleptomaniac, or whatever you like TO
call her, viii resort to the ineafieet and
most contemplate plans to- steal your
goods. If detected in the act, she win
vilify yon, say she is insyilted,, threaten
to sue, and lie Nike Digger slnklian.
There is not person ON earth so dear-a
father, mother, brother or q sister
whom she would not betray IN order to
secure immunity for herself. Often these
new hands travel in.pairs. When caught
they disgust you with human nature by
their mutual recriminations.
Gas for the excuses offered by shop
filters when brought TO bay most OF them
have become so threadbareg as to be
known as chestnuts. Once in while an
ingenious crook will spring anew fake
story on us, some of which would be
convincing enough if itzwasn't for the
tangible evidence. have kept a record
of all these excuses, and will enumerate
a few of the common and curious ones.
''First, there is the fashionably dressed
woman, well connected and of undoubted
responsibility. Pilfering with her ID ne
doubt, more of a disease than crime.
She never steals anything very valuable,
but picks up little odds and ends, that take
her fancy, such as a tape measure, a
spool of cotton, a match safe. an odd
glove, single garter, Aetc: : You viii
notice that some of these things are Of nc
possible use or value to her. AS. far as
possible we avoid bringing her failing to
her notice. The trif1es she has stolen are
added to her bill and she pays it without
being conscious of having been detected.
Sometimes the friends Of this class OF
shoplifters will find out where. she has
been shopping and return all the things
she brought home to seesn they have AL
been paid for.
'sThe richly dressed woman, who passes
as respectable, is the one who gives VI
the most trouble. She always goes in
for a big haul, and haunts the lace and
silk counters. Her stealingB are OF such
magnitude, and her work is done in such
bungling manner, that she is sure 10
be detected almost at once. When caught
and requested to step into the examining
room she bursts out in loud and vulgar
remonstrance. After getting our goods
back we generally have her locked up.
Then there is sure to be . hue and cry
about an outrage and that sort Of thing
until she In tiled. and heavily lined,
There are always plenty of zsshyster law
yers to induce her to bring aEsuit for
damages against us on the whack up
plan. These vampires try TO. biackmail
MS into compromising the suit, but 1--WE
know enough to remain arm.
"a very common type Of. the shop.
litter comes from the middle. walk Of
life. She is generally a foolish woman
whose husbands salary is not large
enough to supply her with the finery She
longs for, 50 she determines to- steal sit.
At first her pilferings are very small. but
in time she becomes emboidened by sue.
cess and there is nothing toorich for her
to slip under her dress. hen -ttiseov-
cred she is full of excuses. She was just
taking the article over to the light. on
she wanted to buy something afanother
counter and unconsciously kept it in her
hand, or she wished to obtain the epip-
ion of friend whom she Thought she
saw at the other end OF the store, or the
thing got caught in her dress in some
unaccountable manner. Aewonan OF
this kind. is anxious to avoid publicity,
and as she is ready enough; TO pay the
full value of the article, we let her &c
scot free, after the detectives have scrtl-
tinted her 80 that she would be readily
recognized again. -: : j
s.sThe child shoplifters are: hard to de-
tect. They are precious little tots, and
become wonderfully proficient in q short
time. As they are unable to secrete
many articles on their persons, they EN-
ploy most of their time nRpicking the
sachels of the shoppers. You would
think that a little 1O-year-old girl would
break down and confess everything upon
being arrested, but they remain perfectly
self possessed and go through the trying
ordeal of a searching examination with
the easy indifference of professional.
These children are taught to steal by fe-
male Fagins, who con6scate everything
and whip them numerically when they
are unsuccessful.
"Most of these children are visions OF
loneliness and innocence. A woman once
told me that she saw a little girl deliber.
ately steal her pocketbook, but there was
such an imploring look in the little ones
marvellous eyes that she had not the heart
to accuse her. 80 a.. IS
1.-THE contrivances for carrying stolen
goods on the person are models Of inge-
nuity. A long bag sewed to the inside Of
the dress, with pocket two feet wide, u
the most common receptacle, but large
hollow hustle, easy of access, is much
used. don't know how women can
store things in such out of the way
places in public store, but valuables
have been found stuffed away in their
hats, corsets, shoes and stockings. ~
New York Evening Sun.
some Facts About Ferrsts.
'.Ferrets are not common in this co1n-
try and we have hard work to INTRODUCES
them, ]" said the first importer and largest
breeder Of ferrets in New York to re-
porter.
I'm England hunting with ferrets il q
popular sport, and every country gentle.