Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1891-05-22

escaped. She now gives that store wide
berth, however.
A fine looking blond, known to the
police as Big Grace, and whose picture
adorns inspector Brynes' collection, is an
other clever satchel fend, whose clever.
ness and swell appearance long baffied
detectives. She had pal Maggie NJ
with whom she worked this game wonder
fully for loug time until they both came
to grief.
As the best inventions are generally the
simplest, so are the latest and most sue
cessful methods of shoplifting There
are three. One is done by means of the
cloak known as the Connemara. This is
made somewhat like a circular. 1t is a
long loose cloak covering even the hands.
1t enables the thief not only to steal with
greater degree of safety, but also to con-
ceal her body. All she has to do is to set
near crowded counter, throw the edge
of her cloak partly over the article she
covets, slip her band underneath the cloak,
take the article, step back and hold it IN
her hand. Unless she is caught in the
act she cannot be arrested or even sus-
pected.
Another is still simpler. The thief
lays her handkerchief carelessly on some
small article she wants to steal, feigns a
desire to buy something else, is not suited,
and while the salesgirl replaces the goods
on the shelf the thief picks up her booty
with her handkerchief. If she should hap
pen to be caught she naturally claims that
she did not know she had the stolen article
In her possession.
The third one is worked by means of
handbag containing twine and wrapping
no hnrr r,Nl La
hand and filled with whatever goods the
shopllfter can secure; then she will go in
t. the toilet room, or some side street.
take out the goods, paper and twine, wrap
them up In neat parcel and try again or
go away unmolested.
Another recently cotton up scheme Is
being worked on shops which permit well
known customers to open accounts A
well dressed and refined looking lady re-
Gently went into Sixth-avenue store, say
ing that she was the daughter of Mrs.
-. Il have the name, but will omit it
Mrs. -- was a wealthy customer whom
she must have seen buy ON credit, and
noted the address and name. The girl
bought S65 worth of silk which she wanted
to take with her. The salesman told her
it was customary to require reference or
identification from parties unkn own! to
them. Did she know anyone in the neigh
borhood who could identify her? No
She had just come out of boarding school.
The salesman consulted with the superin-
tendent, and 1t was agreed to let her have
the goods, when by accident it was dis
covered that she had given two different
addresses. Nothing daunted, she acknowl-
edged her mistake, and said the first ad-
dress was the right one. How stupid of
her! But she was unused the city and had
another address in her mind. Becoming
suspicious the salesman said the rules of
the store would require him to send the
goods.
"Oh, very well. Perhaps it would be
more satisfactory to you, come to think of
it, she SAID, ''and it will suit me just as
well, if only get them.by seven O'Clock this
evening"
The goods were sent to the address given.
The next day Mrs. -- went to the store
with the goods saying she had not ordered
them and asked for an explanation. In
vesigation revealed that "the girl inst out
of the boarding school, had purchased
many other articles at other counters
which she had taken with her.
But perhaps the cleverest of all shop
lifters tricks is the 'pennyweighter' game.
Its known but to few, and practised by
still smaller number, for it is a difficult
one. 1t has been most successfully worked
by pretty little blonde with a baby face,
blue eyes. curly hair and the general ap-
pearance of bewitching soubrette. Her
professional name is Little Scoity." She
came to grief in Boston and was given
three years. Her mode of working is to go
to jewelry store and ask to be shone loose
diamonds on tray. She pretends to be
very short sighted and bends over and
very close to the glass. She exposes her
left hand So not to be suspected, and at
propluous moment drops a one carat
diamond into the tray and with her
tongue, on the point of which she has
pulverlzed alum, she licks up the two carat
diamond. She cannot find the exact
counterpart of the one she wants to match
(Which she has not with herr and goes into
another store where she exchanges her two
carat diamond in similar manner for
three carat, and so on ad infnitum. When
with a one carat diamond and had reached
SIX and half carats, making three or
four hundred dollars in few hours.
Store detectives say that there are COM
paratively few professional shoplifters in
this city now, and once they are caught
they disappears the law permits-and
never return. They go to other cities.
They say that supposedly respectable
women now give them more trouble than
thieves. 1t requires much more skill and
discrimination to handle them lest they
might accuse an innocent person. They
scout the theory of kleptomania and say
that not one woman in thousand who
StoaIc Inac IL
glsts, however, contend that there is such
thing as klepGomania, which they des-
cribe as species of mental arrangement
coming under the head of ''volitional in
sanity" 1t is, they say, an inability to
exert the will in accordance with the in
tellect. Although this theory would seem
to be sustained by the fact that wealthy
women have frequently been caught shop.
lifting, store detectives say that inquiries
have revealed the fact that such women
were not given the allowance Of money by
their husbands that would enable them to
dress as well as they wished to.
woman was caught stealing a nine
teen cent knife In Fourteenth street store
one day, who wore FIVE or six thousand
dollars worth of diamonds But sh.
turned out to be professional thief.
l found out, to my astonishuent, that
there are comparatively few of our large
stores who employ detectives, the majority
of them training their salesgirls and floor
walkers to do the work Still, | found
one which, besides having man detec-
tive, also employed woman, who mixes
among customers in full street costume
Not all store thieves are caught, and
those who are captured are not alway.
prosecuted. And, this entails loss to
each first class store which runs up into
the thousands, and which has a place in
the profit and loss account-New York
Herald.