The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-07-31
EBENSBURG. PA. FRIDAY. JULY 81. 1891

I
which the cover was closcd-apparcnt-
| ly OF itself. She notified n floorwaliler.
/ The woman was called into a private
room, accused and searched, and in the
! bandbox were articles enough TO start
! miniature country fancy goods store.
Among other things she had thirteen
scarfS, an inlsstand, cigar holder and
dice box. stolen from different stores
which showed that her tastes eX-
tended over wide field
We'll. the bandbox has had brilliant
| but comparatively brief career, and
few arrests were caused by its use, but
! those that We're made occurred within
few days, and the workers of the con
! trivance saw that the game was up and
! gave up the ghost There is no record
| of any having been used recently.
This was in time succeeded by
| simpler trick, one that has long been
| worked with success, because it creates
no suspicion. 1t is the satchei game.
| Although store detectives say it is com
parItivclv dormant just now, IL was eX-
tensivcly worked during the holidays
These are used for stealing pocket
books well goods
They are, in appearance, like ordi-
! nary hand satchels, but they open and
CloSt Nv litd4lS ol al SlTnt8- 1 NJ
thicf's right hand presses a button. and
the left, which is always unglovcd. does
the rest. 1t is by this means that
| poclletboolls are oftenest stolen in
crowded dry goods stores, and this has
served TO make trouble for many sales
girls
The picllpoclet (for such he or she
is) generally works with confederate.
She first espies woman with pocket
book in her hand-and they are legion
She will follow that woman in the gen
orally gratified cNpe citation that she
viii ere long deposit it on the counter
where she stops to examine goods.
The thief win crowd near and snatch
the pocllctbooll in twinllling at the
first opportunity and pass it to the con-
federatc. who disappears and has not
been noticed near. The real thief can
remain beside the victim with safety,
as. should she be arrested, nothing can
be found on her.
As the best inventions are generally
the simplest so are the latest and most
successful methods of shoplifting.
These are three. One is done by means
of the cloak known as the councmar;I.
This i made somewhat like 4 circular.
1t is long, loose cloak, covering even
the hands. 1t enables the thief not only
to steal with greater degree of safety
but also to conceal her booty.
All she has to do is to get near a
crowded counter throw the edge uf her
cloak partly over the article which she
covetS, slip her hand underneath the
cloak, take the article, step back and
hold II in her hand. Unless she IS
caught in the act she cannot De arrested
or even suspected
Another sui simpler. The thief
laws her handkerchief careleSSly on
some small article she wants To steal,
fcigns a desire to buy something else.
is not suited, and while the salcs!ady
replaces the goods on the shelf the thief
picks up her booty with her handllcr-
chief. If she should happen To be caught
she naturally claims that she did not
know that she had the stolen article in
her possession
The third one is worked by means of
handbag containing twinc and wrap
ping paper This bag Is carried in the
left hand and filed with Whatever
goods the shoplifter can secure; then
she Will go into the toilet room or some
side street, take out the goods, paper
and twine, wrap them up in a neat par
eel and try again go away unmo-
Tested.
But perhaps the cleverest of the shop
lifters' tricks is the 'pennywcighter''
game. 1t is known t. but few and
practised by still smaller number, for
it is a difficult one. IL has been most
successfully worked by a pretty little
blonde, with n baby face, blue eyes,
curly hair and the general appearance
of a bewitching soabrette. Her profes-
sional name is Little Scotty." She
came to grief in Boston and was given
three years.
Her mode of working is to 90 TO a
jcwclry store and ask To be shown
loose diamonds on tray. She pre-
tends to be very shortSightcd and bends
over and very close to the tray. exam
iuing the diamonds through an eve
glass. She exposes her left hand 50 as
not To- be suspected, and at Il propi,ious
moment drops "A one-carat diamond into
the tray, and with her tongue. ON the
point of which She has pulvcrized alum,
she licl<s up a two-car;It 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 n similar manner for
a three-carat, and so on ad infinitum.
When she was caught she had started
with a one-carat diamond and had
reached six and half carats, making
three or four hundred dollars in a few
hours.
Store detectives say that there are
comparatively few professional shop
lifters in the city now, and once they
are caught they disappcar-as soon as
the law permits-and never return.
They 90 To other cities. They say that
supposedly respectable women now
give them more trouble than thieves.
/ found out, to my astonishment, that
there are comparatively few of our
large stores who employ detectives, the
majority of them training their sales
girls and fl0Orwalkers to do that work.
Still. found one which, besides hav-
ing man detective, also employed a
woman, who mixes among customers
in full street costume.
Not all store thieves are caught. and
those who are captured are not always
prosecuted. And this entails loss to
each frst-class store which runs up into
the thousands, and which has n place
in the profit and loss account-N.
V Herald
surplus Professionals.
France Is suffering almost as much