The Forrest City times., 1892-03-11
SHIPPING DETECTIVES.
THE NOVEL DUTIES OF JOb-
 BERS' EMPLOYES.
Men Whose Sole Business 1t Is to Pre- vent Thefts From Trucks and Ad- dresses From PAckages--A
 New Oceupstion-


 While in conversation with his at torney the other day the head of one of the largest wholesale dry goods houses in this city had occasion to re- fer casually to the various classes oI men whom his firm found it necessary to employ, relates the Chicago Herald. After citing salesmen. various kinds of clerks credit man, cashier, book keepers, etc. the head of the firm added. and shipping detectives. "
 And what?n asked the attorney. as though ho had misunderstood the term
 Shipping detectives. replied the client
 Well that's a new one on mel It was also new to the Herald representa- tive who was all attention.
 There's nothing strange about that said the wholesaler. for the shipping detective is quite new thing. Few houses -only the larger ones-have cause to employ them and the house that does usually keeps the matter as much of secret as the condition of its bank account"
 What are his duties?i
 Principally to shadow consign- ments of goods from the time they leave the store until they reach the freight depot and the railway company be- comes responsible for them by accept ing and receipting for them"
 "A sort of watchdog on the team ster?n
 Only in part You see we ship a great many small boxes which frequently contain hundreds of dollars worth of goods such as fine silks satins. rich trimmings. &c. Often the wagon on which these boxes leave the store passes through alleys or narrow and unfrequented side streets. need not remind you that there are scores of very bold dexterous thieves in Chicago. as we'll as other big cities. who are constantly on the lookout for opportunities to nip any thing what ever that can be turned into money. Many expensive experiences with these people have demonstrated that they keep themselves remarkably well informed as to the more valuable ship ments made by wholesale houses In former years it was an almost daily occurrence for wholesale houses par ticularly those in our line-to have small boxes of fine goods bodily 1 taken from the wagons in broad dav- | light while going the compara ively I small distance necessary 10 be covered between store and freight depot Only few years ago our firm had three such boxes stolen at a clip from one of 1 the wagons at o'clock in the after noon. while they were being carted less than four squares. By descrip- tion which was furnished of the thieves by bootblack we caught one Of the | three bold laddies and sent him over the road but we never recovered the i goods which were valued al ever s, 900. This was hut one of several such losses Now we have men who do little else than keep their eyes on l goods from the moment they are | plac ed on transfer wagons until they are safe within the responsibility oi 1 the railroad company. And frequent 1 ly it keeps them lodging pretty live l ly. for they, Of course follow tn c wagons afoot going along the side walk. and keeping sufficient distance in the rear as not to attract attention. 1 Another duty of the shipping de. tective-for whom some houses have | different name--is to prevent as far as possible, the theft Of consignment addresses. There are firms doing bus mess in this and. l suppose. other cities who employ men to lie in wait at various times and places and copy the addresses on boxes of goods which other firms are sending out The ob. 1 ject is plain-namely to have their salesInen call on the parties later on and try to get their trade. The ship. ping detectives employed by us have caught several such sneaks. but not withstanding they are guilty of plain 1 unvarnished thieving. yet all We can possibly hope to do in the matter is to drive them away. or when we catch them at it give them a sound basting. 'Of course they will never reveal the name of the firm they are stealing the addresses for and this makes il impossible for the reputable houses to publicly expose their despicable mas ters. Such hirelings are usually blacklisted clerks from other cities. and they hold their dishonorable jobs but a short time Any one noticing the loads of boxed goods that are to be seen upon the principal down town streets at any hour of the day will ob. serve that as a rule the addresses are not exposed If they are the boxe: in all probability represent import: instead of exports. A strict following of this rule regarding the placing O. boxes on wagons is enforced by near ly all the houses and goes far toward guarding against the class of thieve, last mentioned"