The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1893-07-01
NEST or PERFORMANCES.
Chicago Detective Retails . Very Id.
i teresting "Reminiscences.

4 Chicago Detective Retails . Very Id.
teresting "Reminiscences.
"Kleptomania," said detective at
The Central station to . Chicago Mail
reporter the other day, ''is an affection
chat is as widespread as 1t is peculiar.
| never could understand why women
who have comfortable homes and are not
IN actual want-whose husbands would
give them money to buy things With if
they asked for it=should, for the mere
love OF stealing, purloin articles often.
Zines such as they Gould tievef use.
But I'll tell YOU. the officer continued,
"there is not as much kleptomaiia as
Vthere is alleged to be: The fact is the
diseases Is, nine titles Gut of ten, plain
larceny. It becomes kleptomania only
when the thieves are detected and turn
out to be ostensibly respectable people.
II was called into case once which led
to train of the most peculiar eircum.
stances ever uncovered
"A certain retail store on State street
had been missing articles for long
time. Ladies' gloves; hosiery, velvet
ribbon and other objects of feminine
use had been disappointing by wholesale.
The pfoprietbrs suspected woman who
was d good customer 81 thefrs, and, SO
far as her appearance &4s concerned,
should have been above suspicioh: She
was OF middle age. dressed richly and
lived in a fashionable boarding house:
Before proceeding against hsr It was
necessary to- have proof, and I engaged
board at the house where she stopped.
Besides the suspect; the boarders in:
c1uded Board OF Trade man of sixty, q
thin' old lady of the same age, who had
. son of twenty, and q spinster daughter
who Taught kindergarten school;
commercial man and his wife, and
clerk in Wholesale coal Office who was
;, 1T took me only 4 {st;ws days to ret
the bearings of the house The suspect
had q room on the third floor. She was
down: town all day, though. she had
nothing to keep. her unless it was her
occupation Of shop-lifting. She had
means of her own evidently from her
room and dress. III less han week I
discovered that she was selling artic les
TO the other, ladies in the house. Size
would drop into the room Of the COM
1aercial mans wife and display a bolt Of
velvet ribbon Or, several, pairs Of gloves.
She said she had, got them very cheap;
and that though she could not wear them
she had bought them because they were
such great bargain. Then she would
inquire if the commercial mans wife
did not want to buy the articles. I got
enough evidence to ,convictsher and took
her to the store-keaper's. OF course she
played the kleptomania dodge, and they
let hetpff, ri; :.
'Ndw I get to the best part Of nv
story. discovered that in that board:
ing-house there were two other k1epto-
maniacs-if you choose to- call them
that! One was the old lady whose
daughter taught a kindergarten, the
other was the young man iu the coal
Office: :; ',:r'
y:"The old ladys daughter treated het
very badly, because she was not = cul-
tivated person, while her daughter
made great pretentlons to culture, In
fact, She often STRUCK her. Though tho
daughter received good salary and one
son,livtpg in the house got s1s or $40 per
week, and two other grown sons were
prosperous, one receiving $4,000 and the
other $4,000 per year., the oldylady was
never given. any ready money. Why9
Because: she; citing with mothers
tervor to a drunken, worthless older son;
who sneaked to- the house when his Sis
ter was away and 'bled' her tor all her
spare CHANGE: "'> 80 !, : ~ i =:
+ "she had to 'steal't to keep that black
sheep inca maudlin state: The other
ladies missed little articles from time to
time, but the boarding-house was a
swell one, you: know, ahd they could not
voice ttoif Suspicion The Board qof
Trade man missed halt a dozen collars
one day; and shortly afterwara lie; saw
the SON Of the old lady" weafihg one.
The boy had given his mother 1nuney:to
buy collars. which had gone into the
etomath Of his brother in the shape of
whisky. The larcenies 'fWiere brought
homie to the old lady by the dtseoveryos
lot OF towels, the PROPERTY Of: the
clearinghouse Keeper, which were found
Wrapped up in one Of her petticoats.
The daughter tearfu1ly said that she
was kleptomaniae and sought another
clearinghouse. Underwear missed BY
malo boarders was fourd in the trunk Of
they the young man whqq:; worked in /. coal
s s, -and with both these dlScov'
cries Game the explanation ,qf the III.
sence.' Of many things, 1.-The; clerk
for the coal Office fdeclated that he
couldn't help it, that he was klepto-
m !! and he, too, Disappeared. II
was the most Interesting nest '5f klepto-
maniacs that ever struck, and was
the only person who lost nothing in my
weeks Stay there, because I took moth.
ing with ME: + hei> house Il howrfilled
with a set Of sa tirely new boarders."
=: 49,, Hlj Peas and chiSkeiiss -
;, A eitizen ii Lee County, Ga, tells the
following story: Last spring I planted
: Lot, Ct English II :. ;peas. 0Pe aay the
them up. and ate them. I.didn't have
time JUST then to SEND TO. town after
more; pea seed to plant, 30 decided to
cut the chiekens' craws.. open, take the