Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1893-06-04
l r T~HIEF.CATCHERs,
How the Big storeo Doteot wom'
90 Who Stoal
An Interesting Description OF tho 1roth'
DDS or Feminine Shopliftcrs-Tho
Painful Ordeal OF Searching
tho CulprltL


OF 4 position like mine" So said the
youngest partner and floor manager Of
n big Tw~cnty-third street store wI;cro
womcn buy everything they uocd, from
shoco to hairpins.
"It's always q d~isagrccablc duty for q
man to have to accuse n omn Of any
sin," continued the young gentleman.
who knows all about womnn and her
clothes, to u New York Journal report
or, very disaGrecablc. Yet we cannot
trust the task to q female cmplovc.
Why? Oh, for q variety of reasons. prin-
cipally because women will brazen out
. thing before n woman TO the bitter
end, and then because one cannot trust
pny to tnke nbuse from another
Of her sex WITHOUT %resentirg It, losip3
her head, md either mussing up tho
wkcle job, or IN ran cases getting into
3 personal encounter.
"Of course we have women Watching
our customers md our goods, plenty of
them. Every salcslaGy Is n sort Of cx-
ofucio policeman in q big store, natural
IS, but thcn VIC have others who 20
nothing else than kcop their cyes on
tho. ladies' who trudc with u. Why
don't we use men? For O very good
reason. ii we kept O lot Of male de-
tcctivcs around we should have ono
hundred Complaints Il day about men
staring at ladies, or following them. or
e~o!ncshipG Of the oort, end iao:t Of them
would core from the fair ones who, IL
they got n chance. would purloia T. half
dozen Pairs Of gloves or O bit OF lace In
Z moment"
Use girls, then, eh2"
"Ycs; we lave bright girls for tho
watching ard q good strong, healthy.
cm TO ccarch such ladies NC object
10 exhibiting tlc contents of their par.
cells AID rocictbooks when called inc
the star chamber. But / always oGicia;s
ua n sort OF noa-oflcial judge on ti:c
case, and I'd r.ther do anything else in
the world. OF coursc, we could hand
every shopliftcr caught over 10 the po-
lice, but we rarely adopt such Z cou:se-
II would occasion too much, publicity
end possibly other disagrooable r~
quits" .
because most women who stca,
aren't really rcsponEiblc, and becaus:
when confronted with evidence cbzo.
Lutte Of their guilt, they'll always re-
store the purloincd goods, weep aud
meyer come into the store again"
ID you make many mistalkes?"
w never make the mistake OF &C
cusing n shopliftcr wrongfully, because
we mover have n woman brought u, On
that charge unless She has actually
been . to take something. a wrong
accusation would he u very ~serious CT.
fnir, and h firm had much better lose
4 lot OF property u year by theft than
o. ko-a anl.4lo -..l~ + ~. H.
ton. I've been here Eve year IN mi
present position, and l never had to talk
10 q lady whose ideas CT the ownership
OF property were lax Ia oil that time Tn.
less the eliminating evidence was IN.
mistal:able."
How do you draw the line between
klcptouarin aud real larceny"
"lt'5 hard to draw the line between
Elcptonania md ronl ~larccuous DC.
Ign where ONE arc concerned. Two
been n corstnnt student Of the mental
conditions and methods Of the fair Ecz
fer years, and insteadof becoming hard
eEcd, I've developed q grca. deal Of
sympathy fer women who steal.
I'VE all know, c~fcourEo, that wonGu
ii the aggregate, Is q creature OF ian.
Tnlse and intu. zion. Vol, widen .ths
natural belief OF man q bit, and i.'o IL
I2cst impossible TO decide as to tie lao
Of GcmGrkation between k~!eptoncnia
ED larceny. Wofncn's ideas OF right
and wrong and ell that haven't nXcd
boundaries drawn by the mathematical
IL correct hand OF rcnSon like d mana.
as 1t the vicious who steal mostp"
my ideas Nro borne out by the static
ties OF our larceny court. 1t isn't un.
educated, vicious and generally us.
PRAYED women who do the Crentcst
amount of stealing from store countcra-
It's the refined, reasonably-well raised,
even the luxurlously.brcd but financial.
ly embarrassed ladics who. onco covct
ing un article of drees, must he careful.
ly watched for their own sakcs os we'll
as ours. OF coursc we urcn't Ia tho
business % ethical and moral rctormcrs
solely, and we watch 'cm moro for Our
own thnn for their ~salses."
what do they do when detected7"
"oh, they generally get indignant
nnd try to leave tho place In au MS
sumcd huff but when they nrc in.
formed that an interview Is necessary
as an alternative 70 on Immediate ar
rest, they always submit. Tho inter
view Is generally an ordeal for oil prcs-
ent. Its only O question of time when
tho accused Is dissolved In tears and
hysteria, ordinarily, but there arc often
o lat Of prelimiDaries 10 be gone through
which q man with experience can ab.
breviato by what tho surgeons would
term heroic treatment at tho incop-
tion.'
Most OF tho ahopliiters I have over
bad Interviews with deny the whole nc.
cusation first, thrcntcn, accuse the no.
cutcr, mako n row when q soarch Ia
suggcstcd, and fnally 60 oil 10 piocco
OF tho mention Of the police, produce
tho stolen goods, cry, get hysterical,
ard eventually end up by offering any.
thing within their means II we only
won't give publicity TO tho nifoir. OF
course wo don't want TO my moro
than they don't want us 10. Keeping
traek OF y oSn property is rs much a
part Of our busiucsa rs buying and
telling at n profit; but the ladies don't
know that, and unless tho fair culprit
DO n who has been detected Scioro
She Is always permitted 10 depart With
as much dignity 90 sho cor muster, and
wc even allow her time, solitude and
toilet articles 10 cffacc the rcsult Of her
ordeal as much as possible"
j. d. MABTiv, Of Sangcrviro, No,
hos ON interesting curiosity, consisting
81 lino3 Of tho bcoch and maple crossed,
The maple, which evidently prow thu