The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-11


He knows how much he can earn in
month. and has q regular schedule Of
the relative value OF portable articles,
as against so much imprisonment.
Thus. a pOcketbook which probably
contains so is worth the risk Of say
months Imprisonment on Blackwelrs
Island. and other booty in proportion
The thief reckons that he must lose so
much time in so many years by impris-
onment, that he will be arrested a GER
tain number Of times in that period.
and that his sentences will aggregate
certain amount. When he is caught
he takes il philosophically. after try
ing TO escape the arrest BY every trick
known to him. HIS arrest is one Of
the incidents Of his business, like fire.
robbery, bad weather or a street car
strike in the calculation Of a store-keep-
er.
Many pickpOckets live in respectable
neighborhOods, and In houses with hon
Orable people. They keep their families
decently, educate their children. and are
regarded as frreproachable members Of
society by the people they meet daily at
their homes.
The professional shoplifter is dressed
for her work. Under her Overskirt, in
front, she wears a capacious pocket.
that goes all the way around her. like
a skirt, and that is tied on in such
manner that itcan be loosened aAl
dropped at the first alarm. This pocket
will hold as much as two sealskin sacques
and bale of silk.
As soon as the thief has taken a large
article, like a sacque. and dropped it
into her pocket, she squeezes against
the people around her, apolOgizing as
she does so, that the goods may be fat
tened out. Then she departs as soon
as possible, first visiting the ladies' parlor,
where she removes the tabs, or price
marks This IS very important because
1t is only by the tabs that the owner of
the store can swear 10 the goods. When
they are unmarked, the thief may insist
that she purchased them elsewhere, and,
in the absence of proof carry her point.
Mrs. Plunket looked serious when asked
whether she had ever had personal diff
culties in arresting thieves. She said.
Very seldom. 1t depends upon the way
they are approached. If you make them
understand, quietly that they are detected
and that denial and resistance would be
useless, they submit. If, on the other
hand, you make a great deal Of noise. and
arrest them in a brutal manner they will
turn on you. it is only human nature.
In a store not far from here last week
a woman bit the wrist of a detective. and
very severely, too. But IL was the detec-
tive's fault.
There are two classes Of pilferers. The
members Of one class always say when
caught LlidL NAtty h0lA q hllOW WHY kuty
stole, and the suppOsition is that they
are kleptomaniacs, but there is another
class, much larger, that declares the act
was done as the result of need. The
father is dead or out of work, the child
needs shoes. or several eff them are sick
and unable to get proper nourishment.
In a word poverty is the excuse When
a shop litter gives her name and address,
and it is found to be correct, she is for
given the first time. but the second Of
Tense sends her to jail.
Superintendent Byrnes was asked
what qualities must be found in a good
detective. He said: Detectives are
not made such by education. You can
not make a detective Like a poet, he
must be born. He must have a faculty
for remembering faces as well as read
ing them. Suppose, for instance, you
see a man whom you suspect to be a
thief, but are not sure You take a men
tai photograph of him, and if. six
months afterward. he is arrested YOU
must recognize him at a glance. Lots of
/ people think they would be good detectives
/ if they were given a chance They will
! tell of the large sums Of money they
could save by merchants. and they believe
/ what they say. DO think merchants lose
much money by shop lifters and dishonest
\ clerks? Well. half a dozen poor people
would be rich if they had the value of
what is taken in one big New York store
/ in the course of year. The articles taken
away are tritling, but the sum total of
] value in twelve months is a large one.
/ Women make the best detectives"
Inspector Williams gave me an OBJ
ject lesson in shop lifting, with the aid
of a match box. He showed me how
/ sham satchels are made and how they
operate. They have a false mouth at
the top, the real opening being at the
side or bottom Of the satchel so that
things may slipped in, while you are
looking at what you believe to be the
only way to the interior. Shophfters
must be adopts in the science of what is
known as "palmng." and many of them
could vie with Hermann himself in this
useful accomplishment.