Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1895-04-15
SHARP GIRL DETECTIVES.
THEY CAN SPOT A sHoPLIFrER AT
A g LANCE.
People Who Pilfer by Wholesale
Tricks of the Professionalism
lent to First Offenders.

iltltrf', BiTl ucCeC-
tive said to a New York Sun reporter.
''They get SO that they know us, and
are careful to be ON their good be-
havior when we're around. so we
change our dresses, hats and coats,
and the way we fix our hair, in order
to fool them. Often we stand right
close to them in the crowd and they
don't recognize us.
owe are always dressed as if we had
just come in from the street." said her
companion, "and no one ever takes
us to be connected with tho store at
all. I fixed myself up as an old wo-
man once, with spectacles, grizzly
hair, q scoop bonnet, and an old
shawl, and hobbled along for several
squares behind two women whom we
suspected of taking things, but whom
we had no real evidence against. Sure
enough they took the things to cer--
tain fence in Ludlow street, which
some time after the police raided.
Several articles belonging to the stock
here were found among the stolen
goods that they hadn't been able to
sell.
"We're instructed to be very par
ticular about making arrests" she
went on. ''The Superintendent says
says he would rather have a hundred
guilty people go unpunished than have
one innocent person accused; besides,
if falsely accused, the parties could sue
the house for heavy damages. We
never accuse any one, no matter how
much we may suspect, until we actual
ly see something stolen. I'vebeen de-
tective in this store nearly ten years,
and I've got SO that l can tell shop
litter almost at first glance. 1 Judge
from the uneasy way they roll their
eyes around, from the motion of their
fingers, and the way they move their
hands. They assume various disguises.
Nearly all the professionals that we
arrest have pawn tickets somewhere
about them, and they try to get rid of
these in oil sorts of ways SO that we
don't get hold of them. One girl
chewed up pawn ticket aud swallowed
it, and was chewing up another when
we found out what she was up to. An
other girl had two rings in her mouth
which she had taken from the jewelry
counter"
''There are lots of people who take
things without so good an excuse
women and men who want to dress up
to the mark and haven't got the money
to reach it. Two girls were caught
here not long ago just loaded up with
ribbons and lace, fancy pins, buckles,
gloves, and such things. The way in
which they had slowed away stuff in
their stockings and various other hid
ing places was q caution. Among the
odd articles found in the stocking of
one girl was a bottle Of whisky. 1t
was crammed in and then tied tight to
keep it from slipping. A bottle of
cologne was fixed in the same way.
These girls said they had stolen ribbon
before, and promised that if we would
let them off they would tell us of COM
panions of theirs who they knew did
the same thing. They said that they
belonged to respectable people. /
went to the address they gave, few
days later, and found that the family
was respectable, and, after keeping
them in suspense awhile, we agreed
uot to make case against them"
@ ibid You ever see a shoplifter' s
skirt?" asked the male detective, and
then he showed the reporter singu-
lar-looking garment which had been
taken off shoplifter, and which was
kept by the firm to be produced in
court 'The woman who had this
skirt-this kick, as they call it--on
had forty-eight different articles in
her possession, stolen from this store.
She was walking in the street about
two blocks away when we overlook
her. Here is list of the things she
had managed to secrete: Nine pairs
of kid gloves, six pocketbooks, five
pairs of mitts, six pairs of stockings,
pins, one pulley for wash line, a
lock, three knife rests, two plates,
four bells, two pairs of scissors, one
can opener, one glass pitcher, ear
rings, one small basket, one small
clock, one mouse trap, and two oil
burners; SIG worth in ALL"
The skirt was simply black calico
walking skirt, with double lining
fastened firmly to the outside at the
bottom and secured at the waist with
two strong belts. There were capacious
openings at convenient points,, and
the skirt was worn beneath an outside
skirt, which had long slit in the full
pleats to correspond with the opening
IN the garment beneath.
"What do men select to steal?"
asked the reporter.
Casually gloves, perfumery, neck
tiex rings, silk handkerchiefs, hosiery.
We found fine-looking man one day
getting away with $15 worth of
pocketbooks, gloves, and bottles Of
cologne. Men have so many inside
and outside pockets that they can
tuck away great deal. A singular
case is that of an old man who proved
to be in the employ of railroad COM
pany in New Jersey. He frequently
buys goods here, and yet he seems ua
able to resist cabbaging things occa-
sionally. He takes such articles as