The morning times., 1895-12-08

| hundreds Of dollars, and even after beinj
| searched, carry them off without de
| lection.
sometimes she has confederate. TIL
principal walks calmly through store
| closely followed by her aid. Here ans
| there a trffle OF some kind Is picked up
| passed to the confederate, who is al@ay
close behind. SO IL the principal happens t
be caught she will In nine cases out of ter
work the absent-minded racket successful,
70 account for the single piece Of good,
that may be In her possession.
The substitution game is worked sue
ccssfully by the shoplifter, being played
as frequently on customers as 90 clerks. A
number of cases have been reported whers
ladies' In crowded stores have laid well
filed pocketbooks down on a coGute I
while examining goods. On picking ths
wallet up to pay for purchase It ls found
TO be stuffed with paper and a second look
shows that 1t Is not the same poeketbeok
at all.
A shoplifting scheme sometimes worked
on Jeweiry stores 10 on similar plan. A
couple of women will call at iewelry
store and look ut a number of diamond
rings, but OF course make NO purchase.
From the store they proceed to a manu-
facturer OF paste jeweiry and furnish him
with q description of a certain ring. In a
few days he has for them a So ring exactly
similar in appearance to the $500 ring they
have looked at.
~ THE PASTE RING.
With this In their possession. they re-
turn to the jewelers., examine the genuine
ring, decide not to purchase, and it is often
several days after they have taken their de-
parture, before the firm discovers that Q
paste ring has been substituted FOR q. genu-
Inc diamond.
There are two species of sbopltfters, the
one with real criminal tendencies and the
kleptonianiac. The professional Is al
ways well-dressed and of good appearance
and never acts suspiciously. The very
poorer class of women seldom take a hand
in 1t.
Poverty, IN the eyes of the worldly, is the
badge of crime, and the poor slattern is
an object of watchful suspicion from theIno-
nent she enters Q big store until she de-
parts therefrom. Sometimes women of
good homes and families, whose lives are
exemplary in every other respect, allow
their fondness for some article to overcome
their scruples and finally become confirmed
shoplifters.
Next to the shoplifter, the pickpocket
probably steals more stuff than any other
class Of thieves in the country. The male
pickpocket is almost always a man enter
tanning and easy in manner. able to tell a
good story while picking a purse OF
watch. Women pickpockets are the most
patient and dangerous OF this class.
THE PRIZE Is WON.
They wiillocate prize on man or woman
and follow it with bulldog tenacity, until
the prize is won. Their ways of escape
are often more ingenious than the ways
devised by men.
Some years ago a woman .dip'' captured
from . wealthy old lady wallet contain
ing several thousand dollars. She was
known to the police, the old lady could de-
scribe her, and detection seemed inevitable
sister superior a well-concocted story OF
an unfortunate marriage and desertion,
and was readily admitted.
She remained in the convenient for several
years, paying the slricJest attention to re-
ligious obseryauces, until she heard of the
death of the old lady whom she had robbed
AS soon as she knew that she was in no
danger of prosecution she left the convent,
returned to her old vocation, and was aft
erward arrested for another offense and
sent to the penitentiary.
To the observaut pickpoeket nothing is
easier than to tell when a nervous man has
q bunch Of money. Whether he lie on the
street, IN o car, or In q theater, It Ii
always the same. He Is mortally afraid
Of being touched, and Keeps fidgeting about
and slappipg his hand on the pocket con-
taiuing his roll to SEE II It is still there.
A few such slaps, aud Mr.. Thief has the
prize located. Then only a few SECONDS
elapse before he has 1t aud b out OF sight
A favorite method Of working in street
cars IL to throw an overcoat cafeiessly over
y