The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-12
'HTSTERS' ARE BUSY NOW.
BEST OF lLL REASONS o TEE
BHOPLIFTERS.
nat Detectivss. Special ard Poiioe, Are Busy,
Tee, aud They Knew the Trichs or the
Thieves-BiE May and Fiossie EEaitiand-
work or the Special Store Detective.

Thieves-BiE May ana Flossis Maitland
work or the special store Detective.
This Is the busiest season of all seasons among
professional "histcrs." They spell themselves
h-o-is-tc-r-s,b but they call themselves "histcrs,"
very much as Cockncys pronounce oysters"
Other persons call them shoplifters. These
"histers" have reduced the art of shoplifting
to a science, but they are not one whit moro
scientific In their business than tho detectives
arc in catching them. As soon as the shops be-
como crowded with throngs who go to investi-
gate, admire and buy their Christmas offerings
shoplifters also turn out on masse. Experience
soon teaches them thot they can do their most
profitable work at this season. Goods are dis
played temptinFly, salespeoplo and shoppers
alike are too busy to notice anybody else and the
coast seems clear to those who do not believe
with philosophers that the thief steals from him.
self, the swindler swindles himself.
Capt. George w. McClusky, CHIEF Of the Po-
lice Department Detective Bureau. knows
enough about shoplifters and their art to Gil ten
books. They are sharp. but he is sharper. and
he could teach the average mister things about
the business that she never dreamed Of. Tho
feminine pronoun is.used because the great ma
jority Of shoplifters are women. When a Sun
reporter dropped in ut Police Headquarters to
talk to Capt. McClusky about shoplifters he'd
just been having q little seance with one.
"Shoplifters are a pretty bad lot, I can tell
you" no said, when the reporters errand had
been stated. They can DO divided into two
great classes, professionals and amateurs. There
are 80 many amateurs abroad just before the
Christmas holidays that many persons get the
impression that New York is overrun with pro-
fessional shoplifters. Tho amateurs are a
clumsy lot and generally get caught, and hence
this impression.
"How NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. h'isters' do the police
conccde there are roaming around this cityf'
THAT is a broad question and 1t is impossible
to answer it In round numbers. The number OF
really clever professionals. however, is limited.
They are subdivided into two classes. %clouters
and pennyweighters. These people have moro
ways Of stealing than they have fingers and
toes. Last week we nabbod the cleverest
clouter that has ever been taken in the East.
I mean May Murray, known to the police in
every city as big May the most notorious
shoplifter in tho country. We have been
after her for years, but she was a sharp bird
and hard to bag, because she always worked
with a companion, and whenever the detectives
got on the track of them they would take a cable
car. elevated train. or cab, and manage to lose
themselves. Well. we got her at last. Detec;
tiyes Alonele and Care, ran across her and
were engaging n cab at Madison square. The
men also engaged a hanson. and followed
tDtll. no ou1t uToNo ~ NdNtllCS BIdSo
and went into a furrier's esta blishment. They
stayed there not longer thar, q quarter of an
by on broadway. There they stayed about
twenty-five minutes, came out, got into the cab
and ordered the man on the box to drive TO a
certain address uptown. One of the detcc-
tives jumped in the cab with them and sung
out, Hcadquarters,' Impediately Big May
tried to get something from underneath her
skirts, but the detective fastened her limb 30
that she was helpless.
worth 5000 were found under the scat. they
were the spoils from the first shop visited.
When their pedigrees had been taken the wo.
men were sent upstairs to MatrOn Travcrs to
be searched. Nothing was found on Flossie,
but a 42inch sealskin, coat was found concealed
| the last shop visited and was worth $3.50"
Just what do you mean by a 'clouter' and
wei. a man couldn't be a 'clouter,' re-
sponded Capt. McClusky with a Laugh, be
cause i takes skirts to conceal a elouting para.
waist a band. Attached to this on each side
was a piece of strong elastic; These elastic
s s%sSfSa,1f Il the e' isass with AifySS sf Willing snia %sa vi While IL,
pretending to want to make a purchase. Big
May, threw what she wanted on the floor and
| she stopped. ostensibly to pick up a hairpln or
ha1adkeEEc chh but in realty !, to put. one ne hand
called clloutiDg among thieves, and many pro-
fessionals do 1T that way.
Amateur "tui ioib ape WIN pun
cts in them, dress skirts with Sits in them, and
shoplifters' bags, but really clever protes.
suspicious aroused because a woman's garb
looks as if II was fixed for the shoplifting bust.
mes Big May and md F ! SsGo Maitland u a thaI T Ters
wore tight. fitting jackets and were quietly
dressed. The matron who searched them said
that she had seen fine silk, petticoats. but she
never saw any SO magnificent as those that
Big May had on the day she was taken.
The two women undeniably looked above sus-
DlCiOn, and when L lOSSlc, in her modest, almost
childishly shy way. turned to Big May in these
and remarked that she hated to buy a wrap
without feeling sure her husband would like
1t, what was more natural than for Big May to
suggest that they go and bring him around TO
as their bond has been fixed at SO, 900. I don't
able that t" they viii take their Christmas dinner
In State prison, and guess the shopkeepers
"Pennyweighters," answered Capt. McClus-
Ky, are the shoplifters who substitute bogus
articles for genuine ones. Men engage in this
branch of shoplifting to as great an extent as
women, and both usually go in for ]jewclry;
Nellie, Scott and Mamie Holmes were two Of
the cleverest pennyweighters ever caught.
they were t~o as good AS ever beat the patent
s sFSue a $i.2o sna stone @hAI You oM0ki know. II Il yoStS should Il
go into l.iffany's and ask to sec n case OF rings,
you couldn't remove one OF those rings from
the case unless the salesman worked the spring.
Penny weightcrs sometimes can, and that wnat
these girls did. Penny weightcrs visit n shop.
lbbh ~ Z htAAlt oh NIihI lNNtliy thVg OIL
and 20 back with a bogus substitute.
are very much bothered. especially at
this season. by II large class OF persons who
have a tendency to steal, but are not clever
enough and get caught. 1t is II case of first
offence with many and others are not hardened
criminals. Only n few minutes before you
came here | had . woman In who was charged
with being a professional shopIifter. She wore
IA shoplifters' pocket, and those who had her
arraigncd conceded that she had never taken
anything but remnants, which she could pawn
for Il dollar or maybe two. she had n hoy .
years old with he-., The poor creature pulled
out n bottle half filed witt a mixture OF alco-
hol and choral and said that she had been
critically i'll n year ago and acquired the dope
habit and didn't know when she did steal. The
truth is she couldn't do without this stuff and
liftea enough from the stores to get money
sufficient to buy IL every day or two. In her
condition ] could not send her up.
This brings us to the question OF what pro-
portion OF professional shopliiters arc caught
and convicted. My answer is fully IS per cent.
What is done with themi Some are fined and
some sent up: They are sentenced according
TO the crime for which they are arraigned and
their past careers. Two famous shoplifters.
Nottle Ford. formerly OF Baltimore. and a man
by the name OF Hamburger, have Just been ret
free, or, at least, she has. He was sent up for