The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-26

II THINK, after long experience, that
4 there are as few real store thieves
here in San Francisco as there are
in any city of it's size in the country
Il AS for professional shoplifters-I do
not believe that there have been
altogether more than five or six in
the city during the past five years.
The infrequent woman who comes
in here. with secret pockets ex-
tending the length of her dress skirt,
golf cape with Sits in the lining which
make the ample garment a most conven-
lent receptacle for such goods as may
strike the wearer's fancy, or hand
satchel with cunningly contrived COM
partments which hold much and betray
nothing to the ordinary observer. is
quickly detected and easily disposed Of
There is something about her look and
manner which betrays her almost from
the moment that she crosses the thresh-
old; 1t is the amateur thief-one who has
none of the ear-marks of the profession,
but has an outward cloak of respectable
ty to cover his or her peccadillos, whom
we detectives really dread, and who do
the most mischief in stores like this.
We find these people in every walk of
life. from abject poverty to actual wealth.
and, queerly enough it is-if you will be-
lieve them-always our fortune to catch
them the very first time that they depart
from the path of rectitude. OF all the
thieves caught in the act of stealing from
the establishment there has not been one
who did not declare with tears that never
before had he or she been guilty of the
slightest act of dishonesty.
The fact that we arrest so few men in
comparison to women and girls of whom
we are compelled to make examples is
due. not to the superior honesty of men,
but to the fact that in a store like this
women customers are in an overwhelming
majority We have very little if any trou-
bic with little girls, while boys of varying
ages sneak small articles quite fire.
ouentIy We deal with this class of Gull
prits in a special way, however. We do
not think it right to expose young boys
to the communicating influences of the
CITY Prison. or to cloud their lives with
the disgrace of arrest, but when we find
them taking trif1es without going through
the formality of paying for them, we just
march them down cellar and argue with
them concerning the wrongfulness Of the
proceeding by means of stout little rat
tan. Our arguments have always proved
effective for no boy repeats the expert
ment here after the first trial; and more
over. no indignant parent ever puts in an
appearance and disputes our right to take
tba law into our own hands in this infor-
NAL fashion.
Few people realize the difficulties sur
rounding such a position as Mr.. Allen
and | occupy. While we are expected to
..let no guilty man. woman escape"
we must err, if we err at ALL always on
the side of the public. An unfounded
accusation, mere suspicious lnterroga-
ton addressed to the wrong person, even
the slightest hint of watchfulness in re-
gard to one who can prove that he or she
is as Caesars wife was obliged to be,
Will ruin a store detectives reputation
and place the house for which he works
in a most unpleasant position.
+ l make it a rule never to arrest a.
person whom I have not myself seen COM
nit a crime When a clerk sends for me
and tells me that certain customer has
taken something from the counter ] sim
ply watch the customer. AS a general