The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-06-07
HOW DIAMONDS ARE TAKEN.
c1EyEREsT THIEvERY is DONE BY
THE sO-CALLED "BOOsTERS."

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These Steal Precious Gems Under the
Very Nose of DeaIers-Switchingo or
substituting Is Also Deity Prac-
ticed-How Nipping From Rings
and Neckties Is Done in a Crowd.
From the Chicago Chronicle.
II is not porch climbers or the hold-up
men the police are particularly worried
about. In the parlance of the light-fn-
eered profession, these are rough work.
ers." and sooner or later betray them
selves and fall into the hands of the po-
lie. They make noise at their work and
attract attention. They run and shoot and
climb fences and break windows. They
are not smooth in their operations; few
of them successfully plumber the public
for a very long time But there are
thieves of a different grade who bother
the detectives day and night, men and
women, too, who are expert in their line
and who are rarely caught. Even when
they are arrested, unlike the ordinary bur-
glar or hold-up man, they have money
lots of it. They can get out on bail and
can settle" with their victims to avoid
prosecution and then go blithely on their
way to fresh fields.
These thieves are of the class known as
boosters" Their specially is the steal
ing of diamonds and other precious gems
under the very noses of dealers in precious
stones. Well dressed, prosperous-looking
with horses and carriages to take them to
the jewelers. shops, they entirely disarm
suspicion by their appearance. They
gather in the diamonds and get away,
and there is no trace for the police to
work on. 1t is this sort of thievery that
calls forth the shrewdest work of the de-
detective department. Usually the
pursuit of the thieves is based upon
knowledge of their personality, or, rather
guess work on the part Of the police. Thy
know most of the Boosters by reDuta-
ton or in person, and in time they get %
recognize almost TO certainty, the pe-
cuar character of work done by each
gang. When robbery is reported the TO-
lice exact the, tninutest details from he
jeweler and then they may have a slight
cew TO work on. Sometime they sue
ceed-again they don't.
Nearly all the large jewelyy houses are
members of the jewelers. Protective AS
ISOLATION, an organization which employ
William A. Pinkerton's detective agency
by the year to ferret out crimes of this
character. The detectives employed on
the work are specialists who have made
a close study of the criminals who follow
boosting" of diamonds as a profession.
and, as soon as a robbery is reported from
any part of the country, they are on TIE
trail, and, with their wide knowledge of
the thieves and of their abiding places
and methods, they very often locate the
boosters and The property before it
has been disposed of.
The methods of the thieves are so clever
and so thoroughly calculated 20 throw the
jeweler off his guard that ii ia often weeks
or months after robbery that it is s.
covered by the jeweler; then tracing the
thieves is almost impossible, as the details
of their appearance and actions have al
most faded from memory. Women are
often employed as confederates, and some
times as principals. because in the mind
of the average jeweler the presence of
splendidly dressed woman wishing 10 pur-
chase diamonds does not for an instant
suggest thievery. A swell carriage, rented
for the day at livery stable, drives up
to the door of a big jewelry house, foot
,,4es.-J Jumps down and holds or,en. the door
and the proprietor of the store, with his
eye out for customers, rubs his hands as
he sees a fashionably attired man get out
ond extend his hand. to a woman, also
dressed IN the height Of fashion.
The jeweler is obsequious when his Gus
toners stroll in. gaze around the Store as
If they intended to buy the place if they
should chance to like it. They want 10
see unset diamonds-the lady wishes to
replace some lost from tiara or a neck
L
his stock. The big safe is opened and
tray of beauties placed before the Gus
toners. The man who accompanies the
woman shows but a languid interest in
the proceedings. Evidently his mission is
solely to pay for the gems; he looks into
the showcases and examines the silver
ware while the woman picks up the dia-
monds one by one, holds them TO the light,
has them weighed, and puts them back
in the tray. There is nothing there which
exactly suits her-she is afraid the stones
will not match her necklace. If the pro-
prietor wishes to try his expert hand at
matching she perhaps produces diamond
necklace from a chatelaine bag-a neck
lace with two or three diamonds missing.
This is the last proof that she is a gem
uine customer.
Stolen Before His Eyes.
The jeweler handles the necklace rever-
entity and sets some of the choicest stones
in the vacant settings to try their effect.
But still the woman is not satisfied. She
cannot make up her mind At last she
picks out two stones and tells the jeweer
to set them aside with her name on them.
and If she cannot find a better match
elsewhere she will return for them. She
gives him a name and address-always an
address in a fashionable locality. The
teweler puts the diamonds in a little box
and slows 1t away in the safe. He tells
her he is sure she Will return, as he IS
confident she cannot match the diamonds
more closely. The escort yawns and sug-
gests they had best be moving. And
they move. The carriage drives away, the