The Opelousas courier., 1904-04-09
IAMONDHARDTOSTEAL
MOST OF THE statesmen KNOW
ALL THE CROOKS TRICKS.
Systems Employed in the Big Stores
Women Thieves as Compared.
with Men Thieves-One Way to

Says the SanFrancisco Chronicle:
Little does the average customer, as
he sees the clerks OF the jeweler
lounging in apparent Indifference be-
hind the counter, realize that they are
in fact amateur detectives, keeping in
operation an elaborate system of eS-
pionage.
There are innumerable attempts,
more or less successful, to desp0ll the
jewelers. On a small scale, and every
clerk is carefully instructed regarding
all the "crook lodges" known to the
trade before he is allowed to handle
the more valuable stock. A clerk in a
Market street Store says that he has
even known professions preaiiigita-
tors to be employed by En- opean gold
smiths to test the vigilance of their
emploSes, and by giving them a good
scare to make them more careful. Or
dinarily, the young man learns by long
experience to watch every move OF
every customer, and by the time heM
old enough to be intrusted with -,
diamond trays is more than a n1k26
1OE any OiIC Jul l1S LIOEL ASNk ~
the genus thief.
Fortunately, all schemes IT. obtain
| gems without paying for than divide
themselves. into a few cateSbries, ana
| after one has had his attention called
to them all he is not likely to be duped
by an immaterial variation. The chief
trick of the thief is substitution, and
great skill is often displayed in play
ing it. A pawnbroker in the retail dis
trict %recounts his experience with a
rogue of this class:
"One day." a y he, "a Chinese
called to see some solitaire rings. 1t
is not unusual for the better class of
Chinese to purchase secondhand jew
elry, so | handed him out a tray OF the
best l had in stock. He picked up the
finest stone | had in the tray, and af-
ter asking it's price shufiel out, NUT
tering, Come may be back toInollow."
Sure enough. ne did come back at
the tine promised, and again exam
ined the same stone. But he didn't
buy it, and as he failed to return for
several days / forgot all about him.
But at the end OF a week he came in
again, and once more picked up the
diamond which had pleased him on the
former occasion. AS he turned to go
| happened to notice that something
was wrong with the stone he had re-
turned to the tray. Ihe rascal had
made an imitation and nearly palmed
it off on me. l jumped over the coun-
ter and he handed back my property.
No, I didn't prosecute-what would
have been the use after | had my
ring?"
Il depend upon my experience with
human nature and upon observation"
declared the head clerk in a down
town establishment where many costly
articles of the goldsmith's craft are
constantly kept in stock.
DO you suspect I'm more than
menu" he was asked.
mo, | wouldn't say that. Women
are undoubtedly more given to petty
shoplifting, but we have only the pro-
f%essional sharks to gear, and these are
mostly men. But whether it is a man
VA q "o41dA HHO 0ohS L SSS dHy I14lLlS
costly, there is always a second clerk
who appears to be doing nothing, but
who in reality keeps his eyes on the
goods, while the n who is trying to
make the sale watches the customer. l
look particularly at the eyes. If the
eyes roam all. about the room, it is a
bad sign, as they are trying to see
whether anybody is looking or not.
Even with all precautions there is a
regular annual loss in almGgt all big
stores. I know of n firm in Chica-
go which reckons on losing $500 to
crooks over it's counters annually, but
there is less of that kind of crime in
San Francisco"
Most of the "cinch games originate
in Paris. 1t was there that the red
pepper trick" was first tried. 1t has
been attempted once or twice here,
and consists simply in blowing q guam
tity of the pepper in the clerks eyes
and making off with all the stock that
can be grabbed in the confusion. 1t
was in Paris, too, that the "cause
celebre"' in substitution took place. A
man, whose name is even now a mys-
terry, called one afternoon at a fashion
able Partisan goldsmith's and critical
ly examined a cluster of diamonds
wrought into a brooch and worth many
thousand dollars. He called on two
subsequent occasions, and finally said
he would buy the precious ornament,
but that he did not intend to have any
substitute palmed off on him. So he
asked for a box and some sealing wax.
Before the propreitor's eyes the pur-
put the brooch in the box,
wrapped it in paper, tied it securely
with Irvine and sealed the knots with
wax stamped with his own seal ring.
He gave directions that it be put in
he safe until he sent for it. which
you'd not be within several days and
hen, after making a small deposit,
the delighted ieweler a very
afternoon. A week afterward ,
he box was opened and found to con-
.ain-nothing. -,
A few years ago San Francisco
a very mysterious woman, at
whose hands several of our local mer- ;
suffered. She was an adept at :
he famous handkerchief trick" and
vas so beautiful that nobody could be
ound to prosecute her. Even her
lame was not known. A clerk who !
las had much experience in the Jew !
Try business in this city thus descrih- l