The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-12-04
SHOPLIFTERS To
BE PROSECUTED
MERCHANTS ARE AROUSED.
AGGREGATE LOSSES APPROACH
$4,000 YEARLY IN CITY.

Members Pledge Themselves to Pub
IiclY and PersistentIy Prosecute
Offenders From This Date-No Con-
ditiOn of Life Will Be Permitted TO
Excuse Transgressor Vigorous
Measure Regarded rs Necessary
successfuIjn New York.
Aroused by the boldness with which
petty thieving is being carried on in
their stores the retail merchants of
Savannah have formed an alliance
pledging themselves to prosecute to the
full extent. from this time on, OF the
law all who are detected in the prac-
tice.
There is to be no exception to this
pledge. Rich or poor. white or black,
the full force of the law and it's Sc
verest penalties are to be meted out.
And the combined result of this
thieving entities it to be styled more
than petty, the merchants declare. A
recent instance. that of the theft of
two bolts of silk valued at $120 from
the store of Leopold Adler. is amply
illustrative of the losses retail mer-
chants are called upon to sustain.
Yearly Losses $4,000.
Mr.. Adler. who is president of the
Retail Merchants Association, in dis
cussing the subject yesterday, said:
Il estimate the aggregate losses of
the members of the Retail Merchants
Association through shoplifting around
$4,000 annually. My own losses APP
proach each year the sum of $4,000.
1T is safe to say the major por-
ton of this is taken by class of Wis
itorS and patrons not suspected. For
a number of years it has been the
custom to hush up all cases wherein
the transgressor had a degree of
standing in the community, and there
has grown up a feeling that no prose-
cutions will follow minor thefts"
That we have been imposed on to
an unbearable extent we are free to
say. 1t has become so fragrant that
we are determined to end the practice.
Our association held q meeting at
which several merchants cited in
stances warranting some stringent and
prompt action. BY unanimous vote the
members pledged themselves to pub
licly prosecute all offenders against
whom sufficient evidence could be OBJ
tanned. No merchant is to be permit
ted to compromise cases as has been
done frequently in the past; they are
to prosecute without fear and without
favor"
by this action we hope to safeguard
ourselves in a measure against losses
in this direction. We certainly can by
united action and by recourse to the
courts end this evil. The enormity of
the practice has brought us to this
step, and 1 am satisfied every mem
Der will stand by the pledge"
Modelled After New York.
This manner of safe puardire
against the shop-lifter evil is being
tried in New York city with a great
degree of success. There the losses
are said to amount to the enormous
sum of 100000 yearly. But that sum
is no more to the New York ner-
chants than is $4,000 to Savannah
| merchants.
Wealth and social position will not
be accepted in New York as a reason
for clemency in the case of any per-
son found guilty of shop-lifting. Such
a step was considered radical by many
merchants there when taken, but it
has worked so satisfactorily that all
opposition has subsidized. It is now
regarded as highly proper and en-
tirely warranted.
When the theft of the valuable silks
the merchants of Savannah expressed
themselves as satisfied that the time
for the abatement of the evil was pro-
pitious. A special meeting was called
and action modelled after the New
York plan, which has been attended
by such happy results, was taken.
Goods of All Kinds Taken.
This form of larceny penetrates to
every department of every store. All
manner of articles are distracted by
the offender.
1t is often puzzling to figure out
how some of the articles taken could
be concealed and removed from the
building when 1t is the duty of each
clerk to be on constant lookout. Often
the offenders are detected and then
follows a saene embarrassing to all
concerned. But in many. many cases
the pilfering is accomplished success
fully.
Any form of protection thrown about
this class of criminals, but serves to
spread the belief that no punishment
will follow detection. An example be-
ing made of a dozen or more cases will
have a salutary effect in decreasing the
losses sustained yearly, because of this
class of misdemeanor, the merchants
believe.