The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1905-09-02
PILFERING PESTS
IN THE BIG STORES
Women Detectives, Shrewd and
Courteous, With Sly Art Run
To Detection The Guileless
ShopIiffer

Their salaries range from six hundred to
twelve hundred Il year,
Some Of the mott successful women Ill
this line Of work have been IiscUvo rcd by
accident. At a .Iarktt street store last
year young woman in the j. Wrlry Ir-
pawmcmt tipped off ;" many suspi-
cious characters to the house detective
that the superintendent af that bureau
became interested in her. This year she
is on the regular force ana j. one of the
mo.t efficient helpers.
One of the retail stores of the city had
difficulty last year in securing cCllp@-
tenn women detectives. One evening the
proprietor Glanced to meet court stem
ugraphcr from Il western town who was
visiting friends III the city. When She
Tccitrl SGnc Of her experiences i'll report
ing criminal cases. the merchant gaSpcd
at her adventures: and knowledge Of hui
mainly as Il drowning man at Il proverb-
ial straw. He Offered her Il position as
store. detective. She was only too glad to
try the work at the figure he named.
Her methods proved 50 SkilfU. ANA her
decisions 50 uniformly just thlr she is
not retained the year round at u salary
much larger than she could earn at ir
regular court reporting.
Ou,. of the hardest things for II newly
appointed drtcctiv" u lear l. IT, avoid
trouble fer the house. y falls" arrest IS
a costly mistake. Damage suits will fol-
low The store detective must he douhly
sure The trouble Il Icvcl-hcahcd d,trc-
tive can >,lv" Il firm * well Illustrated in
this in>taUc" which occurred in local
store \ fashionable woman. whose
trade is annually worth hundreds
# dollars. suddenly exclaimed at a bar
gain crumtcr that her purse had been
stolen. She declared thai the woman
next to her. plainly dressed but inteIli-
gent looking, had taken it. Accused ana
acc1l>cr were Cp3jluct,d to a private
office of the firm. Here. enc of the part
ncIN on the request of the excited ana
influential woman. was alDIt to hay"
the suspected searched. when the house
detective Il quiet unprctcntOTS woman,
intcrfercd. She had been ut the same
counter and insisted that the theft had
not been committed there. The rich
customer ragged. hut the firm. having
faith in the detective. he>itated and fin
ally offered to reimburse the wealthy
woman if she would drop the charge and
accept the amount Of her loss. At this,
however the accusl woman in>i>td on
being searched. and though the house de-
tcCtivc refused to search her. she de-
manded that her accused should.
Nothing WAS found upon her. Thank
ing the firm for its courteous treatment.
and giving her Tame ami address. She
departed. The firm advertised fer the
purse. and it was returned. having been
found nj another store. where tn" woman
had previously been shopping.
The woman who was falsely accused
began proceedings against her accuser.
aud the lattcr'> husband was only too
glad to compromise the affair and avu't
1!ntoricty.
The firm thanked their stars and their
detective in Il most substantial manner.
When the suspect is spotted either by
Il clerk or detective. detectives are
placed on the trail The vigilance does
not relax for rHc moment until thcy are
either convinced that the woman is inno-
cert NJ they see her steal. If man We're
tc do the shaG1win= ut some of tn, coun-
tiers his conduct would attract attention.
The woman detective worms her way
close 10 the suspect. lingering articles
ana frequently making purchases. Her
work ends at the door of the store. Here
the man detective steps in, Shalowing
the culprit until a favorable oppOTtun-
ity for addressing her arises. He quiet
ly ranges himself alongside of her with
the remark:
Madame, believe you have a pack
age which You .rrgrt to lnly for"
Instantly the woman is on the drfrn-
>ivc.
''IIow dare you address me. sir?
shall appeal to the police
The detective is Suavc. ,lip'0matic. She
will ROT nhiect 10 accompany him to the
store: She does I.Dt wish Il scene ca ne
street? OF course not. He is half apo.t.
grtic. altoGrth,T courteous. as they rc-
trace their steps. and by the time the;'
reach the store the woman is running Il
magnificent bluff. and according to her
"uthui'>tS will cwn half the establish
ment when the damage suit is settled.
The detective is deIrecating-unti the
l!IOr Of the searching room closes behind
them. Then his manners undergo n
sudden change. 1t is his turn how. The
Ir"""e lingS are something like this:
These articles in Your bag, NADINE
lay them on the table.
She tdetiantiyl-"I fought Them
'ENactly, and what did yen pay for
that hotti" o Perfume?
"FGrty-iive cents.
YES; and the silver c~ml?"
"a dollar"
Tint miniature France:
"Two-tfty.'
Then he turns on her. 'NcXt time
You steal watch prices. Tie perfume
sells for Il ao,lar.the silver comb at 1925.
The frame is Ster..ng. ana costs So" To
the assistant" Miss Brown, arch her"
There is an instant and vigorous pro-
test on the part of the suspect. you
will have an opportunity to explain all
this to the police court judge tomorrow.
Your case will probably be called then"
He takes Il few steps toward the telc-
phone. The telephone means the patrol
wagon. The suspect weakenS and offers
her address. perhaps references. The
detective sends messenger 10 verify
the informer. Then for half an hour
an hour. or even two, the woman sits
there under the scrutiny of the detec-
tive, and by the time the messenger re-
turns she is ready to make clean breast
of the whole horrible affair. She is will
ling to restore the stolen articles which
appear as if by magic from her blouse,