The San Francisco call., 1907-02-22
WOMAN CONFECT|ONER
TRAILS PETTY THIEVES
Mrs. Morrell Too Sharp for
Men Who Steal From
Her Stores

To be the proprietress of several
candy stores seems to tend to a sweet
ness" of disposition, at the expression
of which even Judge Cabaniss must
stand aghast. Mrs. Morrell, at
the head of the company oper-
ating the several "Sugarie'' stores
in the city, has made herself
a police court judge who believes in
the prosecution of criminals; but by her
mercy three miscreants have been
given chance to reform instead OF
serving merited sentences of something
like a year each behind prison bars
The lady's mercy seems hardly in keep
ing with her detective ability and her
success, with the aid of two policemen,
in capturing trio of systematic
thieves and recovering the bulk of the
stolen property.
At the various Sugarie establish l.
nents, many persons are employed and
the most active and skillful of those
are the dispensers of soda water. Mrs
Morrell had three such employed, who
should have been satisfied with the
pleasure of serving soft drinks to
pretty girls and being paid $50 week
for the service. But these three young
men-one in the Haight-street store
one in the Eddy-street place and one
in the establishment on California
street, near Van Ness, where society
shoppers are wont to congregate for
effervescent refreshments or boxes OF
CONNECTIONS, were tempted by other
things. Spoons began to disappear
Then in each of the three stores a new
silver mold for~making a special brand
of Sundaes was missed from its proper
place. Boxes of high-priced French
candies began to leave the store
without corresponding compensation
checked up in the cash register.
Mrs. Morrell took notice. She made
inquiries. She found an intimation
that her elite patrons were suspected
of removing silverware as souvenirs
Then she heard that one of her skill
full young men had carried away an
icecream mold. That gave q clew and
she followed 1t relentlessly. Circum-
stances helped and when she learned
that three of the soda dispensers were
about to leave for parts unknown Mrs.
Morrell enlisted the assistance of
Sergeant Lane and Policeman Maloney
With the bluecoats as companions she
began her quest at midnight Monday.
At 4:S0 Tuesday morning William
Gee, Leigh Yount and Jess Kirby were
housed in the city prison and from
their packed trunks Mrs. Morrell had
recovered the stolen goods.
Is Gee lived at 1303k Waller street and
Ild0 lcAl HIS LIQnk anu TICKET with mis-
iandlady, with instructions to have an
expressman check his baggage to it's
destination. Yount lived at Lib
erty street and had sent his trunk to
the depot. Kerby's trunk was in his
room, packed for shipment. The three
met in Yount's room at 2:30 in the
morning and were there taken into
custody.
In the meantime, by paying Gees
landlady the express, charge on the
trunk the searchers succeeded in gain
ing access to the baggage and found it
filed with articles stolen, not only
from the store, but from Mrs. MorrelPs
private belongings that had been placed
In the gallery of the Haight-street
store after the fire. A National die
tionary, souvenir slipper. a silver
cream pitcher, spoons, dishes and pack
ages of candy were found. In Yount' S
trunk the chief loot was four boxes of
candy, including one of French choco-
late that sells for $3.50 per quarter
pound. The sweets were doubtless des-
tined for some sweetheart. Two Ice
cream molds We're in Kirby's trunk
And then at the crucial moment Mrs.
Morreils sympathy got the better of
her and she declined before Judge
Cabaniss to prosecute the thieves that
she had run to earth.