The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1909-04-07
SP0TTING CRIMINALS
Plans of London Shops and Banks
For FoiIing Thieves.
A CODE OF SECRET SIGNALS.

The Moment a Suspect Is Discovered
; In an Establishment the Warning Is
Quickly Given to the Employees, Who
Are Instantly on the Alert.
DO you know if Brown has returned
that parcel Of stones YETI
The scene may be the shop Of fash.
ionable west end jeweler. Costly
gems CLINT in velvet lined cases. One
frock coated shopman turns casually
to another With the perfectly natural
question quo1ed above.
To those customers who may be IN
the esta blishment the remark means
nothing, but to the man who IS ad-
dressed it spells volumes. Brown is
a secret code word. and it means that
the elegantly clad woman to whom
the speaker is displaying i tray OF
sparkling stones is suspected by him
Of being a thief and that her every
action must be watched.
Quite recently in connection with
terrible outrage in the west end OF
London, in which M unfortunate mon
ey changer was done to death in his
Office By desperate robber, the fact
was disclosed that il the case of a
sudden attack it had been arranged
that one Of the assistants should en-
ploy the distress signal Of hurting
brass paperweight through the win
dow Of the Office.
Although most people are quite un-
aware of the fact, practically every
banker, money changer and jeweler
in the fashionable quarter of the me-
tropolis has some prearranSed code by
which one employee may warn his
fellows that dubious character has
entered the establishment
In one well known bank this is the
system adopted: Should cashiers
suspicious be aroused by the actions
or speech Of man upon the other
side Of the counter he will step across
in a perfectly innocent way to GER
tain desk which stands quite apart
from the others. The custodian at the
doorway sees the action. knows its
significance and is instantly on the
alert
In the case of another bank the
cashier whose suspicious are aroused
need not even move away from his
desk to warn the watcher. The
scheme employed is this: Along the
guarding rail of the counter are Sc
ries of plates bearing the word
Prayer" or Receiver" according to
the duties Of the cashier in each par
ticular section.
These. by design, are all placed
slightly as;1ew. Should one Of the Of
fcials behind the desks suspect the
good faith Of an individual to whom
he is attending all he has to do in or
der to place the patrol in uniform
upon the qui vive is to reach up
leisurely hand and turn one Of these
plates so that it is in perfectly
straight line with the rail from which
it projects.
The ingenuity Of this idea lies in the
fact that, while the action is perfectly
natural, it is so pnmistakable that even
when the bank is full Of people it can
not fail to be observed. by the man
who is upon the lookout.
Quite the most elaborate system OF
which details are obtainable is that in
stalled by firm Of electrical engineers
for one prominent west end jeweler.
The manager who is on duty sits at a
glass screened desk in the rear OF the
shop in such position that. while
scarcely being seen himself and GER
tainIy without making any movement
he has an absolutely unimpeded view
Of every counter and show case.
Near him, on small board. shielded
from view, is a row Of tiny red electric
light bulbs. One corresponds to the
position Of each Of the suave assist
ants who attends to the wants OF the
Jewel buying public. Sunk in the hoor'
near the foot Of each assistant, is a
button, and his duty is done when,
should he think customer he is serT-
ing may not be ION the square ne
places his foot on this convenient but
ton. The little glow lamp lights up at
the other end Of the wire, and the
managers attention is promptly TO-
cused in the. direction indicated.
Should his keen scrutiny reveal an
actual theft from the articles displayed
on the counter or from some unpro-
tected tray he himself presses a Dut-
ton as the thief turns to leave the
shop. This serves 20 warn smart at
tendant who is on duty at the portals,
and the wrongdoer finds his or her
halfway barred without word hav-