Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1909-09-02
STEALING IN STORES,
The Ingenuity That is Shown by
the Woman Thief.
TRICKS OF THE sHoTI-lFTER.

TRICKS OF TIE sHcT!-IFTER.
The Satohe! With False Bottom and
the Slit In tic Dress Near the Eelt
Some Gehan,cs Successful Because Of
Their Very Simplicity.
AS nuniel"lis Us they are ingenious
arc llir ti.skS OF Ode nn,,itrn siicpliil
c;>. drch,", .t,.e aa;e, .iscs Ii krpl,s
tie 'le'cSll: busy ~ get on lp lh'
Grsiers al IL men am, woi.el, wh@
I've 10y lAtir Mis- il. ..r. .il.:. from.
s'tirs !'"i ts' ss shii are i8sy few
classes II eiilil!n;i.>s. it is SAFE. ap
proa i lii"tn
'l'lp .el!:,,l Of Stealing ly usiii. III,
sa'si,l Viii, Il ia,.r Aoltotl i; "ns 81
the 81, s,,,'.si ct !!,. tricks;
Neii di tisrd. tbs .{is iii.,r enters
sir.r ;er eyes RUN N's,r tile cuua
waits u. usstlA somrlss;f. sianll and
vll,:sblr. sometimes IL purse IL custom
or has left lying on the counter
Over the object the shuplftcr places
her satch. Pretending To delve int.
the satclicl L" extract !; purse or han(i-
kerchicf, the thief lifts false hn;tom
In the bag. reaches under ii. draws i'm
side the desired article. adjusts the
false bottom. CLOSES the sa,chri and
walks away.
but this is only one of many clever
r,lscs employed" declared II detective
the other day. The women especially
are Ingenious Thei; dress, of course.
helps them
"Onc of the methods of stealing is
for tile shoplifter to have II slit in her
dress near the belt AS she stands neai
he counter She can deftly seize the
article desired. be it IL piece of lace
or costly fabric or q bit of jewelry,
and slip it into the skirt The folds of
the skirt are vnlunnous and conceal
the thing stolen.
Some tricks are successful because
of their simplicity n fashionably
dressed woman nlny walk INTO the
clothing department. look over coat
suits pick up one. fold itsneatiy up.
place 1t under her cont and walk
away
IF she is detected she will indig-
nantly declare that she bought the suit
some time before and that she. has
brought 1t back 10 be altered,
or woman. her hands glitterin.
s.Eifilgr,ii:ss :,,.t. dressed iii tile latest
style. may walk into the store some
winter day. She wears only Il rich
coat of dark fabric.
I'm the coat department she will ask
to sec some fur lined coats. OH She is
very particular and tries ON one after
another. Otl,rr customers come up and
the s;llcsll,lA gets busy with them
while madam is trying To suit herself
while he s:,lrSnGy Is turned she
puts OH or" of the richest sa!,lv trim
med coats, 'lirns ON her heel and
walks away Perhaps tho salcsglll
may NOT nu.iec the loss until there is
an account ut stock
Each month from fifty To sixty ar
rests are made In the average large
arparlnent store. ihe detectives mast
be extremely careful fol II false charge
would pre- iA':i,c Il Siiit for damages
which would lne;ln ,.aany Thousands.
Certain dnilaitiir.its hold especial
lures for s!l"piiIlrrs The jcwery de
parlllonl Is invariably nuart!rd When
liH Illls cnu!c In we have .,.eulhs who
kr,.o their eyes open for Tie woman
WHO iiapS la take II fur To the window
la cNalrllr il. !hem running for the
dool: the woman With the l:lIse skirt
and ~ woill;,n who puts II fur OH aud
an,ii,fi"nsiy walks away"
Although tlir >;lrs departments and
the detective departments work to
Ietlyi. there exists between them II
spirit of j'isiiliab'c rivalry III !. de-
tective pciccivrs some one getting
away with goods it casts dis:crrdit ON
the person bchind The counter from
which The goods were stolen There
tore the sales folk keep an alert watch
or s!luplii,rrs
One might imagine thai goods are
dumped prllmrl nn the counters OF
the big stores As IL matter of fact the
efficient sacsl:iGH will haserycrythin.
so arranged that she vii; notice the
Disappearance of an n:ti 10 almost Inn
nlediatcly.
III IL salnswnman SUSPECTS IL person
she t. atels notifies the head de
tertiN (. Il is II woman. !; wa;lH,n
drtevtss Usually put on i i,D Il
is said n; - itiaiia,pr< mSi!.;ily li,sa
women lns:o ~; i"ill t;,in ms.n
Few aIt'.a,ls are ever mace iii III
stores. as ~ arrest gives only unLe
silal'ir publicity IL detective usila
iv follows Suspri ted persons from thu
store ami arrests hin, "r her outside.
II is s:li' lrl, arrests f,r shii,lift!l.
in Sew \ TX rNs.r,! :,.'nsi !; year lr
that city :, tllli description of all shop
liftrrs rai:ght are sent To the Retail
Dry Goods association. which in turn
distributes the information to the Va.
rious members
Only by concerted action aud with
can the stores cope with the ingenious
shoplifte.S.
The detective system of the big
stores. however. is now so perfect
that it is dangerous to attempt shop
lifting. Even the clevcrest shopifter
faces a long Jail term in the pursuit Of
her nefariouS work.
More than that. If shoplftcr for
any reason should escape paying the
penalty of crime in one city she may
not be so fortunate In another. De
scriptions of all suspected persons are
sent Oh. broadcast. and arrest in an
| other city may mean IL jail term. even