The Washington herald., 1909-07-11
W = sr.a, e. : ,sI- I

Deth maze aware ui AHlS ldNlt anu
partly TO counteract the enticing ten
deBcies OF their wares as well as 20
guard them against the daily attack
to which they are liable. modern Jew
elers have adopted several defensive
devices. such as heavy window dra-
peries, doors that close by touching a
secret spring under the counter, nu'
merous mirrors and electric cOmmun
ication with police stations.
The most recent addition to the
long list OF ingenious tricks origlnat-
ed by jewel thieves was made the
other day by a man who was pecul-
iarly fitted for the dodge by a rail-
road accident. As a result of the
accident he lost his left hand. beins
taken off just above the wrist. Tho
railroad very promptly supplied him
with a modern artificial hand, the na-
tUre OF which was concealed by q
black kid glove. The hand was hol-
low and the evilly disposed gentle
man conceived the idea Of making IL
a receptacle for stolen diamonds. A
hole In the palm of the artificial
band and a small slit in the glove
that covered the hand furnished him
with a means of making away with
diamonds while examining a number
of them. He posed as a purchasing
agent acting for various individuals
who had commissioned him TO secure
certain kinds of stones. While go
ing over a tray OF diamonds in search
OF the desired stones he manages TO
drop several small ones through the
hole into his artificial hand. Having
sneaked half q dozen or more stones,
he could afford TO purchase two OF
three small ones. AS his hands re-
NAMED constantly in front OF the
jeweler, the unsuspecting storekeep-
er would not offend his customer by
counting the diamonds. Greed and
over-confidence induced him TO take
more diamonds than was safe. The
jeweler noticed the diminishing OF
the pile of stones, counted them and
discovery followed.
TT HE cleverest among the jewel
thieves are women. Possibly be-
cause they are not so quickly suspected
of evil intent and are therefore given
greater opportunities to execute their
carefully laid plans. When she
comes into the store with a small
card upon which has been sketched
the design Of a fancy brooch and
asks to see some diamonds from
which to make a selection for the
purpose of filling out the design, the
obliging salesman sees no reason to
suspect that upon the back of the
card there are several points of a
peculiarly sticky gum. While she is
looking over the stones trying to
make a selection, she casually de-
posits the card on top of the tray.
She selects two or three small, mex
pensive stones, picks up her card, TO
the back of which a number OF dia-
monds are closely clinging, and puts
II away in her pocketbook Having
no reason to suspect her. the care
less salesman puts the tray away,
does up the parcel and she goes her
way carrying of twenty times the
value OF her small purchase
The greatest difficulty experienced
by jewel thieves is in getting the
stolen gems out of their possession
so that no evidence can be secured II
the jeweler becomes suspicious be-
fore they leave the store, and causes
an arrest. A number OF clever
schemes have been devised for pass
ing stolen jewels 20 confed crates, the
most recent of which was practiced
upon a London firm. A we'll dressed
lady entered the store and asked to
be shown some diamond rings. While
she was making her choice an impu
dent beggar entered the store and
asked her for a copper. The jeweler