Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-02-20
TRICKS OF THE PIcKPocKETs.
Clever Schemes Used to Relieve Vic
Tins of ValuabIes.

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Clever Schemes Used to Relieve Vic.
Tins Of VaIuables.
Everyone who travels frequently in
our crowded elevted subway or surface
cars is apt to arrive some day minus
his pocket book or roll" There is lit
tie the railway companies can do to
protect it's passengers against the pro-
fessional pickpocket. 1t is largely a
case of everyone for himself.
For this reason everyone should be
familiar with the working methods
of the light fingered gentry and know
how to protect himself against them.
To ascertain these methods I OBJ
tanned the following confession from
one of the cleverest pick-pockets in
the business. His name Is known from
the Cafe Monico of London. to the
Podle Dog restaurant, in San Fran
cisco. He processes to have turned
square, and for that reason he shall
be nameless.
When the propositio nof a confess
sion was submitted to him he said:
Sure, I'll go with you and pose, but
you'll have to agree not to have my
face show in the pictures. I've been
mugged many times in this burg, and
/ don't care about the cops. They all
know me, anyway. But I don't want
the public to know me, because have
just served three years, and I want
now to make an honest living"
This mans confession, with the pro-
fessional slang eliminated as far as
possible. follows:
1.-The professional dip is usually the
most innocent looking man in the car.
He wears a $50 suit, S. derby and
accessories to match. There Is moth
ing suspicious looking about him. We
usually work in threes, called a mob
How do we get q mob together?
That's simple enough. We generally
make up our mobs in August-just
before the county fairs begin. Three
the trick, one stall to frame up the
victim-push him, shove him, get his
attention away from the 'toop-and one
carrier to make the getaway wit hthe
swag. Five anr over Is swell mob.
They have two stalls and 'fixer to
carry the fall money emergency fund
and look after the. outside work.
IF the victim prosecutes, the mouth
piece still has q chance to beat the
case. If this can't be done, we appeal
to a higher court, fix up bail and beat
1t out of the state. The first four
years I dipped I got grabbed eleven
times and beat every case. The twelfth
time they got me right ,and the VIC
tim couldn't be fixed. I was slippin'
a repeatin' watch on a platinum chain
to the carrier. 1t was my first con-
viction, and the yonly gave me bit
one year. The carrier was an old
timer. He got a 'finif'-five years.
1.-The way mob works a touch is
something like this: Three Of US get
We're not supposed to know each
other. Suppose I'm the tool. push
through the crowd lookin' for a pros
porous lookin' passenger, and when
I've found him I stand behind him.
The stall comes along and grabs q
strap at the side Of the victim. The
stall steps on his toes ,breathes In his
face and begs his pardon until he for
gets all about his watch and pocket
book.
"Durin' this time I'm fannin' the VIC
tim-that Is, every time the car stops
or goes around a curve I'm feelin' him
over to find out where he carries his
roll or his poke-we used to call pock-
et-books 1eathers,' but it's gone out
Of fashion.
"As soon as I locate the yoke look
at the carrier and the stall, twistin'
my mouth in a certain way or turnin'
my newspaper-we call newspaper
stiff That's the office or signal, that
I'm ready to make the touch. If I
have two stalls one gets on each side
Of the victim, so the other passengers
can't see what Is going on. Thcn
fold my arms under the newspaper
put my right hand under my left arm
and get my two first fingers In the
victims pocket.
IF I can touch his poke I pull 1t
out easy. If it's in his rear pocket and
it happens to be in the winter time,
have to raise the tail Of the Benny
overcoat-in case the tail isn't split
up far enough. If it's one Of these
long ulsters, and I think it's worth
while, l get out the blade Of safety
razor and slit the coat when the car
stops.
"Durin' all this time the stall Is
bumpin' up against the victim and an
moving him. AS soon as I've got the
roll or the poke 1 give a little cough
or suck my tooth. That's the signal
for the completion Of the touch. !
slip the swag to the carrier, and he
gets off the car as quick as he can.
If the victim gets wise about that time
that his roll Is gone he generally sus-
poets the stall.
Of it, we have to reef it. That's
when the victim has long, deep
pocket, with his money at the bottom
Of 1t, we have to reef 1t. That's del
icate operation--one Of the hardest
things to do in the business. AS soon
as I'VE located the roll I put in my
first two fingers. If I get 'em all the
way in and can't touch the roll I be-
gin to reef the kick That is to say,
with my fingers about one inch into
the pocket / take hold of the lining
the part away from the body. I pull
it out a little bit as the car sways, and
then pull it up very gently an inch at
a time. When I feel the roll or the
poke 1 suck my tooth and get ready
for the blow off or getaway.
There's only one pocket that can't
be reefed, and that's the little fob
pocket near the waistband Of the trou-
sers. Those pockets are always tight,
and If a man carried around four or
five bills folded up into wad and
showed into the bottom Of the fob
pocket-take it from me. there's no
dip livin' can get next to 'em. A wo-
mans stockin' is a safe place, too, as
long as she shoves the roll we'll down
and the stockin' has no hole for the
to fall out of.
ANY guy that wears a pin that's
orn,rthinc 10 ont f1aarlx n