The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-05-14
THE EVENING STORY
KleptoInania.


An event to be much talked about
in society, and another to cause chat
ter from the seventh floor to- the
basement at Maxim & Co.'S depart
ment store, occurred the same week.
The first was the announcement of
the engagement of Miss Edith Lisle
to Mr.. Eugene Nevins, who was one of
the partners of the store. and society
agreed that it was a fine match. So
ciety refers to those things the same
way men refer to horses in a race.
The second event was the general
OVerhauling of the store detectives
and many of the sales girls, on ac-
count of the sudden increase in shop
lifting. Laces and other valuable
goods not the usual prey of the shop
litter were being taken in a way to
make the loss a serious one and to
call for increased vigilance.
Maxim & Co. had the reputation OF
carrying the finest line. of laces in
the city. There were four salesgirls
in this department, and the one in
charge was Miss Grattan. She had
held her place for nearly year when
the, first theft was reported. The
first and second cases were passed
over, but. when the third was re-
ported Miss Grattan was placed un-
der suspicion. 1t was Mr.. NevinS
who set the watch on her, and it was
to Mr.. Nevins that the report was
made later on. .
Lives with her widowed mother;
goes out very little and then with Mr..
TraveIa OF the furniture departm emit
she takes the lace, she sells it some
where. Cannot say that suspicion
should attach to any one of the four
at the lace counter"
In the line of business Mr.. Nevins
had once called Miss Grattan to the
office. She had not trembled and
covered in his presence. On the con-
trary, she had seemed too assured and
snippy to please him. There must be
discipline in department stores, and
when an employee is called before the
powers that be, he or she is expected
to act, as If life was at stake. AS Miss
Grattan didn't, Mr.. Nevins was dis
pleased with her.
In the general overhauling Miss
Grattan came first. Lace to the value
of $20e had been taken from her de-
partment two days before. There
had been a rush at her counter all
day, mostly of wel-dressed women.
There had been scores and scores of
sales. There had been scores who did
not buy. The salesgirls must not only
handle the stock but answer ques
tions, record sales, keep their eyes
open and look upon every customer
with suspicion, and feel that some one
Of those customers might be a shop
litter, and there to put the four in
peril of losing their places. Mr.. Ne
wins realized ali this, but he made no
excuses for Miss Grattan, nor per-
mitted her to make any for herself.
There is slackness there or these
things could not happen" he said.
"A smart girl can tell a shoplifter
half way across the store. If there
is any more stealing from your coun-
ter I shall be obliged to transfer you
to the crockery department"
There were three store detectives,
all noted for their smartness, and
yet they could not tell a shoplifter
ten feet away. Miss Grattan took it
rightly that she was marked down."
but she returned to her counter re-
solved to watch with more vigilance
than ever. In the big stores they do
not make the mistake of watching
what may be called the common folks
to the exclusion of all others. What
the common folks take is
called stealing; what the wealthy
take goes under the head of
k1eptomania. Both are watched alike.
Four days after the talk in the Of
flee, Miss Grattan had customer for
high-priced lace. She was a young
woman of about twenty-five. who
had come in her auto, and she had a
full purse and bought literally and
took away her package. She was
watched, and yet ten minutes after
she had gone a valuable piece of lace
found out about her was that she had
been in the store and that
she paid cash and never had her pur-
chases sent. The loss had to be re-
ported to Mr.. Nevins. He did not
transfer Miss Grattan to the crockery
as he had threatened. He |
was evidently about to do so, when |
something she said in describing the |
customer she suspected made him |
hesitate and take on puzzled look, |
and after a time to remark:
AFTER you have taken stock to-
night you may find the missing lace
At any rate. let it go for a day or
two."
Why the change in him? Did he |
suspect her, and was he going to have |
her watched? Was he going to have
her mothers house searched?
Yes, Miss Grattan was engaged to /
Mr. Tarver, the head of the furniture |
department., but the fact had not /
been publicly announced. These en-
seldom appear in the So
ciety journals It's two or three days
off under protest-a marriage, flat /
and then one hears no more. 1t may
be spoken of in the store for a day,
but only by employees.
On the evening of the last theft |