Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
JACK ROSE.

froduce to YOU, will bump them around
awhile until We get what's in the bag
x
81 will promise you that we won take
more than two touches day. The rest
Of the time my pal or me will give up 10
hanging around the store and tipping you
off to what shoplifters are in the store.
We won't have to tip them off to you very
long They will soon pass the word along
the line to keep out Of the joint at which
so-and-so is dick, as he is getting all the
boosters as fast as they hit the joint The
MANY arrests you will be making will
bear this out. They will dodge your place
as il it was a quarantine place for small
pox.
What is more, whatever my pal and
me gets out of the bag opening privilege
we will cut up with you. We viii be on
the square with you, too. Anybody L
ever did business with will vouch for me.
The complaints at the office about shop-
lifting will soon be little or nothing. The
woman we relieve of the contents of her
bag Will usually think the bag worked
itself open entering or leaving the car
rage or automobile and that her money
was lost on the street. She rarely COM
plains at the office. ! wouldn't be asking
YOU to do 1t now, only l heard you We're
going to be fired Saturday night and that
would mean that some new guy would
come here with his own crew and We
would be shut out. What do you say, are
you on?"
The detective hesitated.
Il will try it until Saturday" he de-
cided. Il am broke and Will probably
be idle long time and l need the money
at home ,awfully bad. These rich women
won't miss it,
Silencing his troubled conscience in this
manner, the partnership between the de-
tective and the shoplifter and bag opener
was formed.
Through codes agreed upon. Maggie
Ryan Immediately signaled to the detect
i've the appearance of shoplifter or
rival bag opener. The number of arrests
and return of goods in the next three
days so impressed the employers of the
detective that when Saturday night came
the detective was called into the store
and told that evidently the threat OF dis
missal had so stimulated him that more
drastic action would be unnecessary and
the management would be glad TO have
him continue on in their service. Time
and again. 1t must be admitted, the de-
tective has tried to sever the ties that
bind him to Maggie Ryan and the west
ern kids pal. Each suggestion Is met
with the same answer.
"Quit us and we'll put the boss wise
that his great detective is phony and a
crook
This arrangement still exists. Private
shoplifters, petty sneak thieves. klepto-
maniacs and a few professional shoplft-
ers unknown to Maggie Ryan and her
pal manage to turn a trick or two in this
store, but never since its detective allied
himself with the two shoplifters and bag
openers has it suffered one-quarter the
losses which it experienced before
At one other store, at least, | know
this same game is worked, although, of
course the store owners themselves are
never parties to the arrangement.
When a shoplifter becomes well
known to the detectives that her useful
ness ceases, she hires pupils to work the
stores for her. There are numbers of
these Fagin schools in existence. They
are usually conducted in private flats. 1t
was in one Of these schools that Dutch
LIZ learned the game at the age of six
teen.
The ex-store booster charges nothing
for her instructions, but she manages to
get the lions share of the swag She Is
able to protect herself in this by reason
OF the fact that the novice is unable to
dispose of the stuff herself and has to
rely upon her teacher to sell it to the
fences"
/ have told you of some successful
SnOpuIterS, Dut lHeIS dic very lew Inc
these, and even these queens" of the
business always end i'm troublesome of
the greatest of them all. like Annie Glea-
son, who is now doing long term in an
English prison for boosting a $4,000 pearl
necklace from Christy's in London.
There was a shoplifter whose husband
I knew very we'll who made a speciality
Of boosting expensive lace goods. She
stuck to this line because she had unusual
facilities for disposing of that kind of
stuff. We will call this woman Jersey
Jennie
While working one of the big stores
one afternoon she ran across "SealSkin