davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-06

people in his work-wives of drunken loaf
ers, wives of well-todo people, men supposed
to hold reputable place in society, and
l bums.' The wives and daughters who steal
are attracted by the displays of fnery, the
supposedly reputable thief takes trifes, such
an umbrella. The buns steal anything.
In contrast with these people the drug
" fends." They seem to have no moral fiber
to tell them what is right or wrong. The
street woman comes In this class When
caught she will shrug her shoulders and with
a contemptuous laugh say y
GO ahead. Run me in. See if care.v
The search of woman like this will always
unearth cigarets and frequently cocaine.
4
Vdrious attempts to Defraud Store.
Every kind of confidence game is used to
try to defraud the department store. Shop
lifters are common and generally are caught
for on every floor one or more detectives make
their way among the shoppers, constantly alert
for any unusual action. Pickpockets are
equally numerous, but are not so frequently
apprehended. The passer of bad checks, the
Nho ditelnpts 10 himHdu tne cdSLicI,
the woman who exchanges tickets on two
articles and then tries to buy the high priced
article at the figure on the low priced ticket,
the person who buys goods on another's ac-
count-all meet the detective sooner or later.
The fraud who uses some one ese's account
is perhaps the commonest met and most diff
cult to cope with. The detectives will say
little as to how these guilty parties are dis
covered. One girl was caught when she re-
turned some handsome trimmings with the
comment:
Them amt no good! !"
The IL year old daughter of contractor OBJ
tanned over $1,000 worth of goods on various
friends accounts In her case there was
much publicty-a fact due to her fathers un-
willingness to believe his daughter guilty. Mr..
Bevan succeeded in catching this girl. He
says she lied more than any professional he
ever met
The amateur win lie more readily than the
professional. The latter will have good
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-06
Varied Are the
MotiDes Inspiring
Thefs. The Society
Woman Yields to an
Impulse to Steal
Enery. The Small
Salaried Father
Appropriates a Gift
for His Boy. The
Child Is Taught to
Be a Thief. And
Then There Are the
Professionals.

walk two miles to his car line A detective
was sent to the house and the wife was
brought to the Office and severely criticised
for her part in the affair. North blamed the
woman more than he did the man, advised him
to assert his rights, move to cheaper fat
nearer his work, and make his wife live within
their income. He followed North's advice.
Two months later he reported. He looked
better nourished and seemed to be :" on his
feet"
Two successful shoplifters the cleverest
of ten or fifteen years ago. have settled down
to a quiet domestic life, one the wife of a
contractor, the other as the wife of police
official. These women stole valuable things
but were clever enough to keep out of the
police records. Their husbands are ignorant
of their wives former occupation, and each
month pay heavy bills for goods at the very
stores where formerly the women procured
merchandise gratis.
These women were able to carry out goods
by sheer nerve. Never did they employ the
old primitive methods of false bottomed bags
and parcels, huge mufs, or baby snatching-
This last is one of the commonest ways of
taking goods. A baby is set on the counter
upon the goods wanted, and when baby is
picked up the goods deftly slipped under
its coat and carried too.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-06
I" Slick Rosic's Early History.

Seated on a bench in the fifth floor corri-
1or, watching the elevators, was a young
roman. She was handsome in bold way
North recognized her Rose Miller, known
. 10 the police as . Slick Rosie" one of the
sleverest of shoplifters and pickpockets.
She was born in Russia, came to New York
| At 16, and for two years made her living by
aer wits Then, attracted by her beauty a
| 'Foung American married her against his fam
| |lys wishes. Not long afterward when Rosie
rebelled against his abuse Miller in a fit of
They waited until she stole enough to make
the offense a felony--until they got her
rood" Rosie said-and "jobbed " her She
was sentenced to five years "up the river"
1 but on her promising to return to Russia to
I've the judge waived the sentence.
Rosie went back to Russia, but stayed only
long enough to collect legacy of several
Thousand dollars. Shortly after she returned
Ito America the police were informed she was
| In New York, and she was rearrested. After
|putting up her legacy as bail she skipped to
Chicago and went back to her old trade
North seated himself beside the girl and
| said:
Well, Rosie, what's up?-
1" Skinny Maude and her blonde pal are
lin town" she replied. They'll start in on
faces. They're heavy on furs, too so you
better keep your eyes peeled for EN-.
Not two months before North had ordered
Rose to keep out of his store, and had black
listed her for the other stores. She was sure
|ly not giving him this warning out of graft
|tude.
e Rosie, what's the idea in your telling me
about these two?'
& The girl answered in colorless tone:
Revenge, that's all. They're the molls
that squealed on me to the New York cops.'
A few days later Skinny Maude y cas-
|nally laid her handkerchief over an Irish
point collar and Blonde Nell " stepped
Through sable muff. Both got as far as
the elevator before they were asked to make
visit to the Office. This time the phone
clicked as it came off the hook, and over at
the Central station another phone rang.
Rosie had gained her revenge.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-06
Systems Varp in The Stores.

This is but an example of what goes to
make up the days work for the department
|store detective. The store North protects uses
|peither of the systems most in vogue for sig
mailing the house detectives. All calls go
directly to the Office Here in the mahogany
walled and furnished rooms from one to three
detectives stand ready to start out the minute
one Of the four phones call for their services.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-06

for which he has profound sympathy. Now
he deals largely with women who are extrav-
agant as well as dishonest--wome who take
Injuries, not necessities. For these offenders
he has little pity.
Mr.. Bevan's successor in his former place
is a man of 80, who has been in the business
ten years. He is clean cut young chap
with pink cheeks, and when he smiles he dis
plays two dimples. Fancy dimpled de-
tective In spite of looking like demon
strator for beauty ,parlor he is engrossed in
his work.
His problems are varied. Goods stolen
while the store is closed must be traced.
Clerks must be kept from holding out +" even
change. One girl, on being caught, confessed
she had averaged $40 week in this way.
He has not become hardened by his expert
ences. He tells of one case of recent date
where a girl was caught stealing plume.
She was refined and told simple story in
convincing manner. She declared she was the
daughter of a small town merchant who had
lost much of his money, that she was living
with her aunt in the city, and having long
been accustomed to expensive things could not
resist the temptation to take bit of finery.
She went down ON her knees and begged not
to be dsgraced by being arrested. Her story
was so plausible that she was released.
Two days later the kindhearted young de-
tective learned she had been arrested in an
other store only week before and had given
precisely the same excuse. In that instance
q
easy it was, tried the game, again.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-06
Children Taught 10 Steal.

This same detective found one case which
certainly deserved sympathy. woman with
two young children made practice Of push
ing goods off the counters. The children were
trained to pick up these things and stuff them
into their mothers handbag. Investigation
proved the woman was beaten by her husband
if she did not bring home stolen goods each
time she went downtown. He did no work
other than to teach the children to steal
The store detective meets all classes Of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-06
Stole a Present for His Boy.

The woman who stole the necklace had no
need for dishonesty, but when a man makes
only S75 month"; turns $40 of it over to his
wife. and has to pay for carfare and lunches
only way to obtain present for his little boy.
Such was the case of a man caught stealing
an automobile horn. He had wife who in
sisted on living in $40 month fat, simply
to make show. She refused to get up to give
the man hot breakfast, although he had to
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-06
Lille Pity for Extrdpasdnt Thieces.

Mr.. Bevan, as our solemn, brown faced
detective is called, worked for years in store
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-06

story to tell, and if not recognized by the de-
tectiye will tell it. If the detective is /" hep ;"
the old hand will quietly submit to arrest.
They know the less they say the less evidence
there will be against them
schoolgirl from a fashionable private
school on the north shore stole waist She
had no reason for stealing. and seemed on the
verge Of Mysteries when caught. Mr.. North
sent for her cousin, levelheaded girl and
told her to see that the guilty girls mother
was informed of the incident.
4 Rich Grandmother Who Stole.
Passing from the schoolgirl to a grand
mother, one finds of the worst offenders
was widow almost go years old, who had
an income of over $4,000 She continually
stole, almost always little things like ribbons
and handkerchiefs She ran for Office in
club, and because she feared her failings
cajole North into returning the confession she
had signed.
Another woman, old enough to know better
stole several hundred dollars worth of goods
for herself and grown daughter. Recently she
brought $400 worth of merchandise and 5000
in cash to Mr.. North, telling him she intended
to turn over a new leaf
Not long ago a woman of very good fam
lily stole a valuable necklace. When taken to
the office she was nearly crazed by the realiza-
ton of what she had done. North sent her
home, and, contrary to his usual custom, did
not force her to tell her husband of her
trouble.
The record., 1913-01-30
|[)O()I,IR NOTE(|
y Ilsss..--re.-slss a:-sss.
I ssslSSsSssSs sSSS$ aSsSA

Rapa makes a good crop for late
green food.
Poultry is extremely profitable II
properly handled
Poultry. fruit aud bees form com.
bination hard to beat.
Fowls have no sense of smell. They
have noatrils, but not noses.
A cement floor in the laying pen
and roosting closet is advisable.
Don't let lice "get away" with your
chicks, while you wonder what ails
them.
Eeep the males separated from tho
growing pullets, Both will develop
better.
nuckllngs generally begin moltns
when eleven weeks old and. continue
for about six weeks.
Don't forget that wet and leaky
coops do not tend to produce healthy
chickens. but early death.
II is a good plan to let all the
breeding stock ont of the yards to en-
joy free range during the summer.
Don't try to breed from poor stock.
II takes too long and good stock is
cheap enough for you to start right.
Free range for the flock greatly sim
plifies the feeding problem. because
the fowls can balance their ration. to
large extent, with the food they pick
w.
The record., 1913-01-30
WHY BATTLESHIP WAS SENT
Because of nisinterpreted Cipher
Message the Maine Went to
Havana.

Probably very few know that the
cause of a mlsinteipreted cipher mes
sage. Mr.. John II. Caldwell, who had
been in. charge of the Havana bureau,
and whom | relieved, told me that
several days prior to my arrival he
had made requisition upon the Office
nous times in the Cuban capital. riots
had been frequent, the lives OF for
eieGers, particularly those Of Ameri-
cans, had been more than once placed
in jeopardy, and the time had come
when correspondents felt the need of
revolver sent to Mr.. Caldwell was
smugglod to him By q passenger on
the steamship Oliyctte, to whom the
weapon had been entrusted by an
agent of the paper ir Tampa. BY some
oversight no cartridges had been sent
with it, and il being impossible to Sc
cure any in Havana, the correspond
ent cabied TO New York. Camera re-
ceivcd. but no plates; send by next
boat"
Through some strange error on the
part of the one who received it, the
cryptogram was construed to be a
cipher and was translated to read that
an attempt had been made on the life
of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee. American con-
sui general in Havana. This misin-
formation went to Washington and
reached there after the Havana cable
had closed. Early the next day Mr..
Caldwell received from the Herald the
following cryptogram: Send story
and pictures ordered on food-supplies;
we want il for main sheet" BY apply
ing the cipher key, the first sentence
was readily translated to read: "A
United States warship has been or
derod to Havana" The second evil
dcrtly conveyed some hint which was
beyond the limitation of the code. but
the word main" gave the clue. Meet.
ing General Lee at breakfast that
morning. Mr.. Caldwell quietly in
formed him that the Maine was on
her way to Havana. The general was
incroGulous. No warship. he assured
the correspondent, would be sent to
Havana unless he requested it.-Wal,
ter Scott Meriwether. in Harper S
Weekly.
The record., 1913-01-30

iae wrong thing. or II perchance do
ins TIE TiaE thing. then doing 1t at
the wrong lime, causes a loss Of $lo.-
600 per day,
In no department of administration
have we more signaily failed than in
dealing with the question OF the high
WAYS. IL f. time to face about and
make an effort to get better. results.
Is II any wonder people are sore"
when II comes 10 paying road taxes?
They have been at IL for generations
and with here and there an exception,
the roads are no better than they were
TO begin with.
The question now is what specific
things shall be done in order to get
better results. The first step in the
writer's opinion is TO wipe out the
labor system of working out" the tax
by the annual picnic or talkfest, that
usually takes place I'm the early fall
when everybody turns out to i'm
prove" the road. There is no definite
plan: the practice is to plow ard
scrape, and I'll the center Of the road
with sod, weeds. brush and earth,
making what before was a passable
road one that is impossible The late
ness of the season prevents a proper
settlement before the heavy fall rains
and the winter sets In. The weeds.
sod and brush are sure TO make trou-
BILE for a year or more. Many time
she writer has observed a bunch Of
men and tea 1as do hundred dollars
worth of damage to work out a fifty
The record., 1913-01-30

order OF I.poT tntc il county of
ten 10 fifteen sov 80. ene' good en-.
gineer wi;a taree 81 ic9- gangs OF
men with machinery. each having q
good foreman, in three or four years
will make such showing, that people
will wonder they ever tolerated the
old hit and miss methods.
II the method suggested was adopt.
ed and followed, It would at least dou.
BILE the results for the taxes now paid
BY having regular employment. beth
the men and horses would become
proficient and do more In a day than
the 'sreenhorn" would do in two DAYS
and the work will be far better done
as we'll
The above outline Is for the treat
ment of earth roads. When the tins
comes, and come 1t will. when the
main roads will have to have a hard
smooth wearing surface Of stone.
gravel or brick. all of the work pre-.
viously done as above set forth, Will
be valuable as q preparation for the
permanent road.
The Inauguration of such plan will
appeal 10 the people; they will see
they are getting something for the
money paid. Their attitude will
change from one of hostility to friend
ly cooperation. and this is of much
Importance. The writer once saw ar
enterprising farmer who had a road
drag. He took it out in a rain storm
and dragged q mile of road. goisg
twice over II until It was I'm his Ian.
The record., 1913-01-30
WASTE IN HIGHWAYS
HALF THE MONEY SPENT If!
PUBLIC ROADS is THROWN
AWAY.
GOOD ROADS, UNIVERSAL CRY
Everybody Wants Something Done,
ess Nearly Every Community Is
Cropping in the Dark-Time TO Face
A5out and Try for Better Recuits.
BY HOWARD n. GROSS.

No one who is familiar with the way
roas work has been handled for the
last twenty. years will dispute that
half of the time and money expended
upon our public roads by the hit and
miss methods employed has been
wasted. Most observers will say the
waste Is even greater. The country
over. the outlay approxiuiates 100000
ooo. We have gone on from genera
tion TO generation pursuing this alb
surd plan. or rather lack Of plan. II
is a most unbusinesslike and repre-
bensible proceeding. No business en-
terprise could last a year with such n
fearful waste. A calculation made
with great care by one of the best au-
thorities in the state. contends the d.
rect waste on Illinois roads by doing
The record., 1913-01-30
A Hen Hatchery.

inches wide, writes ]. A. Crandall OF
Norwich, Kan, in the Farmers Mail
aud Breeze. Stats and thin lumber
Ray BE- used for the IL partitions.
Floor the nest department. Chicken
wire is used to cover the top of runs
except for the doors A, each of which
is 2S inches long, enough to cover two
runs. The doors B are the same
length. There is also a door by 10
inches in the front of each nest box
and all doors are hinged with leather
and he'd with c,eats. The roof board
is rot hinged or nailed but held in
Place with cleats and may be lifted
OF
The record., 1913-01-30

requires considerable engineering Cx.
perience the farmer docs not and Is
not expected to have. Ii is TO r,Gec.
tion uron him to say he is not p sue
cessful road builder-any more ;han
it would he TO question his ability in
carpentry. To have the best supelvi-
sion the township or road district Is
too small a unit. The mileage Is too
limited TO make il practical TO have an
experienced road builder I'm charge.
Hence the present thought is that the
county should be the road district. or
perhaps there might be two districts
I'm large counties. The road suTeR
visor should be capable. experienced,
engineer employed by the year. or ,he
season. Let him get the necessary
tools, men and teams and do the work
when II ought TO be done When erad-
ing is necessary, the earlier in the
spring IL is dcne the better The sur
face ought rot to be disturbed after
the first of July.
The first and most important step
is road drainage. 40 drain. no road
IL is exceedingly important to have
one in charge who knows his business.
AS read drainage will be treated at
length in another article. the writer
will not elaborate upon Il at this time.
The drains can be laid at any season
when the frost is out of the ground
CulveIts can be built. the roads drag
ged, weeds cut. etc. This will give
work from early spring until fall.
With the county as unit. plan a
flve-year campaign of grading and
draining. beginning with the main
roads and extending the work in the
The record., 1913-01-30
,ity seems to be cropping in the DARK

nifty seems to be cropping In the DARK,
rot knowing just Eow tn accomplish
the desired end. In many localities
we find that meetings are held sub.
scription is started. and volunteers
beat up and down the street, asking
everyone to subscribe either money or
labor. bank viii give 500. NOR
chant another sl00. the man next
door, who ought to do the same thing.
will give sic. \ public entertainment
is gotten up, and after campaign OF.
a number of weeks. perhaps $4,000 is
raised for improving n piece OF road.
In order to save expense some local
party viii undertake the work He
does not know much about road build.
ing. and the result is a botch job. The
money is spent and a half-mile of
road is made, and while il il poorly
constructed, 1t is so much better than
the previous conditions, that II Is hail
ed with delight. No effort along these
lines can amount to much, beyond the
creating of an increased desire fer
better roads. Experience shows be-
yond any question that the way to do
is to build as large a mileage as POS
sible at the same time. and have II
done under the supervision of a cap
able road engineer. If ten or twelve
miles are built instead of one the cost
of construction will he much less: IT
will pay to have improved machinery
and the best facilities. Then the pay
Eent Of the road should not he made
by passing the hat. where some
Will do their duty and others win not,
but on the contrary tn amount should
he covered by issuing lorg time bonds
and spreading the burden over all the
property of the township. II forum
ately the state is operating under the
state aid plan, whereby a portion of
the expense is contributed from the
sta.e treasury. IL simplifies the matter
very much and lightens the burden.
The writer made n calculation COW
ering the state of Illinois, and that cal
anlation was verified by the late Dr.
Frank H. Hall of Aurora, one OF the
best IathematiCians in the country.
and he found IL correct. II showed
that first-class hard roads could be
built over all the main highways in
the state Of Illinois. under the state
aid plln. the state paying one-half the
expense from general tax levy. and
the balance locally by the township.
and the combined expense spread
ever a period of ten years. would not
exceed ten cents per acre per year
on farm lands. What is true of iii
nois will be found to work out very
c%sely along these lines In nearly all
states of the central West.
The amount of money wasted upon
the highways of any state between
Pittsburg and feuvf - from Min
nesotd to Fic ,0.. y.Sufa ,a,., .-tirssf
pay the interrst o. be bouas reees-
sary to build and maintain first-class
permanent roads. We might state 1t
in another way: That the economies
that can be accomplished and the
benefits that will accrue from improv.
ing the highways, will take Of. frcm
the burden of the people many times
more than the taxes TO build the roads
vell impose. Why not convert this
waste into a permanent asset? Why
yct have better conditions when We
can DO so so easily?
The record., 1913-01-30
FAVOR INDIAN RUNNER DUCKS
Hardest of All Domestic Fowls and
Do Equally as Well Confined as
on Free Range.

Indian Runner ducks are the
hardest of all domestic fowls. As
they do equally well in confinement
or on free range, they may be profit
ably kept by persons in town or city
as well as by farmers. They do not
require pond or running water-iust
water TO drink in, something deep
enough so the whole head can be ira
mersed. says the Interstate Poultry
man. They may be kept more cheap
ly on free range. as they will find
many things of little or no value, such
as bugs, worms. grasshoppers, grass,
etc. These they convert into large
white eggs, which If not sold for
Eatching will command several cents
above the market price of hen esgs
and at Easter will bring twice as
much. They DO net differ in flavor
from hen eggs. but are superior for
all kinds of cooking. AS table fowl
the Indian Runner duck is excellent.
The meat is tender. juicy and hne-
grained. Thus far the demand for
breeding stock and eGgs for Matching
has been so great that the duck las
not been raised to a great extent as
market stock; but wherever II has
become known as table fowl il Is
wanted.
As egg-prCducers the Indian Run
ncr females are too valuable to sell
on the market until from three to nine
years old. \ flock frcm q good-lay-
ing strain will average from 2i0 to
go eggs per layer per year, If prop
crly managed l find by actual test
that the feed that will keep Ply
mouth Rock hen in good shape win
keen Runner duck plump, so think
it safe to say that they can be kept
as chcaply as any of the large breeds
of hens in winter and cheaper in sum-
mer if on free range, as they will for.
age farther into the fields. We like
them much better than hens, as they
do not destroy crops, neither are they
so much of a nuisance around the
buildings as hens. The duckliDgs OF
this breed can be raised to a market
able size cheaper ard more quickly
than those of ar 1iher breed. Al
the ducks nevei set the duct ID "a
must be hatched ~ fnc56att- OF
hens. Hens give the best results, oft
en- Matching every egg given them
The eggs are very fertile Gnd may, II
desired, be hatched any MOI h in the
year. Ducklings hatched in June Oh
July often lay all winter, while, il
ha;ched in March, they will lay in
time TO hatch duckllngs from them by
the 1st CT October