Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1913-10-01
THIEVES NEVER QUIT
Once Started Continued Through
Life, Say Detectives.
Sleuth Tells Of Apple, Chewing Gum,
Secret Packet and Dog Collar
Schemes In Stores-Loss From
This Source Heavy.

This Source Heavy.
New York.-Four Years ago Lottie
Gross married Her husband knew
that she had served a term in Moy-
amensing for shoplifting. But she
promised him-and she meant it
that she would never steal again. And
then the baoy came II wanted pref
ty things for her," said Lottie. "And
30 l went back to the old game II
l couldn't. quit for the best man in
the world l guess l never can quit
Stealing is like a disease-eXcept that
1t can't be cured"
That's about what the detectives
think. Once a man or woman gets
well started at stealing and he or
she Is thief for life.
"The big stores lose more by am
ateur shoplifters than by profession
ais" said D. ]. Botter, manager for
the criminal department Of a detec-
tive agency. "a woman steals some
trifing thing, that catches her eye
and gets away with 1t. Then she
comes back-and keeps on coming
back They never let up"
Cotter takes the professional thief
catchers view of the defense Of klep-
tomania. Now and then there may be
kleptomaniac Most kleptomaniacs
are just thieves. They get started to
stealing-and it's like rolling snow
ball down hill-the stealing grows.
There was the woman we may call
Anna Eva" he said. "She is one of
the most dangerous professional store
thieves and shoplifters-there is a
differnce in the terms-in the country.
Her husband is q captain OF lake
vessel. So is one of her sons. They
have a good home at Cleveland, where
the daughter is married to good
man. But Anna Eva began to steal
She has been a professional thief for
years, and now has prison record.
Mind you, she has no criminal as
sociates do not suppose she knows
another thief to speak to, though she
may know them by sight. She has
nothing to do with other crooks. She
just steals. She travels most OF the
time, living at good hotels. She is a
kindly, placid, pleasant woman of mid
die age-and professional thief.
Like all the others, she began as an
amateur"
II don't know that there are any
particularly new schemes against
which store managers should be on
the alert" said Cotter. Every one
knows the old trick with hunk OF
chewing gum The first thief sticks a
ring under the ledge of the counter
with the gum. Then the other comes
along and runs his hand under the
counter edge and gets the ring and
vamooses. Open umbrellas are often
used as receptacles.
The neatest trick turned lately was
in the west, when good looking, well
dressed man sauntered into jewelry
store with an apple in his hand. He
| looked at tray filed with valuable
rings
"Wah!" he suddenly sputtered.
This apple is wormy."
Whereupon he threw the apple into
the street. The confederate, on the
lookout, picked up the apple and the
gem which had been hidden in 1t and
made off, An almost equally nifty de-
vice is to equip the collar of pet
dog with a secret pocket When the
stolen ring has been placed in the
pocket, while the operator is petting
the animal, it leaps to the floor.
Catch my dear little doggie." yelps
the bereaved shoplifter.
Every one hurries to oblige. The
dear little doggie fits its little tail
into the groove and scampers for
home, as it has been trained to do.
The shoplifter profits by the fact
| that the managers of stores hesitate
to prosecute. They believe that hon
est customers are inclined to shun
stores in which such arrests are fire.
Quently made, fearing that an entire
ly innocent action might lead to an
unpleasant seizure and search. But
the total loss by shoplifting and by
store thieves is so great that the Ma
tional Retail Dry Goods association
was recently formed for cooperation
| IN nrotaction