El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-01-24
without fuI

8slsslEz5lD ~ the Queen Of Pick
pockets" is again be
hind cell doors, and this time the police
say she viii not be attended by the rare
run Of luck which heretofore aided her
in walking forth free from the jaik that
housed her. Mary Becker, as she is best
known, although she has a score of
aliases, is in the New York Tombs, and the
chances are it will be some time before she
can ply her old trade again.
One Of the boldest and most dextrOus
operators who ever opened a woman's
shopping bag or rifled a mans pockets,
Mary is known from coast to coast as one
Of the most sdlful thieves that ever fell
into the clutches Of the police. Many a
woman has been her victim, and man, too,
for that matter, for the police say she
can extract a watch from waistcoat or
fob pocket with all the dexteriU Of the
many children working the streets who
have been trained from infancy in the
art Of pocket picking. Her stealings
mount high into the thousands. A detee-
i've Of Philadelphia, who has followed
her career for many years, tells brother
detectives here that he believes she could
make 100000 a year if she cared to
work. Wherever she went she left a
p trail Of empty purses and pockets and her
associations with fences throughout the
country, to whom she disposed her loot,
were so agreeable that she always re-
ceived top prices for the articles thus dis
posed Of.
The police record Of Mary Becker is
not quite as extended as others Of her
clan, and this, the detectives who know
her well say, firmly establishes her right
to the title Of queen" Had she been
less clever, they contend, she would have
fallen oftener and spent the greater
part Of her time in a cell.
In scanning her record It was learned
that Mary has been arrested in Chicago
Boston, St Louis, Baltimore, Philadel-
Uhia, Brooklyn and New York She has
been listed in the various police stations
to which she was hailed as Mary Becker,
Catherine Mullins, Lizzie Single, Made
line Zeigler and Mary Londen. She was
born in Germany and in appearance might
be mistaken for any well to do housewife
Of Teutonic parentage. She is always
well dressed and hiss rather a motherly
and benevolent expression Her hair is
fast turning white, although she is an
adept in the art Of disguise, and the
police declare that until a few years. ago
she could make up" the part Of any
young woman Of good looks and get
away with it"
In looking her over at Police Head I
quarters the novice would be moved to
compassion, for there is little or nothing
about her to suggest a dangerous Grim
inaL Her matronly figure is invariably
draped in garments Of good texture and
fashionable make and there is a notice
able absence of the jewels which those Of
her class take such keen delight in wear
ing for the sake of a flash" Modesty
in both attire and demeanor seem to be
the roles she essays and, as Detective
O'Connell puts it, MARY, take it from me,
can play any old part she likes and get
away with it, too"
But to those who have made a stuoy Of
criminals of this class Mary possesses
one feature which invariably attracts at
tention and proclaims her a person well
worthy Of watching This is her shifty
and hawklike eye, which fairly flashes
fire as she looks about her No matter
how prepOnderous the evidence that may ,
have been amassed against her. she viii
fight to the last ditch, matching her wits, {
which are as sharp as her eye. against c
those Of the most skiIful and brainiest 4
thief catchens in the world. To attempt a
to sweat this woman is labor lost. for. '
no matter what inducements are held out Is
to her. she will invariably put the burden b
of proof up to her accusers and demand T
that they SHOW her" before she will even f
consider talking terms Her faith in E
lawyers is as slight as is her fear Of t
police and for both she has unbounded .
contempt When she finds herself in q 0
particularly tight hole she viii engage a q
'mouthpiece" to represent her in court. S
"Tim" O'Leary, once superintendent of c
detectives of Philadelphia, processes TO y
know more about Mary than any other "
detective in this country. He has fol- v
lowed her career for many years and
whereas he failed to earn a long prison n
term for her on the many occasions. she fl
was arrested in Philadelphia, yet he as 4
serts it was luck, pure and simple, which s
enabled her to walk free. About two Fl
years ago Mary was caught picking fl
pocket in Philadelphia. According to n
the police, If was an open and shut case. :
She had sided up to an exceptionally "
well gowned woman in a department store -o
and, watching her opportunity, opened il
his woman's handbag and extracting her II
purse and several pieces Of jewelry re- q.
posing there, calmly walked away and, fl
approaching another victim, rifled her p,
handbag quite as effectuauy. Although "
Inc store was not crowded at the time, p,
here were many persons within a few w
eet Of the thief and her victims. yet none a.