Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1914-12-20

the mans first offense. The butler
was discharged from Mr.. Wickes's
employment.
The tender-hearted Poillon sisters.
and the gentle Mr.. Wickes have sue.
cecded in turning loose on the com.
munlty two household thieves-a
clever French maid and a robber
French butler. Instead Of consider.
ing their duty to the community to
prosecute these thieves they have
made it as comfortable as possible
for them and put no obstacle in the
way OF their continued career of
household robbery
a third case which shows the dan.
ger of hiring servant and taking
her into ones home with the idea of
subsequently, looking up her refer
ences, was that Of Mrs. Ernest ODER
meyer, Of No. 81 East Eightieth
street, wife OF a wealthy brewer,
who had an unfortunate experience
OF that character q few weeks ago.
She engaged well-appearing maid
who gave the name and address OF
person in Brookline, Mass. as q
reference. Mrs. Obermeyer wrote
10 the person in question but made
the mistake Of taking the girl into
her home without waiting for q re-
Spouse to her letter
Within few hours after the girl
entered the Obeymeyer home. she
disappeared with over a thousand
dollars worth of jewelry, and she is
sun at large. or course there was
no response to Mrs. Obermeyer's in
quiry.
Even where housewives take the
precaution OF Investigating refer
ences, before taking domestic into
their homes, they are sometimes
victimized nevertheless.
A few years ago Mrs. Ottinger
had such an experience with q maid
whose references she had invests.
gated. The girl gave her name ms
Frances MorDich and referred Mrs.
Ottinger to a Mrs. Lee. of the Clin-
ton Apartment house. Brooklyn,
n. Y. She declared that she had
worked for Mrs. Lee for two years
and had left to go back to Denmark,
her native land.
Mrs. Ottinger said she would com.
municate with Mrs. Lee, and If the
reference was satisfactory she would
give the girl the position.
Over the telephone Mrs. Lee de-.
clared that Frances Mornich had
worked for her for two years and
had left to 90 back to Denmark, and
that she was an ideal servant. The
girl was accordingly engaged by Mrs.
Ottinger Five days later she de.
parted with 5000 worth Of jewelry.
When the police were notified. De-
tective Thomson was assigned to
the case and he promptly called upon
Mrs. Lee for an explanation. Mrs.
Lee was astounded to hear that
FRANCES Mornich was accused of
theit, and it was only after a full
discussion of the details that II
hhally dawned upon the detective
anu Mrs. Lee that the criminal ser.
want was not Frances Mornich at
all. A description of the supposed
FRANCES tailed exactly with that of
another girl who had been employed
Oy MIS-. Lee at the same time that
FRANCES was in her employ but who
had been discharged as unsatisfac.
tory q few days after her engage.
ment. This girl was Valley Bern.
hardt, an eN convict.
Alter a most painstaking inyesti.
CATION, the detective succeeded in
locating the Bernhard girl and she
was then readily identified by MI.
Ottinger as the girl she had EN-.
ployed as Frances Mornich"
valley Bernhard was convicted of
grand larceny and sentenced to three
years in States Prison. When her
tlme was served she was given q
position by Mrs. Darlington Booth,
OF the Savation Army, who believed
she could regenerate the ex-convict.
The experiment proved futile, how.
ever, and Mrs. Booth was robbed of
several hundred dollars worth of
property by the Bernhard woman as
reward for her faith. Valley Bern.
hardt is still at large. The police
sent out circulars in an endeavor to
capture her, but up to the present
time she has succeeded in eluding
her pursuers.
Some unsuspecting or careless
housewife, no doubt, will one day
engage this criminal servant with.
out bothering to look up the refer
ences she will give, and another
robbery will be added to the long list
perpetrated by criminal domestics.
Obviously. the only sure way to
protect oneself against robberies of
this nature is to undertake a thor
ough personal investigation of a ser.
wants references before engaging
her. Investigation by mail or tele-
phone is not satisfactory. 1t isn't
hufficient to rely upon the say-so OF
an employment agent. Before talk
ing an unknown servant into ones
household, it is only prudent to look
Into her antecedents with the utmost
scrutiny. Even then, there is always
chance that domestic whose char
acter has been hitherto good may
suddenly yield tc temptation, but the
danger can be considerably dimin.
ished by exercising reasonable pre-.
caution.
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