The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1916-05-05
MERCHANTS IN
LUNCHEON THURSDAY
DISCUSS "sHOP-LlFTING~ A,
WIDELY PRACTICED IN
WAXAHlCHIE.
'eeiate Practice l. Becoming n
Regular Loss To Merchants
Trade at Home Featured
In the Many Talks.

The regular monthly luncheon by
the Retail Merchants association az
Hotel Rogers THURSDAY at noon was
kind of an experience meeting in
which the merchants talKed over
their troubles in a friendly manner
with a view OF lettering conditions
in every way possible. OF course
the trade at home question came in
for a considerable part of the dis
cussion. but the main issue was that
of "shop-lifting' and petty stealing.
II was declared that "shop-lifting''
vas of common every day occurrence
and that young boys and girls were
implicated as we'll as men and wo-
men. One merchant declared that
he had to keep one or two men to
watch for shop-lifting when there
were big crowds in town. He said
his trouble largely was with small
boys. He said he had caught "a
number of such boys within the
course Of his experience and had
gone TO their parents, but it was
bis experience that he made an enc
my of that parent rather than a
friend, 50 he declared for prosecu-
ton of all such cases and proposed
that the association offer a reward
for arrest and conviction of such
cases.
Another merchant said it was not
altogether boys that did the steal
ing about the stores of the town, al
though he admitted that there were
some boys, and members Of good
families, who had to be watched.
This merchant declared that it was
impossible for his force to keep track
of the contents of a box of tobacco
ii it was left open near the front
of the store during the crowded
days. He said it was his experience
that he got money for about half
OF the tobacco, which he declared
was pretty good evidence that 1t
was not boys doing all the stealing,
Another merchant told of a negro
man coming into his store with five
silk petticoats under his coat and
when questioned about them he
bolted out the back door and made
good his escape.
The result of the talk was a mo-
ton passed offering a $40 reward
for arrest and conviction of any
person guilty of shop-lifting.
Superintendent G. B. VIM of the
public school was present and ex-
pressed himself as delighted to have
the merchants take this matter up.
He said the management of the
schools have been bothered for a
long time with such petty stealing.
He declared that it was Impossible
for teachers or pupils to leave any
thing of value out from under lock
kew. and that some times guards
had been placed over the locks to
actual burglary. He said
teachers could not lay small things
down on their desks during moor
hour without having them stolen.
He told about finding a cave right
in the city where young boys had
stored away their stolen goods. lie
declared it was time the parents
waking up to a realization OF
the true conditions.
Manager Harrison OF Hotel Rogers
declared that the stealing was not
wholly to local people, that
he has had 1897 worth of merchan-
disc stolen out of the hotel during
the last twelve months. He SAID
the travelling public had its crooks
inst the same as the town and that
il was nothing to lose small articles
daily.
Credits Rating Book.
The merchants have for some
weeks been planning TO issue a new
credits rating book for WaXahaehie
and Ellis county. and after mueh
discussion yesterday the matter was