Evening star., 1916-12-24

IN ACH year the shoplifters spring
new and uncanny tricks on the
watchful detective and astute
statesmen In the big department stores
and shops. carrying out SO deftly their
light-ingered art. that. as expressed
by a manager of one Of the largest of
these stores. they make Aladdin's
wonderful lamp seem like spluttering
oil dip Of the early centuries"
Shoplifting has long since developed
into a study with the heads of the
large establishments. and SO carefully
have they diagnosed the cases that
come under their observation that it
is not often the shoplifter gets away
with the spoils- But each holiday sea-
son brings It's queer Inventions. baf-
fling for awhile the most experienced
and making the clerks rub their eyes
and pinch themselves to make sure
they are really awake.
One reads great deal about the
house detectives employed by the big
! shops. but except in a few cases no
such person Is employed to watch
!. .shoplifters. this business being the in
dividual duty Of each empIoye. While
they are waiting on the customer they
are at the same time exercising untir
ing vigilance.
The handkerchief trick is not a new
one, but the amount OF damage il does
each season is astonishing 1t is
worked in various ways. The most
successful operator Is usually dressed
IN widows weeds This makes it look
more natural for the handkerchief to
be continually in evidence. 1t is a
poor shoplifter now who does not dress
the part. The handkerchief kept in
the hand all the time by the bereaved
woman. is carelessly dropped on any
thing in sight small enough and valu-
able enough to be desirable, and when
IL is next held to the widows face it is
possible that a ring Is inside it. to be
passed temporarily to the mouth for
eoncealrnent.
However, there is nothing uncanny
about the handkerchief rick. II is
the false hand trick that almost con-
"tnces one that witchcT aft Is not
thing of the past When the sales
girl sees two hands in plain view.
and yet is conscious that articles are
disappearing from her counter, she
cannot believe her eyes. But Il is all
very simple. as the gIoved hand rest
A., ing on the counter is false one. while
Me mate TO th@ hand exa mining the
goods Is under cover of a raincoat or
mum. purloining everything in sight
worth carrying off.
floor walker who could write vol
Imes on such tricks says that he
worked on case, OF this kind for sew
eral days without success, when one
morning he .was looking down from
one OF the small galleries in the store
and say the various articles disap-
pearipg under the woman's cloak
while to all appearances both OF her
hands were in plain view The articles
were moving as IL by magic, and tbe
trick was not discovered until he in
vited the young person TO go with
him to the managers Office
This same foorwalker added that
during this season the most ingenious
trick he had stumbled across was the
vanity-box trick. adding that the ma
tority of shoplifters who work in de-
partment stores are women and that
nowadays every woman carries a van
ity box of some description. 1t may
be as small as twenty-five cent piece
or as large as a silver. dollar.
The shoplifter variety is Of the larger
Kind, bottomIess and fitted with rub
bar ball attached to ornamental
button on the lid of the box, which
) when pressed expands the bali. causing
suction. The owner of this device
when at work at the jewelry counter.
places the vanity box on the showcase
while she looks at rings or other small