Carrizozo outlook. [volume] (Carrizozo, N.M.) 1910-1945, 1917-08-10
MANY new TRICKS
Ingenuity Shown by Shopllfters
Astounds Storekeepers.
Handkerchief, Dummy Hand and the
Bottomless Vanity Box Amene
Devices Of Thieves.

8A'A NNhA ~ NAARINtNNNA1 EIAANN
new and uncnnny tricks on the watch
full detective and astute statesmen IL
the big department stores and shops
carrying out ~ deftly their light I'm
gered art, that, as expressed by n man
ager OF n OF the largest OF thes,
stores, they make Aladdln's wonder
full lamp seem like n splutterlng oil
dip Of the early centuries"
Shopllftlng, according 20 an ex-
change, has long since developed into
u study with the heads OF the large
establishments, and 50 carefully have
they diagnosed the cases that come
under their observation that II IL not
often the shopllfter gets away with
the spolls.
house detectives employed by the big
shops, but except In II few cnses no
such person IL employed TO watch
shopllfters, this business being the In
dlyidual duty Of each employee. While
they are waiting on the customer they
are ut the same time exercising untlr.
ing vigilance.
Nv AhAibhNhhiltA ilifh 10 uul " uth
one, but the amount OF damage II
does is astonishing. II Is worked In
vnrIous ways. The most successful
operator Ia usually dressed In widows
weeds. This makes II look more nat
ural for the handkerchief to be con
tinunlly In evidence. II Is n poor shop
litter now who does not dress the
part. The handkerchief, kept In the
hand all the time by the bereaved
woman, Is c%arelessly dropped on my
thing In sight small enough and vnlu-
able enough to be desirable, and when
II Is next held to the widows fucc II
Is possible that n ring Is inside II, to
be passed temporarily to the mouth
for c%oncealment.
However, there Is nothing uncnnny
about the handkerchief trick. II IL
the false hand trick that almost con-
vlnces one that wltchcraft Is not u
thing OF the past. When the sales-
girl sees two hands In plnin view, and
Yet IL conscious that articles are dis
appearing from her counter. she can
not believe her eyes. But II Is all very
simple, MS the gloved hand resting
on the counter Is u false one while
he mate to the hand examining the
goods Is under cover OF u ralncont or
nun.
A floor walker who could write vol
umes on such tricks says that he
worked on n 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 saw the various articles dlsap-
pearlng under the woman's cloak
while to all appearances both OF her
hands were In plain view. The ar.
tlcles were moving ms II by magic, and
the trick was not discovered until he
invited the young person to 20 with
him to the managers Office.
This same iioorwalker added that
the most ingenious trick he had stun.
bled across was the vanity box trick,
adding that the majority OF shop
filters who work In department stores
are women and that nowadays every
woman carries a vanity box OF some
description. II may be as small ns n
20-cent piece or us large MS n silver
dollar.
The shopllfter variety IL Of the
larger kind, bottomless and fitted with
Il rubber ball attached to nn Ornamen.
tai button on the lid of the box, which
when pressed expands the ball, cnus
ing suction. The owner OF this device
when at work at the jewelry counter,
places the vanity box on the show
case while she looks ut rings or other
small Jewelry, and when the oppor-
tunulty arrives moves It oyer the ar
tlcle and II Is sucked into the case.