New Britain herald., 1930-03-13

New York, March 13.-Shop- filters cost New York merchants, big and small, another huge fortune this winter. Such pilfering flourishes in cold weather when heavy wraps are worn. The woman wearing q cape is always trailed by a depart ment store detective. A fourth of fender recently got life sentence.
 On rainy days the umbrella shop filters reap a harvest. They are adroit in sliding pillage off counters and into closed umbrellas. The male shoplfter is rare but there are hun dreds of women who have made # a profitable means of livelihood.
 The master workers are usually young and their success depends largely on being we'll dressed Catch ing a shoplifter is a task that re- quires judgment and unerring accur- acy. False arrests have cost stores enormous losses in damage suits.
 Every city has it's quota of wo- men from respectable families who are touched by kleptomdnla that i5 expressed in shop lifting. Most Of them have been spotted and are per nitted to indulge in the thieving as though in no wise suspected. Rc.l tives pay the bills.
 Shop filters are never arrested in stores. The procedure is to follow them until they reach the street and then place them under arrest. This averts excited hysteria result ing from accusations and prevents the excuse they were merely carry ing the stolen article to a floorwalil- CT 10 be priced.
 The most famous of the shop filters was known as Flash Katie. Until she died several years ago she operated in large cities between San | Francisco and New York. She was | Junoesquc, blonde and wore a sable tipped coat with ingenious secret | pockets.
 When finally caught she was said l to be worth more than a half mil i lion in securities, the profits of her lcot. 1nnumerable experts work with passers. The 'passer" is a con- federate to whom the stolen articles arc passed and who is quick in van- ishing in the crowds.
 A most unusual cast of shop lift | ing grazed the first pages last Christmas time. A woman of social prominence was tapped on tEe shoulder as she was entering her limousine in front of an avenue store. She was told she was wanted in the managers office. In he- hand bag was an expensive jal- clock which she had purloincd. She admitted the theft and pleaded she vas overcome by an uncomfortable impulse. So far as could be learn d it was her first, last and only Of fGnse. Her husband settled and tn, case was dropped.
 A toy store announces New York millionaire spent S16,000 il the establishment ill d year tol amusement jim for his thrc, boys, aged 1. and S. And I'd like to announce it gives mo a shooting pain.
 A doctor, whose practice ha: been among the rich for years, tell' me gout is vanishing in moncyet circles. In other days retired ant venerable men sat aching with i foot propped upon q stool rest da, after day. The malady was consid cred rather fashionable. More care
 ful diets and abstinence in drinking , are credited for the abatement. r. It is the physicians theory tn
 custom of following a highly season F ed dinner with rich red goblet o t rare old port was responsible fo
 much gout. He found that ever
 gout patient was fond of port. :. It is noticeable that fortunate = who sit down nightly to those Lu
 cullus like felsts-the sort featul |, ing golden service plates and d n epergne piled high with importe