LURE OF BARGAIN COUNTER

NZ Truth, Issue 1227, 6 June 1929, Page 5

LURE OF BARGAIN COUNTER

Fine Feathers Make Fine Birds, but Shoplifting . May Make Women Gaolbirds THIEF DONNED STOLEN GOODS IN SHOP . (E'ro.m "N.Z, Truth V Special Wellington Representative). "Hundreds of pounds' worth— l do not think I would be exaggerating if I said thousands of pounds' worth— of goods disappear annually from stores m Wellington through the peregrinations of shop-lifters. "It is difficult to detect these women — shoplifters are, almost without exception, members of the fair sex — and, with a view to discouraging their exploits, it is the invariable practice of shopkeepers to place the matter m the hands of the police when thefts of this kind are discovered."

THESE words were uttered toy a prominent Wellington draper while discussing recent shoplifting cases with.'"]S'.Z. Truth," and from what he said it is plain that storekeepers, no matter what their line of. trade may. be, are determined tc adopt stringent measures to put a Stop to the practice. Strange though it may seem, it is indeed' a fact that shoplifters, m the main, consist of women who have nc need to steal at all. One such case has occurred m Wellington and has been dealt with by the magistrate. No doubt, Mrs. Daley believes that fine 1 feathers make fine birds,

0 , c ,, ; : -< 1 i but she has now learned that unless; the fine .feathers are paid for . m an honest way the consequent > fine makes them very costly m;- -; deed. ■' - Mrs. Lena Daley, of Tawa Plat, made her appearance before .. . Mr. . E. Page, 1 S.M., on a- charge *of stealing a hat valued at . 22/G, the property of C. ; Smith, Ltd. ( . \ Apparently the hat took the lady's fancy and. so she tookthe hat. An assistant accosted her as she left , the shop. Mrs. Daley said she had paid for the hat, but had lost the docket.. • The police were sent for and the woman was arrested. Mr. A. B. Sievwright entered a plea : of guilty on behalf of Mrs. Daley who, he stated, was a respectable married woman m comfortable circumstances. | Mr. Page fined her £10, m default one month's imprisonment. \ . j There are cases of shoplifting, also, due to over-indulgence m alcohol and' to kleptomania. v , ' One. due to the former occurred m the same shop on the very same day as Mrs. Daley's case. . Beatrice Higgins, a married ' woman,, aged '37, appeared before Mr. E. Page, S.M., charged with the theft. of four pairs of stockings, two singlets, . one silk nig-Vitdress, one pair of lady's unI dergarments, three dresses, one hat, one necktie, three pieces of dress material, and one piece of calico valued at £10/17/6, the property of C. Smith, Ltd. ; . . • ' ; * Incredible though it may seem, j Higgins, while on the premises, actually donned two of the three { dresses and secreted the other articles about her person. ■;

a — ■— _ — _ . — The dresses were all longer than the one she "wore and were consequently noticed on her by a shop assistant. . Higgins's counsel, Mr. B. ■ Egley, stated that his client had previously been before the court for drunkenness and had twice been sent to the "Island." "Drink is her trouble,'.' stated Mr. Egley. ■ : ■■'■..■ . Mi-. Page fined the woman .£ls, m default two .months' imprisonment. Fine feathers, they say, make fine, birds, but shoplifting makes gaol birds and the sooner certain women realise this the better it will be for them m general and storekeepers m particular.