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Show PICKPOCKETS HIDE BEHIND UNCLE SAM Thieves Drop Stolen Pocketbooks Into Mail Boxes to G-et Rid of Evidence Evi-dence in Case of Arrest. When hard pressed pickpockets take retreat under the beneficent wing of Uncle Sam. This statement, rather astounding as-tounding upon the face of it, is nevertheless never-theless true, and was demonstrated yesterday yes-terday at the office of Noble Warrum, postmaster. A deputy was set to work on a pasteboard paste-board box 'labelled ' 4 pocketbooks. ' The dates were from 1899 to 1916. All sorts and conditions of pocketbooks were disclosed. dis-closed. Each contained a notation from the carrier as to where and when the purse had- been taken from a mail depository. The deputy explained This is only a small batch of hundreds that come in. The "dip'' "lifts" the pocketbook and takes out only the cash. To keep the purse on his person is dangerous in case he should be picked up, for his kind is well known to the police. Then, too, there is a quirk m the nature of pickpockets that seems to make them want to return valuable valu-able papers or, perhans, they do it to vent sarcasm on tlieir victims and so they drop the pocketbook in the nearest letter box, feeling sure we will return it to the proper owner. One pocketbook opened yesterday contained several pawn tickets, while the very obvious reason why a wallet was dropped into a mail box suddenly was because it belonged to a prominent physician, who assiduously noted, down a list of the contagious disease cases he had recently attended. |