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Show Hungriest Criminals In All Big Cities Those Whose I Nimble Fingers Abstract Valuables From I Pockets and Purses of the Unwary- I Breaking thePickpocket Trust. f Copyright, 1010, by The International Syndicate. PICKING pockets lor a livelihood has been reduced to a sclonce. Evading conviction following-arrest following-arrest on such a charge 19 a f mere matter of dollars and cents and ' -where there is ono conviction there 1 1 are scores who never como to trial and go scot free free to pursue their nefarious avocation to tho end. ' I Tho hungriest and meanest thieves in existence are pickpockets. No loot : is too small for them to overlook, and It matters not whether their victim is ' .a hard working shopgirl or a millionaire million-aire so long as they aro able to sopnr- ' ate them from their coin. ' 1 ' ; Fortune In Bribes Offered. Had I been so disposed I could have grown rich on tho bribes that ' have been offered mo to let up on f some of those I havo arrested, for tho successful dip of today must nec-f nec-f cssarlly belong to tho "pickpocket trust" If he hopos to operate unmolested unmo-lested In a well paying section of tho city. In New York these sections are divided Into districts and each district dis-trict is regarded as tho undisputed ter-' ter-' ritory of tho gang there working. Of course, they pay for tho privilege of working theso chosen districts and they pay well at that. Tho trust sees to this. The pickpocket who " hopes to stand well and be permitted to work a "swell district" gives up j a certain amount of his loot to "the trust." In this way he Is always sure of amplo funds to pay for His defense fc in case he comes to trial. More often, of-ten, however, theso funds aro used to furnish cash ball for tho person ar- rested and of courso that person ; promptly Jumps Ills ball and in this way beats tho law. He Jumps to another an-other city and there remalnB until ho thinks his case has been forgotten. Then ho drifts back to New York, for that Is tho goal of every nimble fingered dip. Tho softest snaps that pickpockets find aro on the surface cars of the big cities. They always work In I squads of three or four. It Is an easy matter for ono of theso "mobs" to board a crowded car for of courso !they never think of selecting ono that Is not crowded and make a fat clean up before leaving it. Bank rolls and wallets are their most coveted swag, for tho real smart and clever pickpocket pick-pocket of today scorns a watch, or such easily identified objects, prefer-f prefer-f ring tho hard cold cash, which not one person in a thousand can Identify. Identi-fy. Tho man who makes a practice of carrying his wallet in his hip . pocket Is the easiest of marks for ' tho pickpocket, for such a receptacle ': for bank notes can bo slipped so easily from the victim's pocket that ho is ! ' hardly awaro that anyono Is near him, y let alone robbing him. I havo stood 3 on tho rear platform of a car and A watched a mob work inside and by J? actual count witnessed the slipping of elghteon wallets and pocketbooks before be-fore I closed In on tho thieves and nailed them with tho goods on thorn. It matters not whether a man carrion his wallet in hip pocket or the inside pocket of his coat, a dip can get It If given a fair chance and the man who brags that "no pickpocket can get near me," better not let a dip hoar him make this boast, for it Is tho "wise guy" they take the most pleasure in trlmmlnsr. Coats No Bnr To Them. I have seen them go for a man wearing a heavy overcoat and, de-splto de-splto the fact that this outer garment was buttoned tightly, tho thieve gained access to an Inner coat pocket and got away with tho wallot without with-out arousing the least supiclon. A few days ago 1 was descending the stairs to one of the stations of the subway. A line had formed at one of the ticket windows and at a glance I saw thero was a suspicious bit of JoBtllng going on. I slipped behind ono of tho pillars from which vantage point I could survey tho oporatlons. I knew at once that a mob was at work and I didn't care to make a movo until un-til I- could get them Just as I wanted them. It Is impossible to bring about the conviction of a pickpocket in a Now York court unless you catch tho thief In tho act and got tho wallet ho has stolen, In his possession. Ono of tho men standing in-line was being violently Jostled by a man. standing directly behind him. To tho unwary it appeared that tho man doing do-ing the Jostling was in a hurry and chafed attho delay of tho line ahead. When tho man who was being so roughly handlod remonstrated with tho ono directly behind him, tho latter lat-ter apologized profusely saying that it was due to tho rush behind. Just then a man directly in front of tho middleman, or victim, decided that he would worm his way out of the line, turning in his tracks and nearly twisting tho clothes off tho body of tho man directly behind him the victim vic-tim of course. While this man was squirming out of line tho man In the rear of tho one marked for plucking got into action, ac-tion, his nlmblo fingors deftly lifting the wallet from the victim's inside coat pocket, his overcoat and undor' coat both having been wrenched open I by tho frenzied efforts of the person In front of him to get our of the waiting line. The man who had lifted lift-ed tho wallet, quickly passed it to still another man directly behind him. and this latest recipient of tho loot turned hurriedly as though he, too. had changed his mind and was about to leave the subway. Got Man And Wallet. Before ho could advanco ten feet I had seized him by the hand that clutched tne waljet, crying out to several sev-eral citizens at tho samo time to seize tho two confederates I Indicated. If there Is ono thing a New York crowd revels In it is a thief chase, and several sev-eral volunteers grabbed the two pickpockets pick-pockets and held them while I slipped tho handcuffs on my man who was struggling frantically to get rid of the wallet I had caught him clutching. The subway police then came to my assistance and with our three prisoners prison-ers and the man who had been robbed wo went to tho nearest police Btatlon, where I preferred charges against the trio. Their conviction followed speedily speedi-ly and they went to Sing Sing for long terms. This caso may convey In a Email measure tho manner in which pickpockets pick-pockets work while In crowds and I trust It will serve to warn tho unwary against permitting suspicious strangers crowding thom too closely whon In closo quarters and to bo always on the alert for tho man who tries to engage them In conversation In like situations. Thoro aro many men who carry their wallots In the trouser hip pocket over which they button a flap, oocuro j In the belief that such a flap will balk the pickpocket- Never was there a greater fallacy. When a dip sees a wallot reposing In such a pocket ho knows that to attempt to unbutton tho flap would bring instant detection. detec-tion. So he immediately gets busy with a knlfo sharpened to tho keenness keen-ness of a razor and deftly slashes out pockot and all. So clever aro pickpockets pick-pockets at thl3 gamo that a pockot can bo snipped out without tho slightest slight-est sensation to the person being robbed, and furthermore, tho garment gar-ment beneath tho trousers will not show tho slightest mark of the knife. I havo seen vest pockets thus cut, from which a valuable watch was lifted, lift-ed, and sometimes the thieves slash out a fob pockot and thus got possession pos-session ofj watch or what bills might havo been placed thorc for safo keeping. keep-ing. Most pickpockets, as I stated previously, pre-viously, work In gangs, or mob3 There aro exceptions to the rule, however, how-ever, among them the clevorest pick- pocket in New York City. This man Is known as Sammy Short or Sammy Shaw. He Invariably works alone and In consequenco splits with no ono. His loot Is all his own and It Is safe to say that Sammy picks up many thousands of dollars in the course of a year. But ho Is a high liver and despcrato gambler and In consequence he and his moneysoon part. Works With Either Hand. Sammy is ambidexterous and In consequence con-sequence it matters not what side ol him an Intended victim stands. Sammy Sam-my can rifle his pockets equally effectually ef-fectually with olthor hand. In reality real-ity ho Is tho king of pickpockets foi whenevor his fingers dip Into a pocket It 13 safe betting that they come forth clutching a prlzo well worth having ! I havo trailed this crook for days ai a time, well knowing that he wai about to pull a trick yet seemingly he 1 possesses some sixth sense which warns him of danger and ho pull: away Just as I think I am on the ev i of gettlnc him dead. I have caught him In the act several times and twlco ' I have convicted him, but on one or two occasions I havo seen him rob a victim and boforo I could seize him, In some mystorlous manner he disposed : of tho wallet and I had no case against him. Ho is tho smartest pickpocket ' I know and ono worth watching at all times. Ho rarely leaves his houso that a detectlvo la not at his heels, and this ho knows. Doubtless, tho most expert pickpockets pick-pockets In tho world aro women. They aro so dexterous that they can work without tho Jeast danger of detection and in consequenco they reap vcritablo harvests in the shopping centres and thoso places where women aro wont to congrogate. It Is much more difficult diffi-cult for tho unltlated to spot a woman wom-an crook than It is to pick out a man with a questionable reputation. The average man crook looks tho part Tho majority of these women who live by thieving aro woll dressed and many of thom can pass muster In any gathering gath-ering without arousing suspicion. Wives Of Crooks. y In nearly all cases theso women dips ore tho wives of crooks, burglars, bank sneaks or some such members of tho underworld. In very fow cases do tho women and men work together. to-gether. Each has his own lay, and their paths rarely cross when a Job Is In prospoct. When the men make a haul It Is usually for a big sum and husband and wife lead riotous Uvea until tho money Is all spent Then, the wlfo gets busy, goes out and applies ap-plies her trade. With such funds keeps herself and husband going until un-til ho strikes another big stake. It Is como easy go easy In tho underworld under-world and as nearly all tho crooks In the country today are dope fiends It requires a quantity of money to keep them going for with tho stringent Federal laws hampering tho Illegal salo of narcotics the dope fiend has to pay dearly for his favorite drug. The smartest woman thief In Now York City by all odd3 Is Annie Harris. the possessor of a dozen aliases and tho wlfo of "English Joey," a burglar now doing a four-year stretch In Sing Sing prison. When Annie makes up her mind' to work it is a poor week If sho can't turn a few tricks that will net her $1,500 at the least Sho has the deftest pair of hands In the business and when she goes through a big shop sho usually leaves a trail ', of yawning, empty hand bags dang- ' llng'from the arms of the women she has robbed. Of course, the women ' robbed deserve Httlo or no sympathy, for tho careless manner in which they carry their shopping bags Is but an open invitation to any nlmblo fingered thief to open them , and rlflo them of their contents. Annie Harris 13 Just as good a shop lifter as sho Is a plckpockot She ' has robbed the Broadway and Fifth : Avenue shops of thousands of dollars i worth of valuables and now It Is only necessary for her to appear In these : thoroughfares for the store detectives i to get busy and arrest her on sight. ' We all know what attracts her to 1 1 these centres and we go on tho pre-1 pre-1 1 sumption that an ounco of prevention s ' Is worth a pound of cure. Wo have tj nipped many a nice little robbery with Annie as tho thief, Jn tho but and now sho is almost afraid to put H her head outside of her homo.. But at H that sho makes a llttlo sortie every now and then and it Is a safo bet that Annlo never cornea home empty hand- ad. sho would rather steal than eat. M Sho Is worth a lot of money and could retiro and llvo luxuriously on hor ill gotten gains If sho so chose. But M stealing 13 a Joy she cannot forego. M Got Annlo In Tho Act. I recall an instance when I got Annlo with the goods. Sho appeared H In Fifth avenue, which was sufficient H warning for me to get on .her trail. H I saw that Annie was following an H exceptionally -well dressed woman from IH shop to shop, but apparently sho could H not got closo enough to her victim ' IH to get at her handbag. Emerging H from a fashionablo confectionery store H In Fifth avenue, where I had seen IH Annlo steal several little trinkets that H attracted her fancy, she sidled up to H her victim and deftly opened the bag. IH I saw her withdraw her hand from the bag with tho rapidity of a snake's H fang and transfer It to a hugo pillow muff sho carried. I know I had her H so I leaped forward and enveloped hor IH In a bearrllko hug and held her until M sho had dropped the muff' and the bills. Annie had extracted Just $210 l from that handbag and while sho whined and pleaded and raved and cursed I held her until the woman who had been robbed Identified! tho H money and consented to accompany H mo and prosecute the case. Wo had l a dead case against Annie that time. M but she gave ball and forfeited It. Jumping to Chicago, where she re- M malncd for somo time. That charge M Is still hanging over her and wo will H yet put her away for sho cannot re- fl main long away from the lure of M Broadway. H Thero aro a pair of women, sisters, H known in the underworld as tho "Bos- ton Sisters," who aro married to two H tin horn gamblers in New York. Theso H girls havo made fortunes by shoplift- vj lng and pocket picking, yet I doubt if they could ralso a thousand dollars VM between them. As fast as thoy steal their respective husbands gamble M away tho proceeds yet they go on H stealing and their husbands continue VM to gamble In luxury. These sisters VM are among the best dressed women in M New York. Their toilettes are always JM turned out by fashionablo modistes, M milliners and bootmakers, and(wher- H ever thoy go they are sure to attract 9A admiring glances from women and M men too. These sisters are as dan- ( M gerous a pair as over operated to- H gethcr. They frequent the fashion- j H 1 able hotels and shops and on matinee H days they are at tholr best In flush IH times their Jewelry Is of the costliest jH and theso aro among the few women I jH of the underworld who can mlnglo IH with those of tho most exclusive circles IH without arousing suspicion. IH All large cities are fairly swarming IH with pickpockets. Children aro be- H lng trained by Fagms in all parts of H the country and those who go about H with largo sums of money In their H i handbags and wallets cannot be too H careful. In conclusion let mo add M "Beware of tho Dip. for his greed Is H I Insatiable." M |