Shop-Lifters ' The growth of the very disturbing habit of
shop-lifting 'was described by Mr. Chiesman, at the Summer School of the Drapers' Chamber of Trade, as a " canker in the life of the modem store" ; andhe appealed to magistrates to stamp it out by more severe sentences. The criminals to whom he was referring are often well-to-do women leading respectable lives at home and in society, but often hardend offenders in removing articles from shops without PaYing fOr. them.. It is not 'easy to, account for their men- tality, except on the aSstimptiOn that for many people Wrong only consists in being found out. Such persons find 'no temptation in a small shop where the proprietor 41-11'veys the Whole scene from behind the counter ; bUt to their Misguided eyes the large store appears to be offering them 'something for nothing. Granted that Such potential thieves are numerous, some responsibility, it should be pointed out, rests on the managers of stores in looking after their goods ; many stores do in fact niaintain a staff of private detectives, and they have a right to demand that when a thief escapes their vigilance the magistrate should apply deterrent punishment.
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