AUCKLAND HAPPENINGS.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 15 August 1918, Page 3

AUCKLAND HAPPENINGS.

THE "ALARMING SACRIFICE" SEASON. End-of-winter sales are the order of the day, at the time of writing, in Auckland, and the crowd of feminine bargainhunters at the soft goods houses in Queen Street and Karangahape Road lend an unwounted air of animation to some of these establishments. I happened to be in Queen Street early one morning last week, and found a crowd of about two hundred and fifty ladies assembled in front of one large drapery store. On enquiry I learned that it was " Remnant Day," and that the firm concerned makes a practice on that day of selling all the odds and ends at half-price, or less. Hence the rush. It was then about tea minutes to 9, and I understand that some of the ladies who were then waiting for the doors of this store to fly open had been in attendance since before 8. Ladies love " remnant days," and many a lady would walk five miles to secure an article at a few pence under the ordinary price, even although she wore out ftte shillings worth of shoe leather in doing it. " Woman," as Mark Twain or some other fjoker says, "is a riddle —but we'll never give her up." , SHOP-LIFTING. The drapers are compelled to keep a sharp look-out at sale times on account of the constant attempts that are made to rob them by shop-lifters. There are 'women, seemingly, who would disdain to pick pockets but who regard pilfering from a shopcounter, when a sale is on, as quite excusable. So well-known is this little weakness on the part of certain women that the big Australian stores employ private detectives, at sale'seasons, who mingle with the crowd and keep watch and ward over the goods. Several women have been arrested in Auckland for shop-lifting within the past few days. This reminds me of an experience related to me by the manager of a big Sydney departmental store. Last Christmas Eve, when the store was'throngad with buyers, a detective tapped a smartly-dressed middle-aged woman on the arm and asked her to accompany him to the manager's room. The request was made in a low tone so as not to attract the attention of others. The lady haughtily demanded what the thief-catcher wanted, and asked him how he dared to speak tc her. She was (or appeared to be) terribly indignant, and made no attempt to modulate her voice when addressing the \ officer. So he showed her no ; further consideration. " You must come with me," he said, grasping her arm, and, white with passion, the lady obeyed. The manager heard all the detective had to say. Then he turned to the lady (who had been protesting all the time), with " Madam, I must trouble you to turn out the contents of your hand-bag on this table." The lady said it was an " outrage," and that the manager would bitterly repent his behaviour. He merely smiled and repeated his request. So, with a very bad grace the lady emptied her bag, |and sure euough it proved to contain not o n ly a quantity of small articles the property of the store, but a quantity of other goods, belonging to two other stores. The lady turned out to be the wife of a professional man, and to be posseessed of ample means. The case was hushed up, and a terrible scandal was averted. The lady was described as a " kleptomaniac." By the way, did you ever know a person in a humble walk of life who, when convicted of larceny, was declared to be a kleptomaniac V —l confess I never did. Another, and much shorter name is usually #iven to offenders of the latter kind. Yet the law, we are assured, is no respector of persons. A-hem !.-