While passing through the Fair, one of the largest retail dry goods
establishments in Chicago, Detective Wooldridge noticed one of the
cleverest shoplifters that ever operated in Chicago, Bertha Lebecke,
known as "Fainting Bertha."
She was standing in front of the handkerchief counter, where her
actions attracted Wooldridge's attention, and he concluded to watch
her. She called the girl's attention to something on the shelf and as
she turned to get it Bertha's hand reached out and took a half dozen
expensive lace handkerchiefs, which disappeared in the folds of her
skirt.
The act was performed so quickly and with such cleverness that it
would have gone unnoticed unless one were looking right at her and saw
her take the handkerchiefs.
From the handkerchief counter she went to the drug department, where
she secured several bottles of perfume. As she was leaving this
counter she met a Central detective who had arrested her before
for the same offense. He stopped a few yards from her to make some
trifling purchases. She, thinking he was watching her, left the store.
From the Fair she went to Siegel-Cooper's, another large dry goods
store several blocks away. Detective Wooldridge followed her. She was
seen to go from counter to counter, and from each one she succeeded in
getting some article.
As she was leaving the store she was placed under arrest by Detective
Wooldridge and taken to the Police Station.
When she was arrested she fainted, and a great crowd gathered around
her, and many of the women cried and implored Detective Wooldridge not
to arrest her, but he would not be moved by any of them to let her go
free.
[Illustration: "_FAINTING BERTHA_"]
When she arrived at the Police Station she was searched, and beneath
the folds of her skirt was found a strong waist pocket which looked
like a petticoat. It consisted of two pieces of material gathered
full at the top with a strong cord or puckering string run through,
and sewed together around the edges. In front of this great bag was a
slit two feet long opening from the top to within a few inches of the
bottom. This petticoat was worn under the dress skirt. On each side
of the outside skirt was a long slit concealed by the folds of the
skirt, and with one hand she could slip the stolen articles in through
the slit in the inside of her dress and into the petticoat bag to the
opening in front. The capacity of the bag was enormous. She had stolen
some $40 or $50 worth of goods when arrested. The following morning
she was arraigned in the Police Court and heavily fined, and the goods
were restored to the merchants.
Bertha Lebecke, 27 years old, is conceded by Illinois state
authorities to be the most troublesome person who ever crossed the
state line from any direction at any time.
Just how large a cash bonus the state treasury today might be willing
to advance could it be assured of Bertha's deportation forever beyond
the confines of Illinois is something difficult to estimate, but it
is certain that in the asylums for the insane at Kankakee, Elgin
and Bartonville, and in the state penitentiary at Joliet there are
attendants on salaries who would make personal contributions to help
swell the possible fund.
Yet "Fainting Bertha" Lebecke is one of the prettiest, blondest,
most delicate handed little bits of well-developed femininity that
ever made a marked success in deceiving people of both sexes and all
conditions in public, afterwards deceiving officials of jails, asylums
and penitentiaries until bars and gates and frowning walls were as
cobwebs before her.