The Child Shop-Lifters of Pike Street
Two young sisters are caught in an organized attempt to steal shoes from a downtown store, revealing a family in deep poverty.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Annis Smith, 12, and her sister Alice, 10, were arrested by officers on Pike Street after being observed stealing shoes from the Rainier Bargain store. The children used a practiced method, with one acting as a lookout while the other knocked shoes off a nail. When confronted, the children were taken home to their family living at Olive and Tenth streets. Their mother, appearing distressed, produced other stolen items. The family, which includes eight people, had recently been sent to Seattle by authorities in Helena, Montana, and the father was a paper hanger and member of the Salvation Army.
“Annie was bound to have the shoes, however, and before the eyes of the officers and other witnesses who were watching the proceedings she picked them up.”
This story serves as a stark reminder of the hidden poverty in 1890s Seattle, where economic desperation—often masked by the Salvation Army—led children to petty crime. It captures the intersection of child welfare and law enforcement common in the era's police blotters.
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