, 1896-03-07

quickly away. This the method of stealing
most commonly resorted to, and to a certain
extent proves more profitable. for scarcely
any identity, desert lion OF trace Of the thief
remains.
"Con-mea'' are generally Of respectable
appearance and ready address. 4 trick often
prayed by them is to acquunt themselves
thoroughly with he employees and customers
OF a store and wait until there is a transfer or
change Of employees. Then hey walk bold
" INTO the establishment and give tile name
and address Of some frequent patron. The
clerk refers to his rental book and promptly
provides HE bicycle. Very often after OBJ
tanning a wheel hy this means the thief will
deliberately puncture the tire or III some
other way damage the machine so that it
will be unfit for service. He vii! then en-
ter a nearhv store. bargain to have the wheel
repaired, ana secure a more salable one ION
which to finish his ride"
Quickly Disposed Of.
wheels stolen hy common are generally
disposed Of to credulous individuals. Without
delay. They seldom retain possession Of the
stolen machine longer than d few hours. The
pawubroker Is the last resort. Sometimes n
sale is easily c-0usummated with men OF elias
tic conscience. They seize the opportunity
10 purchase a bicycle at low price aud are
willing t. risk the consequences Of being dis
covered in possession of stolen property.
These stolen wheels are hard to trace. They
are seldom put in storage for tear of detec-
ton, and few such owners Will run the risk
of allowing the bicycles to remain long in a
repair shop. Bjcyclists may present IA bill
t., the Legislature making it II serious of.
fence for a person to purchase a bicycle when
- h1ll nF .oIa L.. ,N+ ,-,1,n- ,, .,t:HsoA.. -r
explanation of possession bo not made.
1.-The present system Of numbering wheels
is entirely Inadequate. An Improvement
would be to change the present genera in
conspicuous place OF numbering, and before
the first and last figure place a mark. each
muk having an official stencil. For instance
if a wheel were number G24. 50l and the ma
ko.', mark were Il star, placed before and af-
ter the number, q thief, desiring to change
the identification, must needs eff zee tie stars
as we'll as the figures. The metal, after filing
would not endure the replacing Of the
stars.
Suggestions For Identification.
The use Of such a system would also pre-
vent the addition Of figures. common prac-
tice now. t. ply his trade under such con
dltious, the Successful bicycle thief must pro
vide himself with q complete set of trade
stencils, which found in his possession, would
be damaging evidence against him, even when
arrested on suspicion. A further improve
ment in the numbering Of bicycles would be
to place the number in plain view. An al
tered numbered would then be speedily de-
tected, and the buyer could offer no excuse
for purchasing stolen property.
Here is a simple and effective method of
private identification, Turn the wheel up
side down, remove to a portion of the enamel,
say one-halt by one inch. from any part of
the frame, cleaning until the metal is entire
" free of the enamel. Then cover the space
with candle grease, and wet the point of
some sharp instrument with carbolis acid.
Write your Initials or private mark on the
tubing, and after allowing the acid to leave
its trace rub of the grease and with one ap-
plication of enamel cover all trace Of your
work. One has then indisputable proof Of
ownership"