The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-11-20
sroP THE THEFT OF BICYCLES.
Chief Donovan Has a Plan for Regis
.. tration at Clerks Office.

"Just about half of the time of the
police nowadays is taken up tracing
bicycle thieves" said Chief of Police
Donovan this morning. land If some
thing is not done to remedy the condi-
ton which permits this thieving, and
that at once. I don't know what the
end VIII be. Hardly a day passes that
from one to a half dozen cases of stolen
Bicycles are. not reported to the station
We ASST gn m en- on the cases and in
great many instances they are success
full and the wheels are recovered and
brought to the. station where they are
identified bytheir owners and returned
to them.
.sThe second hand men and pawn
brokers are doing all in their power
to break up the practice of stealing
wheels and great many of them re
fuse to purchase bicycles unless they
know the persons who offer them for
sale. The thefts would not be SO
common If it were not for the care
leSsnesS of the owners of wheels who
leave them exposed and seem to be
tempting the petty thieves.
"On account of the similarity of BIZ
cycles we have great deal more
trouble in Identifying them and locat-
ing the thieves than we would have if
there was some simple way of know
ing whether they are in the hands of
their owners. I think that the SIM
plest way of obviating this evil would
be to compel every owner of a wheel
to display a number something after
the fashion employed by automo bilists.
''Of course the number need not be
as large or prominent but If every
wheel is marked with a number sus-
pended from the frame so that it
would be in plain sight an officer could
tell at glance whether the wheel was
stolen or. not. This would be a simple
matter and would cost the owners of
wheels but little, perhaps fifteen cents
each. just enough to cover the cost of
the number.
oft l, 20
city clerks Office or at the police star
ton and every one who owns a wheel
could call and register and get num-
Der which would be pretty good in
surance that this wheel would not be
rnolested. In case the wheel should be
stolen and recovered ii could be identi-
fed as in the past When an officer
would see a bicycle ridden about the
streets on which there was no number
it would be pretty good evidence that
it was a stolen wheel and the rider
could be overhauled and compelled to
give an account of himself and the
wheel
IF the bicycle should be a stolen
one the thief could easily remove the
number just as they do the one placed
there by the manufacturers, but ma
chine without a number would indi-
cate that it was stolen. Better yet If
the city. council would pass an ordin-
ance compelling all bicycle riders to
expose a mum Der to view, then there
would be feWer -SlOlen WneeiS anu III
case of accidents and scorching the
rider and machine could be identified
by the number
AT any rate something ought to be
done to stop the stealing of wheels and |
to lead to the identity of the thieves. |
Wheels are stolen every day and rid |
den about the streets right under the |
noses of their owners who are unable |
to identity them oEA account of their |
similarity to other wheels of the same |
make Sometimes the thief inter
changes parts orsahas the wheel re-
enanleIed but it is seldom that these
precautions are taken. If something
Of this kind is done the officers would
have Just that much more time to de-
vote to their other duties"