The Washington times., 1912-11-16
MOTOR THIEVES
EASILY ABLE TO
ELUDE POLICE
Bold Crimes Of Modern Ban
dts Hard to Trace
And Punish.

A menace to the comfort of the men
who spend more money for gasolene
for their automobiles than their grand
fathers did for food for their tables,
In the course of a year. has come In the
form of the automobile thief. Washing
ton has had a number of thefts OF this
character within the past year. and in
nearly every instance where the car
was recovered II was 10 badly damaged
as to be almost useless.
While the individuals of the criminal
world have always been just a little
ahead of the business world, In the
march Of progress. the police have al
ways been close UP to them, and, in
many instances, have been able to ap-
prehend the criminals after the crimes
nave been committed. and have, occa-
sionaliy been able to prevent crimes.
But In the matter of this new form of
thievery, the police have been beaten.
and they have not as yet been able to
devise a means OF preventing the steal
ing OF automobiles, and they have not
been very successful in recovering the
machines once they have been stolen.
Rivals Old Horsethief.
The automobile thief OF modern times
Is In many ways on Il par with the horse
thief of Western frontier days, for he
Is desperate, takes long chances and,
like the bad men Of the plains, will frc-
1uently fight desperately to get possess
sion of his loot and TO escape with It,
even going 80 far as to shoot and club
Not so long ago there was an instance
where the automobile thieves have held
up automobile parties, forced them to
get out OF the motor car, give up their
valuables, and then march away from
the scene, while the robbers drove away
In the stolen car.
Not so long ago ther was an instance.
In Boston, where the roboer beat the
chauffeur over TIE head and then
pitched him out of the car and drove
away with the motor. 1t is a common
thing for these bold thieves to steal a
car from beside the road and drive
away in It, They have been known to
break into garages and steal a car and
drive 1t away. Strange to say, few
of these cars are ever recovered. AMI
those which are found by the police
are usually so used up as to be almost
useless to their original owners.
Insurance Men Lose.
The Insurance companies which pro-
tect the owners are the losers. for
they take the old car II It Is recov-
cred and replace 1t with a new one
and they in turn employ private detec-
tives and encourage the city police to
constantly pursue the thieves. who are
sometimes brought to Justice.
As a rule. the automobile thieves are
men of more ability and better training
than the ordinary thief. They; are ma
chinists who have been trained In build
ing and assembling the parts or auto
mobiles, and they are familiar with eV'
cry part Of the motors and the cars
themselves. They are also. as rule
skilled Chauffeurs. having licenses. be-
cause they are not known to be en-
gagged in the stealing of the cars until
| they have been once caught, after whicl
| their licenses are revoked, but that
I them.
Organize In Bands.
Many chauffeurs who have gone thu
pace following the fast life and have
lost their positions have become un
fitted for legitimate employment anc
| have been recruited to the ranks OF thu
| stealing automobiles has become so lu
| crative and so easy that these thieve,
| have organized in bands and they wori
| in various cities. where they are abl'
| to dispose OF their stolen property with
a considerable degree OF safety, j
| seems.
| New York city Is at the mercy of sew
| eral organized bands OF these automo
| bile thieves. and In that city 1t Is com
| car without much fear of detection. II
New York, as in Boston and other large
| cities, II has come to be so common fol
| thieves to steal high-priced. cars thai
| the police, realizing that 1t Is unsafe tc
leave an automobile unguarded, have
advised the owners not to leave cal
| unless it's wheels are securely locked.