Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-05-19

NEW YORK CITY, May 15.-Suppose that you
! ~ traffic policeman stationed Brooklyn
bridge, in New York City. A continual stream
of automobiles is flashing past you, fifteen twenty
the many of those do think
could identify by make model, in addition to
performing the regular duties of regulating tralc?
How much chance do you think you would have for
selecting, say 1913 Hudson from and iden-
tifying it stolen two weeks before?
That is of problem that the police of every
big city finding before them, and New York is at
tacking it in an organized manner. Her 25O patromen
traffic duty. the city outlets being given
unique special in lightning automobile identih-
cation. Run twenty different past of these
trained men thirty miles hour and he will call
the of the factory and year of the model
surely artist names coors Give him
heeting glimpse of vanishing around dis
tant corner, the chances he tell you its
name and whether it is this years model last Some
idea of what this given by
a hundred different makes of automobiles
driven in the New York practically every
of these makes has been issued in several different
models
The immense growth of the automobile business has
brought other problems with besides
gasoline. One of the chief of these the thief
the motor thief His favore field of operations is the
big city, and for he has been reapng and
easy harvest New Yorks school for policemen is
one big step toward putting end to his activity
The thief finds the actual stealing of car
the easiest part business. is when he comes
to sell it that he real difficulties That
where the eagleeyed policeman gets his inning
For the thief is practically take the stolen
auto out of the city before he safely dispose
In the limits of Manhattan the metropolitan police
thoroughly with situation, the
addresses of all the fences and
hand dealers who might buy stolen if they
get 1t cheap enough that the machine is pretty certain
to be recovered if it is sold town. Once it has
passed into the country at large however advan-
tages are all with the thief. automobile is highly
movable piece Of property when it is running right,
and he may easily take it thousand before he
tries to sell it, An instance is record where gang
OF thieves stole cars in New York and sold
Kentucky.
The logical point to catch the thief is just as he
leaves the city in the stolen In order
it is for the policeman duty be able
recognize the stolen machine from its description
glance in addition to performing all his ordinary
duties, which light The problem is further
complicated by the fact that there may be a dozen
stolen unaccounted for the guardian
of the law has to be the lookout for every of
them
1t was found that the policeman
with hopeless task. He had no special train
ing in this line, and dozens of different makes and
models automobiles nearly alike that even
the layman who is motorlst cannot identify more
than a few of them 1t necessary to work out
some simple system by which any could be
II glance at hour of the day or night An
old, experienced chauffeur tell the make and model
of most automobiles, but he goes on no particular
system. His years Of work with the machines have
fixed the general lines of different makes in his mind
until the in question, but it would take
train policeman to the necessary degree
of efficiency this plan
The method decided on was the selection sig
nfcant detail The Of policemen is instructed in
the little individual pecuartes of each make of
the things that the unframed eye would notice.
They also given the outline of a logical plan of
quick thinking, which i'm short time becomes
matte with the directing the rush of traffic
of
cisely alike the little things The position of the
tail light alone enough identify a of
Some carry the center the left side,
have swung almost the level of the axle.
others carry it high up the body. other makes
it is placed the left that it is
left guard There of such details on
every car that tell a story the trained eye The