Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-05-19
THE MOTOR THIEF
BY Frederic ]. HAsKIN.

shape of the radiator cap the height of the
headlights. the position of the extra tire or its rack
and cut of the wndshields only few of them
The policeman has these details fixed in his
each passes him in the stream of traffic
he let's his eye run point
it from the problem and then he passes
on to the With little practice he does this
automatically subconscously, while his conscious at
tention may be up with some other duty of
ulating traffic.
In actual practice starts little farther back
than the observation of details corre-
spondingly easier. He knows whether the car he is
looking in the light, medium or heavy class If
he looking a Packard, he can eliminate most of
passing machines the score of size alone Deal
ing only with heavy cars his problem is at
narrowed down. Among the heavy models he knows
that its tail light far to the
left, the left mud guard while the Pierce Arrow,
another possibility eliminated by the fact that the
tail light is placed at point opposite the middle of
the axle He notes the other minor points, the
DOORS gasoline tank, and until he
has positively identified the make and model he is
looking Then may stop the suspected machine
while consults the description of the stolen CIV
ing individual peculiartes such denied mud guard
mended top.
The most difacult car to Of the cheap
and common model which there are many thousands
In fact recent police experience shows
that thefts being confined to such ma
chimes favorite device of motor thieves Is the re-
building of several stolen cars by exchanging parts
from one the other Such work in the case Of the
more expensive models is much more difficult than in
the case of cheap machine, and calls for expert
mechanic. of the at once able and unscrupu-
ous enough the business have been landed behind
1t is also much easier to identify big ex-
pensve than of cheap and correspondingly
common model Hence thieves working almost en-
tirely in the latter class.
7-,s ,r.ctcs Of interchangng parts from different
cars suggests a step by which the owner can be OF
great assistance of stolen property and
the conviction the offender He can make note OF
the factory of part Of his carnot only
the motor but magnetic the carouretor and SD on
He can mark body in some nconsplcuous place IN
distinguishing way. Thus he will be able 10 swear
not only to his machine as Whole IL II hds Deeh
stolen and suspect taken, but also to part Of it.
He can. give the police something to work on
The motor thief rarely caught in the act Of TAX
ing a car He has his business too well systematized
for that He step into attractive looking
machine and drive with it. His usual procedure is
to observe carefully the habits Of the owner He
makes himself familiar with the routine Of the latter
he selects moment when the car Is hanitualiy
left standing before certain door for some trne so
that he can count being surprised and on having
an hour or get we'll out of the neghborhood He
supplies himself with switch key Tor starting II the
one in the car is removable, with key to open the
lock if the switch is locked. Then he drives to his
garage makes many alterations in the appearance
of the he deems necessary, and after few
DAYS motors eisurely the city to country
town. where makes sacrifice sale His great prob
lem is TO get safely metropolitan limits That
is where the newly trained traffic policemen come in
Another move in fighting the motor thief Is
beng made in the elimination of the reward system.
Formerly great idea of the owner, of the COM
pany which insured against theft to get
the machine and questions asked A man or an
insurance company losing $4,000 car was much more
ii than to convict the thief lib
eral reward would be advertised along with promise
to drop the matter if the was returned Such a
policy was badly mistaken and shortsighted. Many
the thieves a practice of stealing for the
express purpose of returning them the offer of
reward a promise of safety.
Now the insurance companies have agreed to offer
no rewards in New York City and practically
every against theft, they have the sit
their hands. BY taking few losses for
the moment, they are cooperating with the police
break up the whole system The motor theft has had
prosperous romantic day but the end is in sight