New-York tribune., 1919-12-28
Ruln lruCkEnen Rtiancee Faints
Bare the Theft As DIR. Vermilye
OF ST. 100000 Rebuffs Her
300 Forwarding Companies
i'll New York Show Rob.
berries i'll YEA. to Have
Doubled Previous Record

More than s1500,000 worth Of mer-
chandise has been stolen from trucks
In New York City within the last wear,
heads Of several large trucking firms
announced yesterday.
Aroused over the increasing number
Of thefts from their vehicles and the
apparent uselessness of the secrecy ad-
vised by the Police Department.. they
have decided to place their plight be-
fore the public. The figure they say,
is a conservative estimate. The rob-
berries have been all but ruinous to
most Of the 800 forwarding companies
OF New York, they declare, and unless
their losses are immediately checked a
large number will have to go out of
business. More than a score, it WAS
stated. have been driven to the wall bv
the unusual number of thefts.
Hauls in Recent Thefts
Among the more recent robberies in
their industry, it was announced, was
$4,000 haul from the Theodore
Ficke Company, at Broad and South
streets. Fifteen thousand dollars
worth of material vas recently taken
from W. I. Harding, Inc, of 100 Wash
ington Street, of which about $500 was
subsequently recovered. Frederic
Henjec jr., Of 81 Water Street. los,
$1,000 worth of goods in two months.
The losses Of the Walsh Express Com
pany, at Gold and Spruce streets, were
q
up business. The thcfts in every case.
it was declared, are dead losses, as
there is no adequate way by which the
forwarding companies can advanta-
gcously insure themselves against the
robberies.
w. I. Haring, head of the firm of
that name and former vice president
of the New York Team Owners Asso-
citation, said that the thefts in the
trucking industry this year had almost
doubled the estimated number of the
year before
Immediate Relief Needed
THE emen in this business are con-
vrced that if they are to keep their
heads above water something must be
done at once" he said "The policy
of secrecy maintained by the police /
5e..eve is all wrong. 1t keeps the other
fel. .ow from knowing what is going on
and what to do to guard his goods. We
are told to be more careful after a
bu glar has gone away with some Of
our stuff. II instances of former rob-
berries had been made public there is
no doubt that others would have been
warned and taken extraordinary pre-
cautions.
"Without any desire to cast asper-
sions on the Police Department as
whole, there have been instances where
the police have been notoriously lax in
connection with some Of the robberies
in our business. Take the case where
my firm was robbed of $4,000 worth of
stuff. Some body saw the thieves load
Ms sAc goods from pier, and realized
TT they were not entitled to them.
They telcphoned a station house just
three blocks away. The informant was
told by the man in charge that no rob-
berry had been reported from the pier
and that nothing could be done about
it. No one was sent around to inter
cept the robbers, despite the warning
given the police of the affair.
"The truckmen are disgusted. They
have protested from time to time. men
on the police force are brought up on
charges and that's where it ended.
But the robberics continue to increase.
The matter, understand will be
brought up for action a: the next
meeting OF the Team Owners Associa-
tion, the first Monday in January"
Average Loss of Firms
Another proprietor declared that the
Continual nm ,2ent ,,noa