The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-09-20

uoular part once had a place on a
The only safe method OF placing iden-
tinoation marks on 3 ear Is 10 place
them on all the mafer parts Of the
mechanism. Perhaps the most salts
factory method Of doing so Is 70 place
punch marks on the various units. All
such marks should be put in places
where they will not be readily discern
ible. For instance on the inside Of the
RXles, on the fywheel, on the upper
side OF the gearset housing, After the
marks have been made they should be
rubbed over with grease until they are
as nearly indistinguishable as possible.
The car owner can have a prick punch
made with his initials on 1t In very fine
type and with this is is possible to place
Identification a on the various
parts that win generally escape notice
and yet remain permanently,
Many Schemes.
One owner whom l know has had
the upholstery OF his front and rear
seats lifted up and has tackled his card
Of the wooden framework Of the seat
This Is not at all bad, because the
thief would seldom think to look in
this location for an Observation-Disclosures
Of any sort.
Another clever idea is to bore a few
small holes a mere fraction of an inch
into the framework at a given place
carefully measured from permanently
located landmarks. Then fill these
holes with lead and smear the spot well
with grease. II there comes a time
when ii Is necessary to identify the
car it is a simple matter to measure
off the proper distance, scrape q little
Of the lead off and prove ownership OF
the car.
In some cases an owner has been
able to Identify hia car by reason of
some simple hut ingenious mark so
car or equipment. Not very long age
the New York police recovered a stolen
car and nabbed the thief at the same
time. The cal corresponded in every
way to a description given by a certain
bereayed owner except that 1t had re-
Gently been reprinted in an entirely
different color scheme.
AT any rate the police summoned this
owner 10 see II he could identity tbs
reclaimed car as the n he had lost
He came to headquarters, looked the
vehicle over, paying considerable atten-
ton to the dash, and turning to the
detective In charge, said: This is my
boat all right, in spite Of the fresh
coat Of paint" !.
Have you any marks to identify il
by?' asked the officer.
Yes, SIR" replied the owner. my
name is ]. X. Smith, as you know. Just
take a look at the face Of that clock
THE officer looked. On the dial ~oi
the clock was the legend, Brown Clocl
Company, Boston, Mass In fine scrip
beneath this makers name was sole
by ]. X. Smith, Agent" The thief hat
accepted this as a bona fide agents
name instead OF a really clever identi'
fication mark, which it was.
In recent theft case in Boston tbs
owner OF a stolen car was able to prove
his ownership OF a recovered car bS
means OF his initials, which were en-
graVed in each of the hub caps,
The Individual owner can probably
find q dozen distinctive ways Of mark
ing his car for possible Identification
but the point is that this should b'
done, because when a car has beer
stolen the police demand something
more than say-so IN the part or tht
owner before they return tito him. b
sure that there are more ways thar
one by means Of which you can prove
that your car actually Is yours, In case
you are ever unfortunate enough to LOSE
Eit.