The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-07-16
GOOD ROADS OPEN
VIDE THEFT DOOR
Joyriders of Winter Become
Real Automobile Thieves
in Summer.

Not with all other forms of larceny
combined, possibly, does the Memphis
police department and detective bureau
experience as much work and worry
as they do with automobile thieves.
The identical condition exists among
the criminal world Of practically al
other large cities of the country. Thai
Is displayed by the number of circulars
an arm ~fuil-that are brought in
daily to the central police office, by
the mail carriers.
Until recently 80 per cent of the cars
reported stolen in Memphis were FOUND
within a few hours wnere some Tres
passing joyriders had abandoned them
after a speed frolic. But with the com
ing OF stable weather, wnen all roads
are passable, the real automobile thle1.
who makes his living, or lives by that
profession rather. has infested the
Memphis territory.
When a car is reported missing al
night now, the men of the central Of
flee especially detailed to run down
car bandits are not so confident that
within a few hours the owner Will
phone in that his machine has been
found.
For the first Is days of July, "a auto
mobiles we're listed at the Memphis
police headquarters as missing or ina
ItuIlutI Ol a| FdlC sun -
missing. Among them IS the new cal
belonging to the building department Of
the city. stolen July IL from in front
of the courthouse. -,
Possibly some of the number still
listed as missing have been found by
their owners who failed to notify the
police department.
Some cars have been recovered
through the efforts of the police and
detectives of other cities and states,
The last being credited to Detectives
Hagan and Griffin, who located the
automobile of W, H. McElroy, late
Tuesday at Coldwater. Miss. The can
was stolen from the entrance of the
baseball park Sunday afternoon.
The three youths who are known to
have gotten away with two cars, when
McElroy's machine was stolen, escaped
from the Mississippi officers with the
other car.
automobiles stolen during July have
been found by the police or detectives
a mass of ashes on suburban roads
where they had been burned,
Memphis detectives and police have
been extremely successful in recovering
automobiles that have been stolen II
other cities. One instance was the worR
Of une lrthlng a fence" at Memphis
for cars stolen in Louisville, KY. ain
n fence for Memphis automobiles al
| Louisville. The local sleuths returned
II automobiles to their owners in Louis.
| Vile. but the Louisville police succeeded
in getting back only one machine fol
the local force and that was located
in the Kentucky city by Memphis de-
t~ectives.
The Memphis police and detectives
are sure that for every one Of the II
| automobiles stolen in Louisville ant
brought to Memphis there was a loca
car driven back to Kentucky by thu
members of the syndicate of automo.
bile ba 1dits.
1t absolutely requires no skill, delft
ness or courage whatever to steal al
| automobile. Only tho inclination Is
needed. The average morse thief o.
the palmy days of the Golden WesI
would have never consented to allow
himself to be hung on the same liml
with one that smelled of gas and Leaned
more to bowed arms than TO bow-legs.