Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-28
The Automobile Slcuth
by Frederic J. Haskin

Washington, ID. G., July 2s.--steadiiy
increasing thcfts Of automobiles nave
brought into existence new kind o. az
tective. Professional crooks long ago
realized that stealing autos was p'aneil
Of thievery requiring special technique ana
qualification IL il only recently mat ue-
tectives found that the same thing sppnss
TO recovering stolen cars. A.
Az this significant fact dawns on ths
police departments Of the different eis,en,
| they are creating auto squads composer Va
men who will give all their time 70 ga
suing stolen motor vehicles. Ano WIZ
| in more, they are IN most cases appo'hente
only specially qualified men iof thc ~,
The expert automobile detective, tney
/ have concluded, has to know autofnopiies-
| He not only has to know how 10 run them
and a good deal about their mechanism,
| but he must be on speaking terms WIN
the different makes, and have at the Jip ol
his tong11e all III little features that
! identify each one. There are seVefai
hundred makes Of cars on the market, ana
| the expert auto detective knows the gen
eral outline design on the hub, coiors,
shane Of the radiator, and other dls-
tingtiishing points Of nearly all oi thein'
Furthermore, be has quick eye. =
good many people can walk pest row OF
cars and name every one correctiy' Dab
not 50 many can do the same thing u Ihe
machines are rafting past or are seen from
a distance. Still fewer can take IN othei
details, such az the appearance 81 the
driver and condition Of the car, at nasty
glance.
The auto detective cannot only perform
such fcats Of observation, but ne can PICK
out a hybrid car, that IS, one patched 20
petber from two or mole makes 10 order 70
disunsa IL While the amateur rs puzzlDg
over the mystery u body like Red
Arrow. and wheels which are similar TO
Saranac, the sstute detective gives lhe
uucatalogued specimen ore look ana re,
marks there amt no such animal Ana
Of course he bastens n delye INTO tne
reason for the existence Of the fieak
DIFFICULT 70 LOCATE CARS.
When ear disappears from the curb
without leaving trace Of theft, the prop
Iern If finding il il about the most difficult
yofl can imagine. The police department
icons records Of the nuTnbeIs and desciIp-
/ tiors If cars reported stolen. The auto
i SQUAD fxes these in mind and u u = gwen
: M clues az 10 direction IN which the car
!, disappeared. the members 20 ont N then
!. machines or motorcycles n watch OUT fOl
cars an gwering the descriptions listed anc
!. aIso Tor any gilspicious looking rzs
Z Drivers az ~irh cars are questioned am
their machines investigated. Numbers ~
!, the cars are especially noted, a. they ar
ono of the most reliable means Of ldsnuh
~ cation
! Every car has an engine number, an
! more expensive cars have as many A. nv
81 more numbers on the CHASSIS, h"Ih
!, fraroa generator. starter OF other parts
IL rA-so4 Pl
A. many numbers az he happens 70 notice
\ either ~ irving 10 cut out the stenciie'
- figircs altogether. or by changing some 2
- the figures 80 that the owner Will not 2
!, able 10 claim his car through them ~
N narisnced automobile detectives USUAL
!. have little trouble in spottmg NUMBER
~ that have been tempered with, ana U
:" thief often negIects 10 find and alter q
tho numbers. 20 that If the owner had
yecord ~ All MS numbers the identity
- his car can be proved beyond doubt. :.
~ Wandering about town 70 watcn i
:. stolen automobiles TO come past may seei
II a random method u pursuing auto tnieVe
, but it's effectiveness when followed oy .
merits a undenIable Outside o. bne IA
that he looks eontemptuOusly at magn
+, f,siny glass +be auto hound is more III
- the infalhble Sherlock Holmes than AZ
- other TYNE Of modern detective. At leas
- IL i seems TO the bewildered owner bere
IRE Of his car. -
four men has been operating Tor year,
al Der cent Of go lost cars have been
covered. This Is much better 5noHI
T. than vas made when the entire pol
-. - deDartnent was charged with the
80 s,,onsibilitv Of looking out for stolen ca
-. BUT ~ per cent. though unusual, Is Z
UNIQUE. Il has been matched ~ Gait IA
Civ. Los Angeles and Seattle, All pla'
where special attention IS gwen 70 pur'
ing the auto thief scientifically
That the professional auto JACK
worthy Of signal interest may be read
seen from a study Of ms methcds :
tbe,, FREQUENT success. Theits nave motu
~ ~ that insurance companies rals
their rates several times on this form
auto liability. The number OF cars sto
nv ioy riders and professional thieves
this country is now estimated at oVei -
600 a wear. and the number IS stu
creasing. Recoveries run rs low as
nor cent in some places, with D per G
as n reasonable average Tor the count
Stealing automobiles IS the most pol
lar outdoor sport Of crooks, lar .
distancing pocketbook suatchlng. A
owners of cars, as IN the past, stu lie:
then cars about unprotected 1ppAlel
with the idea Of making life simple for
riders, who like to borrow cars, and for
professional who prefers an unlocked
to a locked one, even though he may
able to get away with the latter.
now THE PROFESSIONAL WORKS.
Usually TIE auto Jack has nothing u
but walk up 10 a lonesome-lookmg car
M give it a hasty glance To see if the ow
has tried 10 foil him. Then, If the
y seems to be unincumbered by locks,
= Sins into the driver seat and IN a sec
, NJ he is out of sight.
a If the car is locked il is more troubl
- steal. and many thief will pass IL b.
y favor of an unprotected machine.
other burglars are more palnstaking.
ear is worth stealing, il is worth stea
TIT right, they seem to think, and these pc
ii vering ones who know the mechanism
II almost any car, and who are friends '
Il every protection device on the mar
II viii proceed To illustrate just how
II right turn Of wrench or manipulate
II wires will fix protected car 50 thu
S 4 viii run while the owner still has the
# : safe in his pocket.
re- Il IL the owner has warily remove
e II small piece Of the mechanism To pre-
y If the car from running the thief resorts