The New York herald., 1921-08-22
POLICE BOAT DRACS
MOTOR GRAVEYARD
One Machine Pulled From the
Bottom of River at Hunts
Point Pier.
DREDGE ON JOB TO-DAY
Insurance Cases and Other
Automobile Mysteries to Be
Revealed, Say Police.

A tentative survey of the bottom of
the East River yesterday off the foot
of Tiffany street in the Hunts Point
section of The Bronx led Detective
Capt Wines 70 believe that at least
q dozen taxicabs, light trucks and
touring cars will be pulled to the sur
face just as soon as the proper para
phernalia for such work is moved to
that sector.
The police boat John F. Hylan,
equipped with graphing apparatus,
succeeded yesterday in fishing out a
dilapidated Oldsmobile bearing the Ii
cense number 36011 N. Y. 1921. The
machine proved to be the property OF
William Seiger, 1902 First Avenue.
The police records show that Seiger
reported the car stolen on July Fl. The
report was received in the East Sixty
seventh street station.
The car was recovered from COM
paratively shallow water just above
the Tiffany street wharf, and evil
IDENTIFY had been thrown sideways off
the side of the pier. Immediately In
front OF the wharf the water is 80
feet deep at ebb tide.
The river bed is considerable depth
of soft ooze. Anything of considerable
weight might quite easily disappear be-
low the surface of this soft bed, the
divers say. The one diver taken along
by the Hyian did not attempt an aje-
quate survey nor had he equipped him
self for extended exploration. He con-
firned winess opinion that this sector
of the East River may contain the so'u-
ton of numerous motor car mysteries.
The Oldsmobile salvaged by the Hylan
was in bad condition. 1t had not been
in the water very many days, judged by
the condition of the cushions and en-
gine Capt. Wines mad with him list
OF the automobiles stolen within the last
few months, likewise a list of those
motor cars on which insurance has been
claimed but not paid for various -ea-
sons.
Marine Inspector Hallock had his men
throw prospecting hooks off the Hylan
and see what they could fasten to. They
found several horse collars, trunk.
two straw suitcases and womans
skirt. In the general casting they
hooked heavy objects that moved only
when jerlSed or subjected to extra effort.
These, they decided, might be other
motor cars.
The Hylan dragged the salvaged auto
mobile on deck and proceeded to steam
back to pier A with her prize. The
police declared her untitled for such
heavy work. Early this morning, how
ever, at least one harbor dredge capable
Of lifting five tons at a jerk II necessary
will be anchored off the foot of Tiffany
street. and before night the city VIII
know whether that section Of the East
River has been a repository for its stolen
automobiles or for automobiles thus dis
posed of for the insurance.
There is just one feature of the Tiff
fany street wharf that makes Capt.
Wines disinclined to look for a large
haul. Along the two sides of the pier
and solidly across the river end are
timbers twelve inches square. They ex-
tend the length and width of the wharf
and are securely bolted TO the SUBJ
structure. No motor car. commercial or
pleasure. could run off the wharf unless
skids or short ganSplank were to be
used to make the running surface to the
water continuous. In other words. any
automobile striking the twelve by twelve
tmbers would either break its front
wheel rims or. II by some chance the
front wheels were eased over The big
timber, the understructure of the car
would come afoui the timber and the car
would hang there with Its front wheels
over the water.