The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1922-01-03
BOX CAR BANDITS ARE
UNUSUALLY BUSY NOW
DARING THIEVES CAUSE $780,
100000 LOSS TO RAILROADS
OF THE COUNTRY.
GANGSTERS ARE MERE YOUTHS
Majority of Robbers Are Young Men,
But Their Daring Far Overshadows
Jesse James. Must Have Confeder-
ates in Risky Work.

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Jesse James. Must Have Confeder-
ates in Risky Work.
The box car bandit, who has been
coming to his own in recent years,
may be expected to be pretty active
this winter, and as a result railroads
Throughout the country are preparing
to take added precautions. The grow
ing menace of freight car robbers is
shown by the fact that railroads of the
country lose almost $500, 100000 worth
OF goods every year.
The total amount stolen by these
car hooters in a year makes Jesse
James, or Texas Blackie, or others
Of the old-time highwaymen seem like
novices. The thing that makes the loot
total so large is that the car hooters
are at work constantly, despite the
added efforts of railroad companies in
their war on thieves. This war is by
no means a bloodless one. Every so
often a railroad detective or a police
man is shot in attempting to catch
box car looter, or thief is brought
to earth by the officer.
Rings Broken Up.
Rings OF these hooters are being
broken up frequently, but many 9TH
ers are not caught and new gangs
soon take the places Of those who are
caught Many of the robbers engaged
in footing freight cars are mere youths
who have been lured into the game
by older criminals. An automobile is
one of the most necessary adjuncts Of
the profession, and many OF the youths
enter the game at first merely for the
adventure ard danger.
The box car proWlcr has three dis
tinct branches in his organization-an
intelligence department, an operating
department, and a sales department
The intelligence section comprises cor
rupted employees OF railroads, who are
willing to tip the robbers off on when
good shipments of freight are being
made. Sometimes gang has one of
! its members go into the. employ OF .
/ road to keep the gangsters informed
on shipments Of goods. The operating
| department consists of the gangsters
who do the actual robbing OF cars
The Sales Department.
The sales department, every bit as
important as the other two branches,
consists OF shady" dealers and fen
ces," who can sell the loot of the
bandits for good prices and do it so
| it will not be detected by the police,
With an organization effected the gang
has but to wait for the opportunity.
THE intelligence department tips off
the robbers that big shipment of
woolens, furs. silks or valuable cloth
ing is coming through, and the oper-
ating department is ready for imme-
diate action.
| The gang prepares to attack from
IplaCe where a night robbery can be
or water tank a hundred miles or so
already been informed by the tool in
i the employ of the railroad company
as to which car the valuable goods
were in.
Uses Rope Ladder.
The usual procedure is for one OF
the bandits to get aboard the train as
/ it slows down for the engine to take
water He quickly locates the car he
seeks, fastens a rope ladder to the
running board on top of the car, lets
| himself down to the car door, cuts the
seal, enters and throws out the goods.
He then reseals the car and waits for
THE train to slow down for curve,
when he jumps into the darkness, gains
the highway and waits for his confed-
crates, with dimmed lamps, who fol-
lowed the train and had already pick
ed up the loot. A quick trip is made
to the city, the loot disposed of, and
it may be days before the discovery is
made that the seal has been tempered
with and goods removed.
| A box car prowler has countless
enemies to contend with when he at
tempts to rob valuable shipment OF
goods. Scores of railroad detectives,
policemen, yard watchmen and even
other box car prowlers are seeking his
elimination Many of the robberies of
freight trains today are made in the
railroad yards under the very nose OF
police and railroad detectives, so bold
have the bandits become. Occasionally
a clever gang OF crooks has driven into
the yards with motor truck, loaded it
from 9 car and sped away undetected
simply by watching for the right OPP
Iportunity.