The New York herald., 1922-07-20
Prosecutors Think Uniform
Numbering Throughout
Nation Would Help.
N. Y. TROOPERS ACTIVE
Major Chandler Gays They
Have Recovered 1913 Cars in
Four Months of This Year.

Federal regulation Of all automo-
bile registration is urged by officials
as one of the principal means of
checking motor thefts. which have in
creased until they have become a ham
dicap to the industry a menace to So
ciety and one of the biggest sources of
graft 10 the professional crook.
Failure to agree on some nationwide
uniform legislation is cited by many
who have given long study to the sub
ject as the only reason why this mod
ern form Of piracy can continue to the
point where it is estimated that a
hundred thousand automobiles, valued
at upward of $10o.Ooo,o ,ooo,. are lost an
nually. While the Eumber stolen goes
UP each year officials continue de-
batting this and that proposal.
Congress. Legislatures. State motor
vehicle bureaus automobile .organiza-
tions and manufacturers are suggesting
all kinds of remedies, generally alike
In principle. but appear to be far from
agreement on any single bill. The mo-
tor thief takes advantage of this division
of opinion and of the inconsistent State
laws and goes on his prosperous way.
In this series of five articles. THE
NEW York HERALD has presented in
definite form for the first time all the
data and STATISTICS available In this
country showing the extent of the
automobile. stealing business and how 1t
is carried on. 1t has been shown that
nearly $4,000 cars were stolen in twenty
eight leading cities last year, that
10000 were stolen in this State and
$500 in this city This is the fourth
article Of the series and deals with the
subject of remedial legislation needed.
Police RedoubIe Efforts.
Police are becoming more active In
their efforts to stop thefts, and private
detective agencies are being formed by
insurance companies to recover stolen
cars and try to hold down the mounting
insurance rates. While all agree on the
necessity for united action and uniform
laws, conflicting interests prevent an
agreement. After all the discussion.
expert opinion has been reduced to two
well defined proposals. These are:
A Federal law Of Standardization
and regulation which will make steal
ing motors more difficult
Uniform State laws. adopted by the
commemorative. SO that bordering
States have the same regulations.
This would be in effect much the same
as Federal law.
Federal and State officials generally,
including the State Association of Dis
triet Attorneys, favor the Mills bill now
before Congress. or a similar measure.
Many automobile associations favor
State regulation and fear Federal law.
THE subject Of thefts Is being watched
vigorously by the National Automobile
Dealers Association" states a bulletin
OF that organization, because of the
theft insurance rates now having become
so high as to prove a big factor in the
resistance to sales Of automobiles It is
realized that until thefts are checked
materially little progress can be made in
the matter of insurance reductions.
The New York State Association of
District Attorneys, which includes all
prosecuting officials has taken up the
matter of automobile thefts as one OF
the most important crime factors in the
State. This organization drafted and
Backed the Mills bill now before Con-
gress. Hiram G. Todd. United States
Attorney for the Northern New York
district, and chairman of the committed
which drafted the bill. declared uniform
State laws are impractical.
fff
Thfeves' Second Best Tools.
''The consensus Of opinion Of members
of our association Is that next to the
revolver. the automobile is one of the
most useful tools of the criminal In the
perpetration of all kinds Of crime. from
O. holdup on country road TO murder
IN big city" District Attorney Todd
said. TT is therefore one Of the prob.
Ions of our association to find some
method Of checking. first the theft oi
automobiles and, secondly. their use ir
other criminal enterprises.
THE proposition of checking such use
OF automobiles and their theft by State
legislation has been considered by our
association, and It was decided that II
could not be done because an automobile
can get across a State line from any
where inside Of any State In this Unior
Within few hours. An automobile Is
stolen tonight in New York. Washing