The New York herald., 1922-05-12
81 MOTOR TAX BILL
STIRSFIGHT in House
Danton Declares [. s. Act
Would Prove Greatest
Crime Deterrent.
BURDEN OTHERS SAY
Brand Cars as the West
Branded Cattle, Is Idea
of Todd.
CALLED A .SUBTERFUGE
Representative Opposes Fed
erol Law and Saws States
CALLED A .SUBTERFUGE'
Representative Opposes Fed
eral Law and Says States
Should Govern Cars.
Special Dispatch to THE NEw yoRK HERALD
New York Herald Bureau.

speciai Dispatch to THE Sew yoRK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau.
Washington. ID. G., May ii.
Prosecuting officers and representa-
tives of State automobile associations
look opposite sides to-day at the
House Ways and Means Committees
hearing on the automobile registra-
tion bill OF Representative Mills OF
New York. The measure is designed
Co cut down wholesale motor car
thefts by requiring that each car be
stamped with a Federal registration
number at a cost of So 70 the owner.
AS a revenue getter it would produce
approximately s26,00o,oOO the first
wear and 100000 for each succeed
ing year.
Joab n. Banton. District Attorney
of New York county, speaking for the
bill, declared it would be the greatest
deterrent Of bootlegging and major
crimes which, he said. are facilitated
by the use of automobiles.
I'm New York city, said Mr.. Banton,
"in 1921 there were 6.S0S automobiles
stolen and in 1920 there were 5.129. or
about $4,000 900 worth of cars. This Dill
would have prevented that loss There
are to-day IN New York city automo-
lille firms that make it regular ousi.
ness to manipulate stolen cars so that
they will not be Identified. machine IL
stolen to-day and tomorrow you would
not recognize it. The engines and bodies
are changed, numbers scratched out and
every identification mark is erased from
the car as 1t was originally
Ready Market for Cars.
Members of the committee sought to
establish the fact that the entire matter
could be handled by the States. but Mr..
ranton said 1t would be impossible for
state law to reach the offenders. The
automobile crooks. he said, nave ready
market for the machines, knowing that
the state laws cannot reach them. III
Federal law was passed un5er which 1t
was possible to prosecute those having
machines whose identification marks are
Inutiated the market for stolen cars
would be eliminated. he asserted
:, Representative Watson (Pa.) asked
if the witness had much trouble with
bootleggers.
mo. but in the upper tier States. un-
derstand. all the cars used by bootleg
gers arc stolen cars" said Mr.. Banton
Letters were received Dy the
tee from the District Attorney OF Mon
roc county and from Rochester. N. Y.
urging the passage of the bill.
Representative Ten Eyck IN. " de-
cIarcd the bill TO be an opening wedge
for unlimited taxation upon automobiles
Throughout the United States. Every
State in the Union has placed a tax on
the motor vehicle and for the Govern
n,ent to do so now would mean that
automobile owners would pay a double
direct tax, he declared.
H. NJ. Rowe. former member OF the
american Automobile Association. op-
posed the bill on the ground that fur
ther taxation upon the automobilist
and the automobile manufacturer
would become burdensome. He as
serted that motor owners already had
paid taxes aggregating S3A.5O,00O. If
the District Attorneys and the courts
would attach heavy>penalties on motor
thieves Mr.. Rowe said. there would
not be many cars stolen
You send a man to Jail for six years
for stealing a loaf OF bread. but you
give him sixty days for stealing a
car" he said.
Melvin T. Bender. representing the
New York State Automobile Associa-
tion. also opposed the bill. He declared
Ii would create additional governmental
machinery and add to the red tape now
placed on the autOmODlle owners Dy the
States in compelling registration, licens-
ing and titlmg.
xIOO,OOO,OOO I'm Cars stolen.
Hiram c. Todd. United States Attor-
rcy for the Northern District OF New
York. asserted that during 1921 100000
0n0 worth of automobiles was stolen
in the United States and only a small
percentage recovered At q recent
rf rA1A saVtI fatn at
torneys of New York state. he said, II
was the sense of the attorneys that
next TO the revolver the automobile
was the most useful aid OF the crook
In the commission Of crimes.
'The horse thief was the menace Of
the cattle industry OF the West in the
early days" said the witness but he
has ceased his depredatlons. Why?
They branded their animals so they
could identify them, and then strung up
The thief az soon as they caught him.
We can follow this excellent example
hv branding our cars with perrua
rcnt Federal number and although we
cannot hang motor thief we can see
that severe punishment Is provided by
law and imposed by the courts
Your taxing proposals." said Repre-
sentative Carew IN. W, TO the wit
ness. rs mere subtcrfuge. You have
stated yourself out OF court We cannot
go before tho House with revenue
measure which you yourself have stated
is measure for the suppression OF
crime. The purpose of this bill IL 10
assist the police in enforcing the law.
~ you make the registration So and the
term OF Jail sentence for automobile
thieves twenty years il seems to me
the states could end the crime wave.'
mot only is it an act OF suppressing
a, r','lS, 20, 9au w louu. p' ~ pto-
mobiles from crooked dealers. This
measure provides for o. registration Npf
the car and necessarily carries with 10
history OF the car If mortgages aie
placed against the property & could bs
easily ascertaincd. Now in some iuris4
dictions II can't be told whether "a car
purchased from dealer Is under a chat
tel mortgage or not"
WOULD ISOLATE BAD Pupils.
SPOKANE. Wash. May 1i.--Isolaton
or "thc communicating element" In