The New York herald., 1922-07-21
Persons Who Wink at Law
in Getting Cheap Motors
Will Not Escape.
LEGISLATION IS FRAMED
Mills Bill in Congress Meets
Opposition From State
Officials.


automobile industry and the police
hope to curb motor stealing and put
out of business the crooked owner
who. to collect insurance, disposes Of
his car by collusion with a thief.
BY destroying the market for the
stolen car officials believe they will
have given a bad blow to the business
OF pilfering motors, business esti-
mated to have amounted to 100000
600 In this country last year and
motor industry.
The officials are going after the man
who winks at the law by not taking
the trouble to find out whether the
automobile offered cheap carries a
clear title, as well as the crook who
did the. actual stealing. Certificates
of ownership and a system Of regis
ti-ation which will permit of quick and
easy identification of any automobile
are urged as the surest means Of end
ing thefts.
States Rights Interfere.
@In this fifth and concluding article in
a series published by THE NEW York
HERALD showing the extent Of this
piracy, its methods OF operation and
what !. means to the automobile indus
try, the views Of some of the experts are
expressed. The Mills bill. pending in
Congress, is favored by many. Some
State officials object to relinquishing
anv Of their authority. and this old con-
flict between the Federal Government
and commemorative is responsible for
<ho In, fhe Ia a NJ
checking IL not ending motor stealing.
The Mills bill provides that every
owner of car must register his motor
with the clerk Of the United States Dis
trict Court in the district wherein he
resides. This must carry detailed
description and history of the motor,
with its numbers and description OF
the owner. Statements covering these
facts must be sworn to and failure to
provide the information or the giving OF
false information is made a misde-
meanor.
Any car not so registered could be
seized by the Federal Government A
registration fee Of So is provided. The
Secretary of the Treasury Is to have
authority under such regulations as
he shall prescribe to provide the system
Of numbering all automobiles and keep
ing records.
Upon the sale or transfer Of an auto
mobile 1t is provided that the vcnder Is
required to deliver a bill Of sale. also TO
be registered with the Federal Court.
besides the history of the car. The Dill
of sale Is not valid unless so registered.
Failure to comply with this act Is also
made a demeanor punishable by $500
fine or thirty days imprisonment
Every bill of sale Is required to give
motor numbers corresponding with those
on record and to set forth the history
of the car and it's successive ownerships.
Mortgage on the car would not be valid
unless registered. and the clerks OF the
district courts would be required to keep
their books open to all persons at all
times.
Connecticut Offers Plan.
Robbins B. stoeckel, Commissioner Of
Motor Vehicles Of Connecticut, and an
authority on the subject finds fault
with the proposed Mills bill and offers
an amendment which he believes would
strengthen the law. Connecticut has
high record for efficiency in recovering
stolen cars.
Standardization of motor factory NUM-
bers by Federal legislation is proposed
by Commissioner Stoeckel, the factory
number being issued by the Government
and affixed to automobiles uniformly at
the top front right spring hanger. The
Federal Government would under this
plan keep checks on cars by requiring a
duplicate charter for each automobile
manufactured or assembled, one copy to
be filed with the Government and the
other with the state registering the car.
The New York State Association OF
District Attorneys prepared and has In
dorsed the Mills bill. District Attorney
Banton has spoken In favor of 1t. What
the prosecuting officials want Is some
uniform regulation that will help them
nut q check on automobile thieving, now
one of the biggest contributory sources
OF all crimes.
BY some such law as this. the district
attorneys say, II will be possible for a
man buying a car TO check UP in twenty
minutes and find whether It's title is
clear 1t would go far toward ending
collusivc stealing. now common thing.
carried on by the man who wishes to get
rid of his car to collect the Insurance.
To End ColIusive Thefts.
This brand OF crook has been increas-
ing rapidly with the decline In prices OF
automobiles. When the cut price falls
below the amount of his insurance the
crooked owner conspires with a thief to
take his car. He Is the fellow the dis
trict attorneys and the automobile asso-
Citations are trying to catch. 1t Is large
~ ptCtuSc Oh tHdt tiic
companies have been compelled to adopt
their non-value insurance policy.
Ali officials agree that judges have
been lax In imposing punishment In
their new drive against the automobile
bandit the district attorneys are asking
all judges to impose limit penalties. They
also are calling on police to give more
attention to enforcement Of such laws as
exist
what Is needed is check on the
changing OF numbers" Commissioner
Stocckel said. There have been nu-
mcrous cases where automobiles with
proper factory numbers for the year
and model have been presented to us.
but on checking up we have found them
60 be fictitious. In other words. the
thief has used duplicate numbers, but
the second set Of duplicates did not ap-
pear In the same part of the country as
the first.
"As understand the measure now
before Congress. II would require an ad-
ditlonal number to be placed on each