The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-06-26
FREIGHT THIEVES Have
WELL ORGANIZED RING
RAILROADS SPENDING HUGE
SUMS ANNUALLY TO HALT
ROBBERIES BY GANGS.
HAVE INFORMATION SERVICE

Conductors and Brakemen Sometimes
Aid Looters in Selecting, Procur-
ing and Disposing of Valuable Mer-
chandise So Obtained.
The railroads of the United States
are spending huge sum this year
in a determined effort to break up the
organized thefts from freight cars.
The freight car burglary rings are
highly organized, and their operations
yearly cause a loss of hundreds OF
thousands of dollars to the roads.
Have Thorough System.
The ring of thieves has an informa-
ton service, usually recruited among
the railroad workers themselves, to
inform the headquarters of the move
ment of valuable shipments. 1t has
men to break open the cars, others
to haul the loot away, and still 9TH
ers to dispose of it through more or
less respectable trade channels.
One of the methods most common
ly employed by freight car thieves is
for several members of the gang to
board a freight train as it swings out
of yard, slows up on a heavy grade
or stops to take water. They then
break open the cars and throw out
the merchandise at points which had
been previously designated. There
confederates will be waiting with mo-
tor trucks to take the goods to the
fence" who disposes of the loot.
Quick Action Brought Arrests.
In one case a lot of material had
been thrown off a train by thieves.
The truck which was to have hauled
it, however, broke down and daylight
came before another truck arrived
from headquarters. The sight OF the
thieves transferring the goods from
one truck to another on lonely coun-
try road aroused the suspicious Of a
track supervisor He telephoned the
license number to the railroad police
office, a telegram to the state capitol
brought the name and address of the
truck owner, and the police arrived at
the garage as the machine was being
unloaded. The men were captured and
quickly convicted.
In another instance a lot of silk
goods was stolen. Detectives, making
the round of secondhand stores
found the goods which had been de-
scribed to them by the shipper. The
merchant produced a receipted bill
and the detectives soon located the
man who had sold the goods. Rather
than face the charge himself he pro-
duced the actual thief from whom he
had secured the loot.
A Crooked Conductor.
Some conductors, brakemen and
other freight crew men are partners
with the actual robbers and aid them
in stealing valuable goods. Rail de-
tectives, searching looted car, found
as order sheet belonging to a certain
conductor. The sleuths went to his
home and told his wife that they were
the men who had been sent by her
husband for the stuff he had taken
home the night before. The wife fell
for" the ruse, the loot was recovered
and her husband went to jail.
A large variety of freight car thefts
come under classification known in
railroad circles as concealed losses
These thefts are accomplished in vari-
Gus ways. One of these is for some
one to open a package en- route, take
out part of the contents, wrap the
package again, and let it go on its
way.
Some Shippers Are Crooked.
Another way of beating the railroad
out of money by means of the con-
cea1ed loss system is worked by the
cooperation of a shipper and a con-
signee. The shipper ships bill of ma
terial and states that it includes more
material than it really does. When it
arrives at its destination the consignee
puts in bill for the alleged shortage
and divides the loot with the shipper.