Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-11-14
CROOKS TREK WEST
AS WINTER CONES
MiId Climate Lures Them to
Los Angeles, Along With
Tourist Rush.

~ Consolidated Press
Los ANGELES, November 1.-the
frost that's on the pun'ls;n in the
Middle West is having its annual
stimulating effect on Los Angeles
crime statistics.
The number of burglaries hold ups,
automobile thefts. and similar crimes
reported to Los Angeles police has
almost doubled in the last few DAYS.
~ if to add touch OF wild West
on"Ving picturesqueneSs there was
also one case of horse stealing in the
city where the last horse thief was
banged in due and proper Nigtlaute
:"rm in the late EOS.
\ chilly October in the Mississippi
Valley, police statistics show, means
q criminal November in southern
california. The close of the county
fair season in Iowa and Nebraska,
and the first furry of Winter in the
corn belt. are always followed. after
Al sufficient travel interval by a ris-
Ing crime barometer in this snowleSs
region, with Los Angeles as its high
: pressure center. Thus crime is en-
tIhaSized as largely seasonal in its
shift, and criminals take the classifi-
cation OF migratory workers.
Letters Show Attitude.
Letters intercepted by the police
or taken from persons under arrest
here show that Los Angeles has no
more earnest booster than the en-
fhusiast Of the clan Of alias and aIibi.
llis atfectionate dminutive for the
city is either Il. y" or Los"
Thieves and burglars. bandits and
h"ldup men, all the underworld broth
*rhood, no less than prosperous per-
sons OF honest life. come to Los An
Ieles to spend the Winter. Those
who have observed the tourist move
ancnt in relation to the autumnal
crime wave say the two provide an
excellent instance of a biological phc-
PlomenOn so ancient that the cavemen
>knew all about it. and choose their
hunting grounds accordingly.
The bandit season" as one news
paper calls it, has opened in quite
The usual manner. At the outset bur
ilarieS and petty thcfts constitute
The larger part Of the days griSt of
crimes little later holdups of Pc
Gestrians may be expected to in
crease. The third stage is tn" rob-
berry of gasoline service stations.
Auto Bandit Comes Along.
Then, with the season acceIeratinG
81 its mid-Wipter peak, comes the
automobile bandit, with the tradi-
jonal hi gh powered" car and the
death dealing 'gat." The super
1'"usehreaker also gets busy about
This time, and the Los Angeles crime
season may be said to be III full
swing. The super house breaker, ex-
pert at picking his house and capable
Of making away with almost any
thing lighter than the piano, is sell
dom arrested. Wealthy tourists. who
live in apartment houses more often
than hotels. bring their ValuableS
with them and have 4 habit. well
known to the underworld. of seCreting
large bundles of cash in the most OBJ
viouS hiding places. These persons
are the super ousebreaker' faVorite
prey.
The police explain the compara-
lively low number Of automobile
lnGfts at this season by saying that
"uobody wants to get away from
i.os Angeles at this time of the year"
.!;ut in the Spring the theft list swells
:ts desire quickens for sight of the
old stamping grounds and the Sum
1ner's easy pickings in the Middle
West and East. With new license
plates and altered engine numbers,
The stolen car rolls over mountain
and desert on the long trail toward
the land of hog and hominy.
Not all, however. who participated
an the opening Of the crime season in
October or November are free to take
1he trip. Angeleno police are busy
workers, and more than half of all
she commitments to the State pent-
ientiaries a Fulsom and san Quentin
are from Los Angeles.