New Britain herald., 1925-09-16
STOLEN AUTOMOBILES
 AND CROOKS

now pc sald Wlth some degree Of probability that automobiles lie a, the root Of all evil. The New York man who was awakened by robbers at a. m. the other day and en- tcrtalned them for half an hour, reports that they were not inter- ested in the sl.75 in small change he offered them, nor in tho bread and pastry In the pantry. nor in the near-wlne proffered, The rob bers were looking for "big money" and real liquor" They made their call In a s3,00o car and were no pikers. Their host, after the party was over, came to the conclusion that the price of gasoline and the need for plenty of 1t, was the main motive behind the visit.
 The first thing crook thinks necessary nowadays when contem- plating the future Is an automobile. Almost the first thing a burglar, second-story worker, hold-up man or desperado generally thinks of stealing Is an automobile. Nine tenths of the crooks who prey upon society ride around in stolen auto mobiles. Without an automobile the modern crook is not in the run ming, or the getaway. The first thing they learn 10 do nowadays is not how 10 operate a revolver, but how 10 operate an automobile. The latter at least Is equally as impor- tant as the first.
 The enormous number of cars that are parked in all of our cities offer the first temptation, the first opportunity. for crooked minded individuals 10 follow their bent The last thing a. crook ever thinks of doing is 10 buy an automobiles; 1t isn't necessary such morons { figure, so long as there are thou sands of them ready 10 be picked of on every main street. Merely general knowledge as to how to operate one, and the crook is equipped 10 make a fool of him self or the public.
 The utilization of automobiles by crooks has greatly intensified the difficulties facing the police in keeping tab upon h underworld brigands. It has greatly intensified the job of catching them. The worst foes of crooks with stolen au- tomobiles are not the police, but the rules of the road. A getaway at 4j miles and Up an hour is more dangerous than the original "job" of safe-crackiug or burglarizing. What with the turns in the road, other automobiles, trucks and even busses met en route, a wild dash for safety with an automobile which may not be accustomed 10 such usage and which may at any mo- ment play out, is no ideally safe performance. The number of auto mobiles abandoned by fleeing crooks - after being ditched or stopped by telegraph poles pr in- nocent road hogs is proof of the difficulties facing crooks after a job.
 Bandits like to 20 joyriding like other folks; it costs money to buy gasoline and make repairs to stolen machines. The necessity for getting the money 10 indulge In this inno- cent amusement is paramount; but fundamentally 1t is the automobile that forms the first temptation 10 steal, for without the stolen auto mobile the crook would have no chance.
 If all automobiles could be fixed so that stealing them would be i'm possible the worst blow ever struck at crooks would have been achieved. The few that could get enough money 10 buy a machine are negligible. 1t would be next to impossible under modern conditions 10 steal sufficient money to buy car fl the first law-breaking effort required getting away on foot Such fellows as Gerald Chapman could do it, but they are the ex- captions.