Evening star., 1925-11-08
AUTO THIEF FACES
RELENTLESS FORCE
Army of Opposition Con.
stantIy Growing-Thiet's
Market Being Killed.

dulOIlODlle nave lnele Deen SO many
forces lined up against the man who
steals and deals in ears which are
not his own. The present moment
hnds all sorts of pressure being
brought to bear upon the underworld
automobile market. with the car thief
and his unscrupulous confederates
being backed near-but not quite
to the wall
In our enthusiasm 10 rid motoring
of the curse of car thievery, it must
not be forgotten that the mind of
the pursued works as fast as that
of the pursuer. and that nine-tenths
OF the work OF breaking up traffic
IN stolen cars is in understanding
clearly how far the thief sidesteps his
difficulties.
For instance. certain natural forces
produced by business and economic
conditions are serving TO put many
a car thief temporarily out of busi-
ness, though he can regain his foot
hold very easily by marking time and
awaiting a still further development
in conditions. The slump in the used
car market is no great stimulus to
car thievery, since il robS the prac-
tice of much Of its reward. And now
that the insurance companies adjust
total losses on a basis of the intrinsic
value of cars at the time of the loss
from unsCrupulous policy holders and
dividing the spoils, because there
would be no spoils.
Fo make Il profit Out OF ''self-steal-
ing" an insured car. the crooks are
obliged to start by insuring a stolen
car, which is rather risky business.
The scheme of insuring cars for more
than they are worth, or having the
old car stolen" so as TO be able to
a al he
IS now relic of the def1ation period.
Thefts Less Profitable.
The insurance guard and the lack
of demand for used cars, therefore.
seem to combine to make stealing cars
a less profitable form OF business. but
there are many loopholes which must
be plugged up by those who are on
the trail of the automobile thief if
any real progress is to be made in
this latest drive. For example the
possibility of dispOsing of loot in the
foreign markets. The market for used
cars abroad and in Central and South
America has been as dormant as that
for new machines, but it appears as
though a general Improvement in for
etgn conditions is scheduled to begin
Just as the American car thief's
domestic market SlumpS.
Even with foreign conditions as
they are, the story is going the rounds
that a Mexican agent for an American
motor car manufacturer registered a
complaint because a used car dea Ter
was selling stolen cars of the identical
make directly across the street
State legislation has been effective
locally only in curbing traffic in stolen
cars. The Federal Dyer law. like
the Volstead act. accomplishes Just
so much and no more. In States
where it is difficult to obtain a license
for car which does not have a clean
bill of health the car thieves do not
attempt to sell their goods, though
such States are frequently their most
fertile producing center.
Thief's Market Killed.
This fact is leading to the belief
that the only successful way 10 fight
the car thief is to attack the market
for his loot continually. Much of the
difficulty which automobile clubs,
police officials, insurance companies
and motor vehicle departments CON
front in dealing with this menace is
that they are too frequently obliged
to work single handed. They may
accomplish something locally, but their
efforts serve only TO cause the car
thief Il little annoyance.
The agitation for national regiStra-
tion of motor cars has now subsidized,
owing to a realization on the part
of its followers that the States have
no intention of giving up their law
full revenue from registrations by
turning over the work 10 the Govern
ment. Various proposals whereby the
Government would handle the trans.
fers of ownership and pass upon ap-
plicationS before the States could issue
licenses to their resident car owners
have been considered and rejected
as involving too much politics and
other natural difficulties. Such pro-
poSals, together with the numerous
plans for clearing" theft informa-
ton, however, serve to keep the car
thief worried and his business less
attractive.
But motor car owners must not
become too enthusiastic over the prob
able success of new attacks because
the car thief is a clever person who
learns to be cleverer every time he
meets and conquers a new difhculty.
So long as motor and serial numbers
can be altered, so long as motorists
forget to use their locking devices,
so long as applications for registra-
ton, bills of sale and transfers of
ownership can be forged and SO long
as people buy cars without inquiring
into dlI lie utldllS VI pfSNlUuS
ownership, just so long Will the busl-
ness of stealing cars flourish.
Prey on Ignorant Buyer.
Thieves will continue to select plum
der from among those cars which are
left unlocked Frequently the locked
ones are no obstacle) and they will
sell the booty to those who do not
know what difficulties they will en-
counter when trying to apply for a
license.
The car owner has a dual role to
play in defeating this menace, and the
fact that he is succeeding in one
direction should not blind him to the
need for increased effort in the other.
Car thievery is being checked through
pooling of the interests of those who
are fighting it, but individual effort
and responsibility are as important
as ever.
Nothing permanent in the way of a
victory is possible unless all owners
consistently protect their cars from
thieves and refuse to buy cars of
questionable origin.
Traffic fatalities in New York State