Evening star., 1928-05-18

Student fraternities, school dances,
| cigarette smoking and. they do say, hip
! pocket flask toting, have contributed
| handsomely to the burdens OF high
| school principals, and now. as though
| there were not enough to add TO the
| regular business of school adminiStra-
ton. comes series of automobile
"t,tefts" out at Western High School
that threatens to reach the epidemit
stage.
-Four automobiles. two the property
of teachers and two owned ny students
of Western, have disappeared from their
marking places near the school within
n single week. to be discovered aban-
doned but intact in outlying sections of
the District, several hours or day aft
er they were reported missing.
Attempt to Take Fifth Car.
Evidence of an attempt to borrow"
fifth machine was discovered by n
teacher who found an ignition key
broken off at the hilt in her cars lock.
Peculiarly enough, the adoption OF
the cars occurred with almost studied
regularity at the rate of one car every
other day. Each theft was reported
to the police OF the seventh precinct,
and in the course of q few hours, or q
recovered out Chevy Chase way.
Western High School authorities APP
pealed, to the police for a special guard
for the neighborhood, and q man was
stationed in the vicinity for one day.
Nothing happened. The officer was
withdrawn the following day, Wednes-
day. and another machine was taken.
This morning the seventh precinct told
The Star that the patrolman on the
beat embracing the streets on which
the personnel of Western park their
cars was instructed to keep q special
watch on the machines. In addition,
two plain clothes men today are aug
menting the lone officer in an attempt
to catch the thief.
Victims of Thefts.
The first of the automobiles disap-
peared last Thursday, when Harry Ryan
of 1901 Cleveland avenue, a student, re-
ported his car stolen.
William Bouick of Rockville, also q
student. was the next victim. 1t so hap
pened that Williams brother was stand
ing near window in his home when
what appeared to be the family car
sped by A telephone call to Western
and a subsequent investigation showed
the car missing from its parking place.
Miss Ruth Layhee of Wakefield Hall
Apartments, teacher, found herself
minus her automobile Wednesday after
noon when she was about to start for
her home Miss Layhee called the
police and the machine was found
abandoned in Chevy Chase early yester-
day morning by police of the fourteenth
precinct.
Charles Bish. 1896 Thirty-first street.
another teacher, reported his car stolen
Tuesday, and on the preceding day Miss
Nellie Bass, 3S46 Woodley road. found
broken key in the ignition lock of her
car, indicating an attempt TO appro-
pirate 1t.
Friction With Poliee.
To add to the annoyance. some fric-
ton has arisen between the police and
the Western High School authorities, IL
became known today. Mrs. O. r. Daniel.
clerk at the school, appealed to the
seventh precinct for special automobile
protection and she was informed bY
member OF that stations personnel that
in his opinion the cars were being
taken by Western students and that IT
was up to the school" TO catch the
thief,
Or. Elmer s. Newton, principal of the
school, although perplexed and ex-
tremely annoyed, takes broad view OF