Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1930-03-06
If You Need Auto
Parts, Steal Them

II one has great desire to own
an auto but lacks the wherewithall
to buy one, that need not keep one
from driving car. Oh no, all that
Is necessary is to acquire some rat
ting tin Lizzie and then build it up
into passabe car by purloinino
whatever parts may be needed from
your neighbors' autos.
That's the method certain Libby
young men adopted and it worked fine
until they fell afoul Of Chief of Police
Green, Prosecuting Attorney Herbert
and Police Magistrate Haigler. As 4
result the ambitious auto owners are
now being boarded for 10 days by
Sheriff Baney and each was assessed
a fine Of $4,000 and costs. Those who
ran afoul Of the officers were Len
and Jim Mccarthy, AL Sesher and
Kenneth Stark. Each confessed and
pleaded guilty to the charge placed
against them, that of petty larceny.
This is how they worked it.
The two Mccarthy boys needed
new rear end to their old Ford. They
saw the desired equipment on a car
standing at the rear of the Kootenai
garage. One dark night they un-
coupled the transmission at the diff
ferential and then made away with
the entire rear end, transmission,
axles, wheels, tires, springs, etc. This
they put on their own car and then, so
as not to have too many parts living
around, they sold what they took
from their car to the junk man.
They also needed a generator. This
they likewise appropriated from
used car at the Kootenai garage, and
put it in their auto. 1t worked.
A further need was battery. While
August Eggert slept the sleep Of an
honest man, they stole battery from
his car parked before his home, trans
porting the battery on small hand
sled to their garage
They also needed chains. These
We're appropriated from jim Leonard's
new Ford, in a garage west of the
Pioneer Meat Market. Light bulbs
were also taken.
Now they had a car built up. Gas
and oil were needed. They went to
large storage tanks belonging to the
}. & G. garage along the railroad,
cut out a metal plug that had been
driven into a vent in the bottom of
the tank and then sawed off flush
with the tank, and helped themselves
to about $50 gallons of gasoline dur
ing the fall and winter. While all
these thefts were in progress, they
had watchers helping them. Red lub-
ricating oil was stolen from the saw
mill.
Sesher and Stark stole springs and
rear spider gears from a second hand
car standing at the rear Of the Ira
Tester garage. Len Mccarthy accom-
panied them on this venture. Sesher's
jail sentence was suspended upon his
paying the fine, because of his being
married and having no previous bad
record.
Hank Herbst helped in stealing the
battery and gas and is also held in
Jail.
Said Prosecuting Attorney Herbert:
my years of experience as prose-
cutting attorney convinces me that the
automobile is the greatest single fac
tor contributing to the delinquency
OF the youth of today. The desire for
car is so great that thievery or
nothing will stand in the way of their
attempting to satisfy their wants. If
money is lacking for gas and oil, then
steal it whenever, opportunity pre-
sents ITSELF
A number Of young boys we're in
volved in these thieving escapades.
Their cases were continued for 30
days.
Rev. Pfotenhauer was called to