Evening star., 1933-02-02
SILK HEJACKERS
MEET HARD LUCK
Industry Fights Racket That
Depression Has Dealt
Weakening Blow.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
PATTERSON. N. j., February q
There are still silk thieves daring
enough to hijack truck load OF silk In
midtown New York. but their racket Is
growing increasingly less profitable. The
silk industry, taxed by highway rob
berries too long. is fighting back with
success proved in statistics.
The industry's organization, which
works with police, swung into action
Immediately when four bandits hi
lacked a $4,000 truck load of silk in
the heart OF Manhattan yesterday.
For the industry. the robbery was
lust another skirmish in the battle
that began in 1922 when silk truck
hold-ups cost silk manufacturers over
a million dollars. In 1882 the hold-up
loot had shrurk to $4,000, of which
$4,000 worth was eventually recovered.
Studding the narrative of the fight Is
record of convictions of silk thieves,
"fences," and crooked silk jobbers.
Losses Are Minimized.
A large number of silk manufac-
turers, banded together in the Silk As
sociation of America, met the threat
of hold-upss by careful organization Of
their trucking fleets. The result has
been only two email losses.
All truck drivers are flngerprmted ana
their fingerprints checked for criminal
records before the men are engaged
The trucks, which bear an insignia,
travel only certain routes, and when
they appear off those routes 1t Is
signal for police, who cooperate, to IN
vestigate Immediately.
AS further precaution all the
trucks are equipped with clock-like de-
vices which register on small chart
the hour and length of time truck Is
In motion, or halted. When a hold-up
occurs, 1t is now possible with the aid
of this device practically to retrace the
route of the hijacked truck, determine
whether the stolen silk was unloaded
at drop" and to learn other facts
that facilitate investigation.
In addition to this the truck is never
left alone, and stops for gasoline or
meals are made only at designated
places.
All Thefts Investigated.
Although all silk manufacturers have
not organized in this fashion. .he as
sociation investigates all thefts in the
industry.
The niiackers' share in a silk rob-
berry is small. Henry Rudolph, an as
sociation investigator, places it at about
20 per cent of the loot's market value.
The crooked iCbber is the one who
makes the profit.
The police and the association would
rather convict one crooked jobber than
dozen thieves, for in most cases, sc
Rurolph said. the silk is stolen to order
It is bought before the actual theft
occurs.
One reason profits are lean in silk
hijacking today is that silk has tobog-
gained from the 1923 price of Sl8 a
pound to the current figure of SIPS.
Stolen raw silk presents the greatest
problem of recovery. 1t is almost as
difficult to identify as a packet of stolen
cigarettes. Finished silk recovery is ar
easier task, especially since the associa-
ton has been registering various de-
signs. The hijacking of trucks is only
one phase of crimes tax on the silk
industry. There are cheaper criminals
who prey on messenger boys carrying
few bolts OF silk and the dishonest
employe In the mills who seals from
stock. But the industry is applying
itself with equal vigor in these fields
making silk stealing on small scale
as increasingly Improbable as on
large scale.