Indianapolis Times, Volume 33, Number 117, Indianapolis, Marion County, 24 September 1920 — Page 5

TAGGART OPENS DRIVE TUESDAY First Day of State Push Calls for Four Speeches. Thomas Taggart will open hla State campaign for United States Senator Tuesday morning at Anderson, at 10 o'clock. From Anderson he will go to Mancie, where he speaks at 1 o’clock; thence to Hartford City, speaking at 3:30, and on to Blnffton, where he concludes the first day of the tour with an address at 7:30t o’clock, Wednesday morning the Taggart party will leave Bluffton, going to Portland, where Mr. Taggart speaks at 0:30 o’clock, with an address at Geneva at 11 o'clock. He will speak at Berne at noon and will tour Adams County In the afternoon, ending with an address at Decatur at night Thursday the party will make an allday tour of Huntington County concluding with an address In Huntington at night . The party will return to Indianapolis, where Mr. Taggart will speak in West Indianapolis. W. A. Kunkel of Blnffton has notified the State committee he will act as host to the Taggart party during the trip. Benjamin Bosse, State chairman of the Democratic party and Mrs. Alice Foster McCulloch, Ft Wayne, women’s State ehalnnan, will accompany Mr. Taggart Bert Hendren, assistant chairman of the Democratic State speakers’ bureau, tnnottnced that William B. Wilson, Secretary of Labor, will speak Oct 2 at Muncie instead of Anderson, as previously announced. DATES ARRANGED FOB MR. FOLEY. In addition to the speaking dates for Mr. Taggart, the speakers’ bureau has arranged several dates for M. E. Foley, chairman of the State council of defense during the war, and L. Ert Slack, former United States District Attorney. Mr. Foley will speak as follows next week: Sept 25, Greencastle; Sept. 27, RushvUle, and Sept 30, Crawfordsville. Mr. Slack will open his week’s tour Sept 27 at Greenfield; Sept. 2S, Richmond; Sept 29, Noblesville; Sept. 30, Xoklesville, and Oct. 1 at Frankfort. Samuel M. Ralston, former Governor of Indiana, will open his campaign In behalf of the Democratic ticket Oct 9. with an address at Poseyville in the afternoon and Evansville at night From there he will be assigned for dally speeches until election. Claude Bowers, editor of the Ft- Wayne Journal-Gazette, will open an Intensive speaking tour of the State for the Democratic ticket Oct 5. He will speak each day from Oct. 5 until the election, as follows: Oct. 5, Greencastle; Oct. 6, Clay City; Oct 7, Shelbyville; Oct 8, Greenfield; Oct. 9, Franklin; Oct. 11, Llgonier; Oct 12, Columbia City; Oct 13, Bluffton; Oct. 16, Clinton; Oct. 21, Marion. SENATOR HEFFLIN

COMES TO INDIANA. United States Senator Thomas J. Hefllln has been booked by the speakers' bureau for a series of addresses to be given In the following cities: Oct. 11, Jeffersonville: Oct. 12, Washington; Oct. 13, North Vernon; Oct. 14, Women speakers will enter actively into the campaign next week. Miss Mary Overback. Cambridge City, will tour Franklin County Oct. 2S, 29 and 30, speaking on the League of Nations. Mrs. William Allen Cnllop. wife of the former Representaive in Congress from Vincennes, will speak Monday at French Lick, Tuesday at Orleans, Wednesday at Paoll and Thursday at Salem Bernard B. Shively of Marion will accompany Mrs. Cullop and address the same meetings. Miss Chari Williams, national committee woman from Tennessee, will make four addresses in Indiana during October, She will speak Oct. 9 at Huntington, Oct. 12 at- Terre Haute, and on Oct. 11 nd 13 at towns to be selected. Mrs. Florence Gordon Harrlman of Washington, D. C., who was chairman of the United States Industrial Relations Committee during the war, will speak in Indiana Oct. 5, 6. and 7. She will speak at a city in Lake eounty, at Lafayette and Marion on the above dates. C. & E. I. Fights State Freight Car Ruling Claiming that the Public Service Commission of Indiana has no jurisdiction in allotment or changing of allotment of open top cars in intrastate shipment of sand and gravel, the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad has filed with that body an answer to the petition of the Indiana Sand and Gravel Producers' Association, in which they demand an equitable distribution of cars for the shipment of their product. The railroad claims that any modification of orders Issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission regarding allotment of cars for shipment of sand and gravel to allow additional cars to the Indiana shippers would be discriminating against shippers in States, in favor of Indiana shippers. The railroad, in its answer to the gravel producer's petition, asks that the petition be dismissed by the commission.

QUAKER TIRES TUBES Ju) 4. Quaker Tires are made with a ww “Tempered Rubber” tread; tough & Huff Pistfjbntori F'c 1 ’ and resilient; and will not “road M tT\i„ "p W!fcm The fundamental purpose of the fi Jr*2 H |UF ,, 4Qk , ggliPjSg Auto Tire is to deliver mileage; |f S Caj.d& kk. EL |#op Quaker Tires are built by hand lb r fe| m. with wrapped tread and in such a rni ririrriiii J' 'ir^r “Quality Considered, We Sell It For Less” OPEN SATURDAY EVENING TILL 9 O'CLOCK CITIZENS AUTO SUPPLY *°S ALE CO. RETAIL . Homer E. Enlow, Aset. Mgr, Mass. Ave. at Delaware and New York Sts. MA,N 4168 B °™ PHONES AUTO.'27-664,

Pursuing Auto Thieves Now Almost Profession Quick Eye, Quick Wit and Much Training Needed to Catch Wily Crooks . By HEZE CLARK, With automobile thefts in this and other cities steadily increasing, anew kind of detective has been brought into existence. The professional crooks long ago realized that stealing automobiles and disposing of them was a thievery requiring special technique and qualifications. The police chiefs Just as quickly found that the same thing applied to the recovery of stolen cars, and therefore formed automobile detective squads.

Indianapolis, one of the world’s greatest automobile manufacturing and sales centers, has not been slow in following the example of other cities and a number of years ago such a squad was formed In this city. As the city has grown and automobile thefts have become more frequent, six men have been assigned to duty on the automobile squad. Detectives Rugenstein, Hynes, Fields, Hanks, Irlck and Giles. They give all their time to pursuing stolen motor vehicles and automobile thieves. Inspector of Detectives Herbert Fletcher was formerly a member of the automobile detective squad. , The expert automobile detective must know automobiles. He not only has to know how to run them, and a good deal about their mechanism, but he must be on Intimate terms with all the different makes, and have at the tip of his tongue all the little features that identify each one. There are several hundred makes of cars on the market, and th# expert automobile detective knows the general outline, design on the hub, colors, colors, shape of the radiator, and Jbther distinguishing points of nearly all of them. He has a quick eye. Many people can walk past a row of cars and name every one correctly, but how many can do th* same thing If the machines are speeding past or are viewed from a distance? At a hasty glance still fewer can take In other details such as the appearance of the driver and the condition of the car. “HYBRID" CAR EASILY NOTED. A detective can pick out the “hybrid” car—one patched together from two or more makes in order to disguise it. The amateur would puzzle over the mystery of a body of one make and wheels of another. The detective, however, says “there ain’t no such animal,” and at once starts to delve into the reasons for the existence of the freak car. When an automobile disappears from the curb where it has been parked the problem of finding it is a difficult one. The police department keeps records of the numbers and descriptions of cars reported stolen. Numbers on the cars suspected of being “hot cars,” as the automobile thief terms stolen automobiles, are carefully noted by the detectives, as they are the most reliable means of identification. Every car has an engine number. Many of the more expensive cars have as many as five or more numbers on the chassis, horn, frame, generator, starter and other parts. W hen a thief disguises a car he changes is many numbers as he happens to notice, either by trying to cut out the stenciled figures altogether, or by changing them so that the owner will not be able to claim his automobile through them.

Experienced automobile detectives have little trouble in spotting numbers that have been tampered with. The thief often neglects to find and alter all the numbers. ft the owner has the record of all the numbers he can identify his car beyond a doubt. Wandering about the city, near the long rows of automobiles parked in the downtown streets, through the big public garages, and in and out of the sec-ond-hand automobile dealers’ shops and automobile junk shops, may seem a random method of pursuing thieves, -but Its effectiveness when followed by experts is unueulabie. ABOI'T TWO-THIRDS ARE RECOVERED. In Indianapolis this year from Jan. 1 up to and Including July 27, 613 automobiles have been stolen, and of this number 412 have been recoverd. This, of course, does not include the long lists of cars reported stolen In other cities, which are received daily by the detective department of Indianapolis. Nineteen automobiles stolen in other cities have been recovered In this city since the first of the year. During the year 1919, more than forty automobiles stolen in other cities were recovered by the Indianapolis police department. There are various types of automobile thieves, according to Inspector Fletcher. These include the “joy rider” who steals an automobile, enjoys a ride and deserts the car in another part of the city unless he is unlucky enough to wreck the automobile. The professional automobile thief who steals a car to

sell it is another type, and Is generally x mechanic. Then there ?s the professional auto, mobile bandit or “stlck-np” man, wbo steals an automobile to use in making a quick and pure getaway after committing a holdup. Automobiles are often stolen by professional yeggmen for the same purpose. Some burglars use an automobile to haul away' stolen loot when It is too heavy or bulky to be carried. STEAL CARS FOR TRADE IX BOOEE. The “bootlegger” steals automobiles to use in bis illegal liquor trade. He finds it to his advantage often times to desert an auto In which he is hauling whisky rather than to be arrested. He also finds it to his advantage to have some other person’s automobile when hauling liquor, as the federal officers might conflcate the car under the law and In that way the bootlegger Is not a heavy looser. Howard Cerf, the local police say, is the most clever automobile thief that ever operated In Indianapolis. Cerf was convicted in this and other cit’-es and sent to prison for automobile stealing. Last December he was caught In this city while stealing automobiles and was sentenced to serve a life term In Michigan City prison as a habitual crimlnul. Cerf was an apt hand at solving the various locking devices on cars, and when a few days ago he was taken to Shelbyville as a witness against men alleged to have purchased automobiles from him Cerf found no difficulty In picking the lock on the Shelbyville Jail and escaping. The methods of the professional auto thief are worthy of Interest and the success of these methods has caused the number of thefts to mount and the insurance companies to raise their rates. It is estimated that in this county each year Joy riders and professional automobile thieves steal 200,000 cars.

Recoveries run as low as 40 per cent in some places and 75 per cent is a reasonable average for the country. Stealing automobiles Is the most popular outdoor sport for crooks. Many owners of cars still leave their automobiles parked unprotected, apparently with the idea of making life simple for the Joy riders, who like to borrow cars, and the professional tl\ief who prefers an unlocked car to a locked one, even though he may be able to get away with the latter. Asa rule the professional has nothing to do but to walk up to a lonesome looking car and give it a hasty glance and see if the owuer has tried to foil him. If the car seems to be unincumbered with locks, he slips into the driver's seat and is soon out of sight. If the owner warily removes a small piece of mechanism to prevent the then of his automobile the thief will resort to the service car of his “pal” parked nearby. Even the supposedly thlefproof lock which clamps around the wheel and is pointed at the end, doesn't worry gangs who desire to steal an unusually desirable car. The thieves remove the wheel and replace It with another wheel, and the average person will think it is just some automobiUst repairing a tire. EXPECT THEFTS TO DIMINISH. There will always be a large number of automobile thefts, but the recently enacted federal law, penalizing Interstate commerce in stolen cars, the work of automobile sleuths, and the educating of the automobile owners to l<*ek their cai and to use more caution about leaving cars unprotected, should reduce the number stolen in the future. It Is Interesting to note the report recently made public by the National Automobile Dealers' association. “There were 31,319 automobiles stolen in nineteen “index” cities of the United Staes tin 1919, compared to 25,613 In the same cities in 1918. This is an increase of 22.4 per cent. The figures obtained are from the official reports of the chiefs of police. "Os the 31,349 stolen in 1919, there wose 23,332 recovered, 74.4 per cent. Os the 25,613 stolen in 1918, there were 204103 recovered, 78.8 per cent. “Cars stolen which were not recovered

INDIANA DAILY TIMES, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24,1920.

were valued at approximately 35,410,000, in 1918, and at $8,608,360, in 1019. “New York again led the cities in cars Stolen with 5,527 in 1919, as compared with 3,340 in 1918, an Increase of 35.5 per cent. St. Louis was the only large city where the number was less than In 1918. This Is accounted for by a vigorous law enforcement campaign against automobile thieves. Sentences up to twenty years have been assessed In St. Louis for the theft of automobiles. > "General reduction of the number of automobiles stolen is expected In 1920 because It is a federal offense. “The detailed list of nineteen cities fellows : Stolen. Recovered. 1919 1918 1919 1918 New York 6,527 3,340 3,124 2.578 Chicago 4,447 2,611 3.447 1,954 Detroit 3,481 2,639 2,529 1,934 Cleveland 2,338 2,076 1.786 1,816 Los Angeles 1,688 1,629 1,305 1,499 Kansas City .... 1,661 1,144 794 600 Portland. Ore. .. 1,528 1,068 1,378 990 Denver 1,440 901 1,187 627 San Francisco... 1,354 1,122 1,304 1,082 St. Louis 1,241 2,241 944 1,354 Seattle 1,122 1,451 1,398 1,376 Indianapolis ... 1,031 404 * 092 334 Boston 1,002 . 866 580 607 Salt Lake City.. 776 797 758 790 Oakland, Ca 1.... 760 895 733 860 Omaha 734 1,039 567 669 Columbus. O. ...‘ 550 451 373 352 Cincinnati 520 348 293 291 Oklahoma City.. 148 571 70 484 Total 31,349 25,613 23,822 20,203 MANUFACTURERS START H. C. L. CUT * General Price Decline Will Follow, Colby Says. WASHINGTON, Sept. 24.—A general decline in commodity prices were forecast today by Secretary of Commerce Alexander as a result of the announcement of price reductions by certain automobile and cotton goods manufacturers. Alexander believes that the sharp cut made in these commodities is only a forerunners of a general decline In prices. "The people of the United States hare money and are willing to spend It, but they have reached the plaeo where they are demanding full value for the money they spend,” iho secretary declared. Production will not be affected and buying wil] be stimulated by the decline in prices, he indicated. The fact that the first cut came from the manufacturers has strengthened the imlief that lower prices will become mere general. A drop in woollen goods, clothing ana shoes prices i forecast for the immediate future. With cuts in two of the largest in-

You, Sir, in your own self interest as a matter of business information, should see the Men’s and Young Men’s All-Wool Three-Piece Suits and Winter Overcoats That the Basement t Store is Selling |J\ , ff£ fe Special at Ld%J . Men who have a keen, inquiring- mind, who do not follow ruts in clothes buying, ® are making the discovery of the Basement Store with great profit to themselves. Here is a clothing institution unlike any . It is founded on value-giving, its motive j force, its very life and soul is value-giving. I It operates on the slimjmest margin of I profits known in the clothing business. Wm jj Its values are so far superior to the aver- Iwlj ji age, that there is scarcely any comparison. H|| | This is a strong statement —but see the clothes. Special at $25 * £ THE Wm. H. BLOCK CO.

War Brides Arrive With Families HLrdV *

Left to right—Z. Saullck, A. Dillinger and F. M. Christnacht with their respective wives and babies.

Despite the fact America is still technically at war with Germany, American soldiers assigned to duty along the Rhine

dustries already at hand, other lndnstrles will follow, is the claim made by the scretarv. Failure of the Federal Reserve Board to extend credit for tb6 storing of foodstuffs is expected to bring down prices In the sale of the crops tfrom the present harvest. CHICAGO, Sept 24.—Ch’cagoanz are dragging the old tin lunch buckets off the pantry shelvee, filling them with sandwiches, cake, pie, apples, etc., direct from the family larder and carrying them to work as a part of a determined campaign that has been launched In an effort to force restaurants to reduce prices. Russell J. Poole, secretary of the high

are marrying German girls and bringing them back to this country. The photo shows three happy war

cost committee of the city council, predicts that the “bring your lunch’’ will force restaurants to lower their prices 26 to 50 per cent. City authorities are planning criminal prosecution of profiteering restaurant keepers. Various restaurant and hotel proprietors have been quizzed closely as to the factors determining the alleged exorbitant prices charged. GREENVILLE. 8. C.. Sept. 24.—Local restaurant proprietors here have announced general reductions In food prices averaging 5e to 10c per item. They contend this is possible because of declines In wholesale prices. FT. WORTH, Texas, Bept. 24.—A gas-

The Basement Store

bricres with their husbands and babies, who arrived In New York on the transport Sherman a few days ago.

o’.ine price war began here today when two of the big refineries and filling station owners reduced the price 2 cents a gallon, while two competitors refused to meet the cut. Some filling stations today are selling gasoline for 30 cents cash and 31 cents credit, while others have maintained the price at 81 cents and 32 cents, respectively. HAS TWENTY LETTERS IN NAME. GREENVILLE, 8. c' Sept. 24.-J. L. Psppageargeakopoulas, a Greek, called upon the United States district clerk of the court to issue him a certificate of naturalization.

25 NIGHT SCHOOLS OPEN HERE OCT. 4 5,000 Are Expected to Enroll for 23 Weeks’ Course. Twenty-five free evening schools for vocational Instruction will be opened la Indianapolis Oct. 4, R. C. Carroll, director of vocational education, announced today. It Is expected that 6,000 pupils will enroll for the term, which lasts twentythree weeks. Registration will be conducted every evening from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, inclusive, at the Emmerich Manual Training High School and at Arsenal Technical Schools. Classes in elementary and high school work for Americans and foreigners will be given. In the technical work preference in enrollments will be given persons already working at the trade selected. The classes will be conducted at the two high schools and at the following grade schools: (White), Nos. 8,9, 12, 18, 25, 39. -41, 43, 49, 51, 52 and 54; (colored), Nos. 17, 23, 24, 26, 42, 63. 64, 64 special and 65. Classes will also be opened at the Foreigners’ House, 617 West Pearl street, and the Slovenian Home Association, 729 North Holmes avenue.

Harding Working on Second Trip Talks MARION, Ohio, Sept. 24.—West Virginia was scheduled to send a large delegation to the Harding front porch today. The Senator was working hard on speeches to be made on his second speaking trip which hrgins with an address at Baltimore Monday night. Contrary to the method pursued by Governor Cox, Harding was writing his speeches In advance here In Marion, weighing every word carefully and revising them freely. His Baltimore speech was expected to deal with trade expansion and finance. He had written a budget speech which may be delivered at Wheeling. Massachusetts Now on Coal Rations Basis BOSTON, Sept. 24. —Massachusetts was places on coal rations yesterday, the result of fuel shortage. Fuel Administrator Hulton ordered dealers not to sell more than three tons of anthracite to any customer until further notice.

5