CAR THIEVES IN AMERICA

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3149, 30 July 1917, Page 6

CAR THIEVES IN AMERICA

A THRILLING TRAGEDY. From bis intimate knowledgo of tho motor business in New Zealand, it is interesting to hear Mr. Godfrey Magnus on some aspects of motor traffic in tho chief American centres. One of tho first features that caught his attention was tho difference in the methods of controlling the. enormously heavy motor traffic that filled the streets of every big centre like a flood. In Chicago the traffic was controlled by a fine body of mounted police, who were armed with full authority to regulate "safe" and "unsafe" rates of speed. Their authority included revolvers, which they did rot hesitate to use when there was sufficient provocation. In the Chicago streets there were safety zones for pedestrians, at tlio tramway stopping places, and in some places a white line was drawn for some distance up the middlo of the street from the stopping place, across which line no motor was allowed to pass. In other cities the safety zones took the form of what were known as "Dutch cheeses." These were big, round, iron platforms, raised eighteen inches or a couple of feet above the level of the street, which cars had perforce to steer clear of. In Chicago at street intersections the police controlled the signs—"Go" and "Stop,"— which worked on a swivel, so that tho traffic one way could be stopped whilst it proceeded in the .other. When tho word "Go" became visible, everyone started as though in a race, owiug to the pressure of traffic behind and tho keen desire, after a wait, to push on. If anyone got in the way and was knocked over, that was his fault. He should not havo been there when tho sign swung. In Detroit police on fast motor-cycles had control of the motor traffic, and if a driver offended the laws and would not pull up the cyclist was after him like a redshank, and ranged quickly alongside of the offonder to argue the point.

"When I wns there," said Mr. Magnus, "a peculiar tragedy occurred, which throws a spot-light on one phase of American life. A car wns seen tearing along at quite an unsafe rate of speed. A cyclist officer gave the signal to tho driver to pull up, but no notice was taken of it. At that the officer speeded up, and quickly drew alongside tho fugitive car. Then with a sudden twist tho driver of tho car swerved into the motorcycle, and unseated the officer with considerable violence. Fortunately he was not stunned. As he picked himself up lie drew his revolver and fired three shots after the receding car. About half a mile further on the car was found piled up against a telegraph pole, with the driver still in it, but quite dead. He had been shot through the back—fatally. It was afterwards found that the car had been stolen, and the driver was a notorious car thief!" Speaking of the theft of cars, Mr. Magnus says it is one of the most popular'•forms of crime in America, because it palpitates with the spirit of adventure and there is good monev in it, if the "get away" is successful. This is made comparatively easy because of the difficulties that people have in parking their cars in the streets. These places were plentiful in all conscience, but the cars were so numerous that one had sometimes to "park" one's car a quarter of a mile from the place one wished to visit. That gave the watchful thief a good chance. "On an average ten cars are stolen every day in Chicago, and in one afternoon when I was there eight cars were filched from Woodward Avenue, Detroit!"