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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1920)
:'. ' -I t 7 .1 SECTION SIX Pages 1 to 12' Automobiles, Road Trips and Northwest Highway News VOL. xxxix. PORTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 21, 1920 NO. 12 MANY AUTO THEFTS LIKELY- THIS Bad Season Predicted by Un derwriters' Investigator. PUTTING SOME OF THE HIGH SPOTS ABOUT PORTLAND IN A LATEST MODEL 1920 PEERLESS EIGJiT PROBLEM UP TO PUBLIC B. W. McCay Says Rigid Laws, Rigid r.nforceinciit, Co-operation of Authorities Are Needed. BY L. H. GREGORY. Automobile thefts are on the in crease, despite all efforts to curb them. There are men who make a business of stealing cars, driving them 'into another state and there selling them. More automobile thefts will occur on the Pacific coast, in cluding Portland, this coming summer than in any previous sammer period. These are a few of the high spots from an interview with B. W. McCay, chief investigator for the theft bu reau of the Tacifio coast auto under writers' conference, who was in Port land last week. Joe Keller, former captain in the Portland police depart ment, is manager of the TorOand of fice of the theft bureau. Hut while the automobile-theft sit- ; uation is extremely serious and is get ting worse instead of better. Mr. Me- ' Cay sees certain rays of light. of them is the efficient co-operation ! he is getting from motor vehicle de partments, especially in California and Oregon, in the way of checking up stolen cars through records in the departments. He says the California department norf has a very complete system of automobile records and he has high praise for the manner in which the Oregon motor vehicle de partment keep its records. Oregon Department Praised. "Just to illustrate how helpful the motor vehicle departments ran be in aiding us to run down and recover stolen cars, let me cite three cases that happened this week while 1 was in Oregon." said ,Jlr. McCay. "I brought with me the records on two cars that h.-l been stolen in Califor nia and which our bureau had reason to believe had been driven into Ore gon and sold here. "At the motor-vehicle bureau of the secretary of 'State's office in Salem Wednesday brief examination of their well-kept records quickly re vealed the missing cars. Just as we had suspected, they had been driven into the state and sold here to inno cent purchasers. The fact that their motor numbers were registered in collection with the issuance of Oregon license enabled us to trace them at once. "Of course this wouldn't haw been possible if the motor vehicle depart ment did not keep its records in such ktmpe that numbers of this sort could bu found at once. But it has not only an alphabetical list of cars by makes. 11:1 alphabetical list by owners and a llt by license numbers, but also a r.umtrical list in order of motor ic.i.. iters. That made It very easy to fl-nl the numbers we sought. The Oregon motor vehicle department is very efficiently conducted, and 1 can r : ay too much for the condition of "... . ecords. Oregon Car Recovered. "T'-.ose are two instances. The third h:' ; eneel almost at the same time. :! . will result in recovery of a stolen t.r.'on car. I received a 'telegram fro. 11 the California motor vehicle de p .a:cnt at Sacramento that the num i). of this car had turned up when apiiiication was made for a California license number. The car, a Ford, had been stolen from the JSurlington mills of Portland. It is now at Yreka. and steps have already been taken to bring it back to Portland. "This just shows how much can be done through co-operation of state motor vehicle departments in tracing stolen cars. California has the most i complete system in this regard of any state. In addition to its motor ve bicle department. California has a fitate bureau of identification and in vestigation, with which a description of every article of stolen property re ported to the police departments and insurance companies is listed. It does not confine its work to automobiles, but it Is doing a remarkable work in making possible the recovery of stolen automobiles. This bureau Is In charge of Mr. Morrill, who has devised a wonderful system of keeping records. So com plete is his check that he has the numbers of all stolen cars within a very short time of the report on them, and immediately takes steps for their recovery. Not All ao Well Organixed. "The motor vehicle department Is at once notified, and a green card with the motor number placed in nu merical order in Its motor number record. When an application for license is made for this car, the fact that it is a stolen vehicle is instantly detected. "But the efforts of his bureau are not confined to California. He sends out descriptions and stolen car num bers to Oregon and other states. The Oregon department Is now placing colored cards in its numerical index to indicate stolen cars. "One big problem that confronts us, however, is the fact that very few motor vehicle departments are so well organized as in California and Ore gon. In most of the eastern and mid dle western states no records of motor numbers are kept.' or if kept are not in numerical order, making it next to impossible to locate a stolen car by number when application is made for a state license. We cannot make reat progress until every state has reformed its methods in this rer spect. There must be co-operation of the closest kind between the various state motor vehicle departments be fore even a beginning can be made toward curbing this business of steal ing automobiles. "The argument may be made that thieves alter automobile motor num bers. They do in some cases. i . , - : ; 1 ft JhViJv:T 11 - ftsfegfes- Hi ' : - !a5fm MLx.l-;r ."Jr fejpfeaTOs CCX) ii(3iij I III wfcwffe1 1 c AUTO PRICES Lie Another General Rise Said to Be Due About May 1. I'm FREIGHT CONDITION IS BAD Fhen With Car Production Sear ing: Normal Afrnln, Maker Can't (Jot Any Freight "nr. DETROIT. Mich.. March 20. In creases of 150 to 1100 In the prices of all Kord models recently arc the fore runners of a general advance In prac tically all makes of Michigan automo biles, in the opinion of the best-posted men in the Industry. Although mor.t makers have been boosting prices with considerable regularity during the past year, they have found pro duction costs constantly rising and a demand for their cars that cannot be fulfilled this season.. From an authoritative source comes the belief that the next advance which will fix prices for the summer Is due to take effect before May 1. Detroit auto makers have been harassed over the production problem ever since the declaration of peace It is a bugaboo in the majority of factories. Liealers all over the coun try and abroad are crying for cars and the makers have long lists of un filled orders on their books. Town Clattered I P W Ilk ,4 ars. Owing to the freight-car shortage thousands of machines are parked In all avallablo places throughout the city. Hundreds of automobiles par tially protected with can vim coverings are still waiting shipment or drlva away at Michigan slate fair grounds. This sccumulal Ion continues to grow, despite the fact that hundreds of ve hicles are being driven over the al most Impassable snow-covered roads from 1 'droit, pontine, til tit, 1. aiming. Alma and other points. After three years of curtailed pro duction, most of the plants are begin ning to reach the normal output stage. The Kord company alone is turning out 3175 cars each day. Pro duction at the Umlgn plant Is better than B S 0 dully, Willi the Hudson, 1 sex, Paige, Maxwell, Chalmers, lluu k and all others exerting herculean ef forts to attain tentative schedules j and to meet at least In part the d- The result of these conditions nec essarily will be. felt by the consumer. Kven with Improved freight-car serv ice and eliminating expenses, drive aways, the price must go tip, the manufacturers say. Prices of all ma terials entering Into the manufacturo of the autoniohtlc continue to mount. Increased production schedules being Impossible in some of tho snmlicr 'plants, tho owners of these deem sn increase In prices mandatory. o lluleka In lrltra. The snow-bound Iniuihll.-inlN of southern Michluun anil Ohio were treated to a pleasing kIkIiI an well as a new rerord-hri-akinu fe.-it w hen 60(1 Hulck inolnr cms plowed their way through the heavy drifted roads from Flint. This single day drlveawny of llulek cars was a new achievement In fac tory deliveries. I The mammoth fleet successfully ac complished the task of breaking the first trails into Detroit and mniliern Ohio towns and restoring truffle to its original condition. This 6(MI-car driveaway will ptob ably establish a national record for all manufacturers. It Is announced that C. T. Silver, prominent New York motor-car dis tributor and one of tho Industry's foremost authorities In motor-cnr design and conch work. In developing a new car. The rar. It Is said, in not the result of rushing Into production due to the abnormal demand for au tomobiles. It is stated that the de signing and development work started three or four years ago. Home of the Industry's leading enuineers have been retained by Silver to assist In the work. "liver to Make an Ano. j: ': i- While Portland isn't exactly a city of hills, there are plenty of eminences around town for any person who likes hill-climbing; for a change. Lee J. K earns, sales manager for the D. C Warren Motor Car company, hit a few of these "high spots" last Sunday in a new' Peerless Eight. . Anyone who would like a little sightly tour ing without leaving Portland on a rainy day when it's too wet to go touring in the country, can find plenty of variety and scenery by hitting the same high places. The pictures show: Above, left The Peerless on, West over Terrace, and right, in Mount Tabor Park. Center, left Another view in Mount Tabor park and its big fir trees; and right, on King's Heights. Below, left On Arlington Heights, and right, at Laurelhurst park, which isn't exactly a high spot in the way of elevation, but is on the route between high spoU. "The factories put their motor num-1 that must ultimately solve the auto- records required. Such ordinances bern and other Identifying marks In . mobile theft problem. There has been will be enforced when public demand 85 per cent of automobile thefts the numbers are not altered. And where they are altered, an efficient record system fvould make detection in many cases almost as, certain. Factory Reform Needed. , Here, again. Is a big need for re form. "And this reform must start from the bottom, at the automobile factories. It Is a very curious fact that the automobile factories, which should be more Interested than any one, are not yet co-operating- In the anti-theft campaign. , i all kinds of places, so that only an expert knows where to look for them. The result is that many motorists, in reeisterine their cars, send in the first numbers they see, which may be onlv the manufacturers' calendar numbers. Just for example, in a few minutes' Inspection of Ford car num bers on file with the Oregon motor vehicle department, I picked "out a couple of dozen numbers up in the 4,(100.000 and 5,000,000. There are no Ford motor numbers over about 2, K50.000 as yet. So these numbers don't exist. Where the owners get them, I don't know. They are utterly useless as records. But the fact re mains that the factories must stand ardize on locations of their numbers, and on other identification marks so that an absolute check may be kept of every car. , "Few persons realize how really serious the motor theft Situation is. Let me cite a few figures. In Los Angeles automobiles stolen in 1916 were worth $213,000 more than all other property stolen that year put together. In 1917, automobiles stolen were worth $415,000 more than all other stolen property, and In 1918, J4S6.000 ore. Yet only two men were detailed by the Los Angeles po lice department to motor car thefts! But In i The w'hole detective department was working on thefts of other kinds of property. , . "In Portland I find tha Chief Jenkins is alivo to the situation, though decidedly handicapped by lack of men, and that he has some con structive ideas for the organization very Boon of a thoroughly efficient. well equipped automobile theft de partment. At present only three men are on this detail here, but his plana will change this If be can carry them out. "Alter ail. It is the public Itself too much of a tendency, due no doubt to the fact that it was considered a great Joke In early days of the au toombile Industry when a man's car was stolen to look lightly at automo bile thefts. Judges are lenient. A man can steal a shirt or a few dollars, and be severely punished. He steals an automobile worth hundreds or thou sands of dollars and .is rebuked and turned loose, or perhaps sentenced lightly and paroled. Naturally, he goes out and repeats. Many men are making the theft of automobiles a business. - - "Needless to say, every automo bile parked anywhere in the streets should be locked. Any good lock is a preventive of theft. Of course, an automobile thief of the professional type can beat any lock if he sets out to do-it, but he would a hundred times rather avoid the risk and take the car that isn't locked. He is too likely to be caught when he tackles the locked car. And very few good locks are ever-picked. "When a man In. my position urges that all automobiles should have locks,, somebody is likely to rise up and yy that propaganda is being put on foot in behalf of the lock manu facturers. But I will take that risk, for it is self-evident to any thinking person that a car that Is locked is far safer from being stolen than one left unlocked so that any person can drive it away. The. insurance com panies have no interest in any spe cial make of lock, or In any lock man ufacturer. But they do want to pre vent thefts. "Another very necessary step In the campaign to curb automobile thefts is enforcement of local, ordinances such as the one In Portland requiring all dealers In second-hand , cars to, re port immediately they acquire, such a car, its motor number and any other , requires their enforcement. And by making It , impossible for the thief to dispose of the car locally, such en forcement will prevent a great many thefts." Mr. McCay says that Los Angeles has more automobile thefts than any other Pacific coast- city. Seattle comes next, then San Francisco, then Portland and finally Oakland, of the big cities, with the best record of them all in .low number of thefts and high percentage of recoveries. As Bernie McCay, Mr. McCay will be remembered by a host of baseball followers in Portland and other Pa cific coast cilies. - He pitched for Se attle In the old outlaw Pacific coast league days, and later for several years captained and played infield with Oakland. And he was some ballplayer In his day. TO COXXECT WITH HIGHWAY Progressive Spirit Shown bjr Wood burn Property Owners. WOODBURN, Or.,' March 20. "(Spe cial.) Woodburn residents are pre paring to. make extensive street -improvements this year. A large ma jority of the Hayes-street property holders have petitioned the city coun cil for paving that thoroughfare and a majority of the Lincoln-street prop erty owners will soon be obtained on a petition to pave that highway. . .This will-connect the business por tion of the town with the Pacific highway and displays a progressive spirit upon the part of the owners of property on Lincoln street, which is about a mile from the main street to the Pacific highway. PEERLESS SETS A RECORD! 17 MIXTJTES OFF SAX FRAXCIS-CO-LOS ANGELES TIME. Always keep your car under perfect control.- Xew Mark of 9 Hours 20 Minutes Set for Former Record Made by Cadillac in 1916. The Los Angeles-San Franisco road record of 9 hours and .37 minutes, made by a Cadillac in 1916, was bro ken a couple of weeks ago when a Peerless Eight made the distance in 9. hours and 20 monutes. : x " The car, which was a stock model in every particular, except that the windshield had been removed, carry ing four passengers, left San Fran cisco at 9:56 P. M. and arrived at Los Angeles the following morning at 7:16 o'clock. It was officially checked at the starting and finishing points by the Western Union. The new record was established under adverse conditions. The night .was cold, chilling the oc cupants of the car, and. heavy banks of fog on the ridge route made it im possible for the driver to see far ahead. The low temperature also had its effect on the motor as the car swept southward. - The drivers who piloted the Peer less were Charles Basle and Horace S. Hills. The other occupants were S. G. Buckner andA. Terry, the latter being the son of the vice-president of the Peerless Motor Car com pany of Cleveland. -All were so stiff ened by the coid that It was neces sary to help them from their seats at the finish.' ' " . i The total mileage for the run was 23.2 miles. The car was checked out from the Western Union office in Market street. San Francisco, and after traversing the distance to th waterfront, crossed the bay to Oak land by regular ferry. Embarking on the ferry, crossing the bay and disembarking occupied 40 minutes. The route followed was by way of Tracy, Manteca and the inland road. Three control stations were estab lished along the road to furnish gaso line. oil. water and hot coffee for the car's crew. . In spite of the heavy fog that hung upon the ridge route, the 126 miles between Bakersfield and Los. Ange les were reeled off In 2 hours and 44 minutes. The fog banks were first encountered at Lebec. The "grapevine." the stretch of "S" curves leading from the Bakersfield road to the top of the Tejon pass, was in poor shape because of paving op erations, and made it necessary for the car to proceed with caution. The fast stage line - automobiles between Los Angeles and Bakersfield make the distance In 5 hours 35 minutes. actual running time, as compared to the 2 hours 44 minutes by the speed ing Peerless. , When the former record between Los Angeles and San Francisco was established in 1916, the run was made from Los Angeles, with the Plaza as the starting point.- The Peerless fin ished at Los Angeles in front of the Western Uion office In Spring street, considerably further down town. The run northward also is considered far more favorable for record making, because the long grade from the top of the Tejon and half way to Bakers field aids a car In gaining great head way. Running southward the Peer less ascended this grade. W. C. GARBE, IXC, OPEXIXG SEATTLE BRANCH. -Don't neglect your lamp, connec tions. It is very easy when washing a car to disconnect one of the wires. Master Truck to Be Handled There From Temporary Quarters With P. E. Sands. W. C. Garbe, president, and E. A. Leeston-Smith, manager 'of the truck department of W. C. Garbe, Inc., for merly . the Oregon Motor Car com pany, were In Seattle last week, at tending the Seattle automobll show and arranging for tne opening of a Seattle branch of the company. - The branch in Seattle will handle Master trucks exclusively, W. C. Garbe. Inc., being northwest distrib utor for this line.. A new manager i will shortly be announced for the Seattle branch. I For the present this branch is ocfu- i pylng temporary quarters with P. E. i Sands, one of the large automobile I and truck dealers of Seattle. Mr. Garbe is making arrangements, how ever, tor erection or a nuiiding In a j prominent location on Seattle s auto mobile row in which to house the branch. .. Delecting Fan Wind. Two pieces of thin metal fastened under the hood In such a manner that the wind from the fan will be d effect ed more directly against the cylin ders and away from the Intake mani fold will increase the cooling function and also protect the Ingoing gasoline mixture. - i A. t . From all reports, the car when an nounced will be a finished product ready for production and the market. No details have been disclosed, but Silver's long association with popular-priced Jobs makes It seem only natural that the product bearing his own name will be in the same priced class. Already enjoying a fixed place In the sutomobllo Industry, tjirough Its motor trucks, which have been on tlit market several weeks, the Wlnthnr Motor Car eomjninv, Kenosha, Wis., announces that it wl 11 soon be In pro duction with a six-cylinder passengar car. In launching out In the passenger car world the Windier company has the advantage over absolutely new comers In the field by already havlna a large distributing force and being established throughout the United States and In foreign fields. The des tinies of the new six are intrusted to the newly formed passenger car di vision of the company of which E. U. Janes, who until recently covered the southern states for the Kissel com pany, is sales manager. 3I7A Fords a liny. While daily production t the Ford Motor compnny plant Is Increasing rapidly, the output has not yet reached the record-breaking total es tablished during the pre-war days. It has been planned to produce 1,000, 000 cars and trucks during the fiscal year, which ends August 31. The schedule for March calls for production of 8176 cars each day, but It is hoped to Increase this figure during April. This record, thnuirh It falls about 4L'B cars shy of the high- K est dally output 3.100 ears Is a re- , markable achievement In view of the I almost Insurmountable obstacle that 'had to be overcome within th p.nt I year. Inability to secure tires ! the lone remaining problem thnt the com pany faces. One-third of the required number of tires are lielng received at this time, it Is said. Combined units of the General Mo. tors corporation group produced 467, 000 cars d for the pre In the first year the total output or passenger cars, motor trucks and tractors was approximately 49.000. This Is more than double the output for the same period In 1919, when a total of 21,009 was produced. . I r- - i r a I c I r- ' I 9 , r ration group produced 467,- f. ' luring 1919. The schedule V " ', esent year calls for 612.000. J '' it five weeks of the current li ' t i r1 t - .