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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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ration group produced 467,- f. '
luring 1919. The schedule V " ',
esent year calls for 612.000. J ''
it five weeks of the current li '
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