Show VIGILANTES WAR ON RURAL CRIME Loss From Farm F Thefts Is Greater Than From Bank Robberies a and in Illinois Organize Vigilante Corps By WILLIAM C. C UTLEY IO I-IO is Public Enemy No 1 The kidnaper The gang I WHO W killer The bank robber The racketeer I Perhaps At least it is these desperadoes whose II spectacular exploits make the big headlines Their ruthless and merciless work often conducted right Tight out in th the open is not in infrequently infrequently infrequently in- in I frequently touched up with a bit of showmanship which makes them the type of characters which fire the public imagination The urge urgency cy for exercising every method within human means for apprehending these criminals is not to be minimized But the very publicity ascending sometimes to outright ballyhoo In Inthe inthe the enthusiasms of ot the more rigorous vigorous rig vig orous press which attends their comings and goings unfortunately overshadows another type of ot public public pub pub- lic lle enemy who works quietly and andIn andIn In fn most cases Inconspicuously but whose evil deeds are often of more serious consequence than those of his Ills more spectacular brother In crime The Tine citizen who lives In rural areas or on the farms often entertains entertains entertains enter enter- this Rural Public Enemy No 1 1 In his own back yard ard without knowing It For this Is the common common common com com- mon chicken thief He and the others others others oth oth- ers of his kind lelnd who steal horses cattle and farm produce and machinery machinery machinery ma ma- chinery are collectively far more Important to the farmer than all of ot the bank robbers In creation Importance Is Unrealized Chicken stealing Is usually regarded regarded regarded re re- re- re as a low t type pe of crime perpetrated perpetrated perpetrated per per- on only by uy the small fry the i r xh a h 4 This new method method- of identification Is applied to the ear of livestock or under the web of the wing of poul pour tr try It facilitates facilitate Identification of rr- rr 4 stolen stole property and thus improves chances chance of convicting criminals hungry hobo or the tine wayward min min- joke jol e darke darkey Often when the thief Is caught he lie is sent on his wa way with a kick In the pants or is simply given a good scare It is not unusual to find the farmer he has attempted to burglarize protecting him from prosecution which might net him six months mouths on a state penal farm Carm a sentence that might be regarded regarded re rc- re- re I as a little stiff for tor just stealing a chicken en or two Stiff StiD sentence The monetary monetary- loss to farmers last year in one state alone Illinois Illinois from from chicken stealing and kindred rural TUral crimes was nas more than the loss of oj the thc entire nation from bank robberies and according to toRoss toRoss toRoss Ross C. C Saunders Sounders rural crime prevention tion inspector for the thc state agriculture department From the farms of the state sas says Saunders there were stolen chickens head o of f cattle callie and uncounted tools and im inn- l Other states have been subjected to enormous losses from what seems on the surface to be petty thievery A survey conducted in Indiana by bya a a. a farm tarm magazine revealed rc that lat In a single year jear there were head of ot poultry stolen 2322 ho hogs s head of or other livestock gallons gallons gallons gal gal- lons of ot gasoline bushels of grain STain There were thefts of tools s 4 4 Y rr Ross C C. C Saunders leader in Illinois Illinois' illinois illinois' Illi illi- nois' nois model rural crime prevention campaign and Implements thefts of ot clothing clothing cloth cloth- ing 7 thefts of goods and 2253 miscellaneous thefts from farms In Illinois chicken thefts for tor ten years during which some sort sort of check has hns been maintained l have averaged about a million head bend of chickens annually and knead head of ot livestock The situation which reached a climax when a young man manof manof of Will county was brutally murdered murdered murdered mur mur- dered while trying to protect his employer against loss at tho the hands of thieves thieves- called for action Mass Milia Mc Meeting ting Starts It Action that was taken In this state has hus proved so successful that now Illinois Illinois' methods are serving ser as a amodel amodel amodel model for tor the combat n against rural V crime in other states Inspector Sa Saunders working under Walter L L. L McLaughlin state director of agrIculture agriculture agriculture agri agrI- culture and in close operation co with press and radio has served as the focal head head- for the tIle campaign Already It Is bearing fruit for while the decrease In crime throughout through through- out the nation generally last year was 13 per cent the decrease in Illinois was 40 per per cent Especially In the last six months has hus the fight against rural ll crime to be a victorious one for justice It began in Joliet Will Viii county with witha a lJ mass man meeting in thich more than I 1000 farmers gathered following the murder of oj youthful John lohn who 1110 went to investigate a suspicious car in tine the neighborhood of oj h his cm enn- plovers plover's farm and was teas shot slot in cold blood Eugene the negro negro who killed hint him escaped but was found later in Tennessee shot to death by a bullet from a 22 Because Will county was the first openly to declare war on rural crime the results of Its meeting and organization were watched with I Interest by b the entire Middle West I The Tine farmers of qt the county themselves themselves themselves them them- I selves were In a fever heat of indignation in In- I a against the three or four I complaints of theft which had been made to authorities every night From evidence uncovered at this meeting and at nt meetings In other parts of the tine state it became apparent apparent apparent ent that rural thievery was not the work of ot Ind Individuals but of ot gangs Often these gangs were led by seasoned seasoned seasoned sea sea- criminals who had been driven driven driven en from the cities clUes by the efficient campaign against crime there These leaders hired men to make makes s systematic small thefts the combined combined combined com com- total of ot all nil of ot them was enough to stamp the tine new racket as Important Cattle Rustling Return Returns Even cattle rustling became big business to the gangs although It was not to be sure the cattle rustling of ot the tine old West In these days Jass of smooth concrete highways s 's sand and moving fast-moving trucks It is possible possible possible ble to steal a n few head bead of ot cattle load lond them onto a n truck and move them across a state In a single nl night ht Often the gangs worked In relays s 's one truck spiriting away the stolen animals and another waiting for the loa load to be transferred to it at the state line Sometimes the gangs gang's hideout was or miles away from the area where most of their thievery was wa perpetrated Farmers slow to awaken to to- th the se seriousness of ot the disappearance of at their livestock and chickens a afew afew afew few bead head at nt a time were often entirely entirely entirely en en- unaware that their nel neighbors neighbors neigh neigh- h- h bors were experiencing similar losses Small losses were seldom reported reported re re- re- re ported farmers In some cases undoubtedly un un- undoubtedly I thought themselves fully capable of ot coping with a common chicken thief Where It was actually actual actual- ly discovered that the thefts were the work of ot gangs or of i the tho more desperate type of criminal farm families hesitated to report thefts for tor fear the burglars would return and set their houses or farm build buildings buildings build build- ings on fire tire The answer seems now to be that in m union on there is strength Thirty days after the he Will frill county farmers met and ami organized Sheriff preen Breen was able to report that thievery had stopped How did these farmers effect this efficient up clean-up so swiftly Eye Eyes Opened Ears Peeled Definite Instructions are given glen all farmers in the area Farmers Farmer'S and their families are arc trained to be on the lookout for suspicious automobiles automobiles automo automo- i biles and and suspicious-looking suspicious stran strangers strang strang- ers and situations When a n theft Is reported the farmers Immediately report tinny any U actions or persons of n suspicious nature that they the may have observed at or near tine the time of the theft More often than not the line Information obtained leads lends to toa toa toa a solution of the crime How this works may be shown by a few tew examples Recently n a man was convicted cOlI of stealing cattle-stealing In Iowa n lIe ITe hind had h brim been n transporting the cattle through Illinois Illi nois to his farm near South Bend Ind lad Two women saw his truck atan at nt an oil station and the furtive manner manner manner man man- ner of ot its occupants aroused sus sus- The women copied the name and address from the side of ot the w i JI 7 Eugene chicken thief who slew Joliet Jollet III youth and was later slain himself In Tennessee truck The result was an arrest followed by uy conviction and the recovery recovery recovery re re- re- re covery of the cattle by the owner A A I farmer near Chicago saw a car parked along the tine open highway for forno forno no apparent reason rea on lie Ile became suspicious suspicious suspicious sus sus- took down dorm the license number numb number num num- b ber r and reported it The result was the arrest of oj 28 21 chicken thieves who had lied operated as a gang and had fwd stolen thousands of head of oj poultry in northern north north- ern Illinois In another case a suspicious ap man went to an oil station to buy gasoline at two o'clock on a cold cold cold- winter morning His TIis actions and general conversation didn't quite ring true They were reported and Sheriff Clarence Roth of ot Champaign Champaign Cham Cham- county caught several cattle and hog thieves as a result Other Methods Method Help Cases Just like these can be rattled rattled rattled rat rat- off by the hundreds Cooperation opera Co tion by all the farmers a n really simple thing to accomplish In areas where losses have been heavy beavy Is about all aU that is needed It has been shown that the gangs p pull U up stakes when the farmers unite against them There are arc other methods which can be of ot great help belp A large number number num num- ber of ot hen houses bouses are now being equipped with burglar alarms which have haye proved effective But even more important Is the Institution In each state of uniform registration of ot poultry and livestock If it were required that some kind of Identification mark be put on the web of the wing of poultry and on the ear or some part of the tine body of animals that would be a protection It is all too frequent an that suspected criminals when their cases come to trial are of necessity acquitted because the complaining farmer has no way ivay of positively identifying identifying iden iden- his poultry or his live lile stock This branding can make such meT identification identification iden iden- possible A method has been developed in Illinois which seems to fill the bill billand billand and which will probably be adopted soon by the farmers of other states The mark Is quickly applied with a simple tool and the application Is 7 I i xoe L AU 41 A AJohn John whose murder at the hands hands' of a rural thief stirred Illinois farmers to action far more humane than the time Old branding with n a hot Iron and Is In effect somewhat similar to tattoo lug ing Branding of course would also remove the packing companies which buy the farmers farmers' product from embarrassing positions in which they sometimes find them them- selves They occasionally and quite Innocently buy stolen poultry or livestock from thieves without knowing l it and thus help foster rural crime The law makes It mandatory man man- mandatory for tor the bu buyers els of ot stolen goods to reimburse the losers upon proof that the tine property was stolen We Western lern Newspaper No Union |