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Show CAi) STEALING IS ON THEIflCREASE Anyone With Slight Me-chanical Me-chanical Ability Can Start Auto Without Key. Automobile stealing Is business ihat, despite the Over net, goes on at an astonishingly fllst KaU throughout the country, according to the legal department de-partment ot the Chicago Motor club The unlocked car, of course, Is the greatest source of supply. Many car owners think because the Ignition Is turned off that the thief Is foiled, whereas anyone with slight mechanical ability can start a car without a key. The most common method Is to run a wire from the ammeter to the coil, hut there are numerous schemes equally effective. Habit of Locking Car. "Make a habit of locking your car, and following n psychological law, It will be practically impossible to forget to lock it," says the club bulletin. "Lock It at all times, even when you are going to be In view of the car while you leave it for a few minutes, then you will never forget It whon you are going to be nway from it for hours. "Kven cars that are locked are stolen. Some thieves operate In this fashion. They drive a car of some popular make, and In driving along they see another car as like their own as the proverbial two peas in the pod. They stop behind it, or in a corner directly opposite from the car they intend in-tend to steal. Then they go to a telephone tele-phone and call a tow car, giving the description of the car. Perhaps they conveniently forget their own license number, but at any rate they see to It that their own car Is left untouched, while the other one Is picked up. They stroll up to the men on the tow truck and tell them they will ride with them to the garage. It is easy for them to manufacture some reason for towing the car, and once at the garage the unsuspecting proprietor gives the supposed owner the car whenever he demands It. Should the irate owner appear on the scene as his car Is being be-ing towed, the thieves get themselves out of their predicament neatly and quickly by passing the blame on to the stupidity of the garage mechanics in picking up the wrong car. This story Is generally accepted by the real owner. Put Keys In Mail Box. "Automobile thieves have taken advantage ad-vantage of conditions In towns where garages make a practice of delivering cars to boarders at their homes. Many times the owner will instruct the garage ga-rage attendants to put his keys In the mail hoi at a certain time. The thieves make a survey of the situation, situa-tion, and are often able to step into the vestibule a minute or two before the owner comes down to get his car. They get the keys and are away from the scene of the theft in a minute. "Thousands of cars are recovered, but in numerous Instances the owner does not get his property back because the thieves have made such changes in the car that It Is Impossible to identify it. Every motorist should have a secret number placed somewhere some-where on the ear. In case his car Is stolen this number would serve as a means of Identification." |