Popular S.cience Monflili/ 



.5(11 



rors, 

 The 

 If a 



clocks, etc., are carefully removeti. 

 car, thus alleri-d, is ilriveii away, 

 suspicious traffic policeman should 



The thieves substitute new hcense plates 

 and a new serial number on the engine 

 to satisfy the suspicious traffic police 



stop the car, the courteous gentlemen 

 who are ridinj; in it will present an identi- 

 fication card to corresjiond with the new 

 license plates. They p(jint to the serial 

 number on the engine. Is it not differ- 

 ent from that of the stolen 

 car? And so, they ride 

 away safely, unless the 

 officer is unusually 

 astute and per- 

 sistent. 



Sometimes 

 your thief 

 drives in ,i 

 motor- t r u I- k 

 alongside an 

 c m p t >• auto- 

 mobile, hitches 

 the two vehi- 

 cles together, 

 and tows the 

 au t omol) i 1 e 

 away as if it 

 were di.sabled. 

 Such obstacles 

 as chain-locks 

 are inconscciuential tritles. Sharp wire- 

 cutters end the usefulness of all small 

 chains. 



Again, if the ignition system of a car 

 is locked, the knights of the road quickly 

 install one of their own temporarily. If 



the gasoline tank is locked, it is a simph' 

 matter to syphon enough gasoline from 

 a beer jjail into the carburetor for a short 

 run into a different locality. 



One band of enterprising automobile 

 thieves eventuall>' captured in Kentucky 

 stole forty-seven Ford cars in New York 

 t'ity within six montlis. They special- 

 ized on doctors' cars, becau.se they 

 realized that when a doctor paid a call 

 he usually lelt his car standing unguarded 

 for a half hour at least, unless he 

 liajipeneil to have a chauffeur or a guest in 

 !iis car, in which case, of course, it was 

 safe from the thieves. 



Many manufacturers of high-priced 

 automobiles stamp in some inconspicu- 

 ous place identification numbers upon a 

 permanent, immovable steel [)art and 

 then paint over the nimibers. When 

 doubt arises as to the ownership of the 

 car, the paint is scraped off and the 

 owner's identity revealed instantly by 

 consulting the sales record of the 

 manufacturer or selling agent. 



A New Gasoline-Motor-Driven 

 Road Roller 



THE old-fashioned steam-roller, with 

 its heat, its smoke and its noise, 

 has at last been supplanted by 

 the roller which is shown 

 the illustration, 

 which may be 

 started at a mo- 

 mcn t's notice 

 and has no fire 

 to kindle, no 

 steam to get 

 up and no coal 

 to carry. 1 1 is 

 tl riven by a 

 u'a.s<jlinemotor. 

 When not act- 

 ually working, 

 the motor is 

 shut off, where- 

 as with the 

 steam type, 

 steam must be 

 kept up. The 

 elimination of the upright steam boiler 

 allows the driver a better view of his 

 work and reduces the weight of the 

 roller, without, however, reducing the 

 pressure, besides insuring a more steady 

 movement of the rollers. 



A gasoline motor has eliminated the 

 upright boiler, the steam and the noise 

 of the street-roller of the older types 



