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Rail Detectives Victors in War on Crime

WHERE are the James boys and the “Bill” Daltons of yesteryear? What has become of the picturesque train robber who, with a gun in each hand and his eyes boring his victims from above a black silk handkerchief, backed away to his pony, Hung the Wells Fargo pouch of gold across his saddle bow, cut loose with a parting volley of bullets, and galloped off across the prairie trails to lead pursuing posses through nights of hard and fruitless riding? Read the rest of this entry »

Periscope Reveals the Interior of a Locked Bank Vault

THE “Tresoroskop,” a periscope-like device that has just been perfected in Germany is shown in demonstration above. It is especially designed for use in safe deposit vaults, and installed therein will be invisible to occupants of the vaults. It will also be useful to watchmen outside of the walls, who can look through it from the outside and inspect the vault without entering or unlocking the doors.

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Science Outwits Industrial Spies

Priceless Secrets in Steel, Dye, and Chemical Plants of Germany Guarded from Sneak Thieves

AN ELABORATE system of industrial spies, working with almost wartime efficiency, was discovered recently in Germany. In the great steel, dye, and chemical plants of that country, this organized band of informers is attempting to ferret out the closely-guarded trade secrets which give an advantage over competitors. Read the rest of this entry »

Teletypewriters and Airplane Cops Trail Eastern Crooks

EASTERN criminals on the “lam” must move faster than ever today if they want to make good their escape for they are being trailed by teletypewriters and airplane police. The Pennsylvania State Police have been provided with tele- typewriters distributed in five zones throughout the state. Alarms and descriptions of crooks as written on the typewriter in the sending office are received throughout the state on electric typewriters just as fast as the sender can write. And in Bergen county, New Jersey, Peter J. Siccardi, chief of the traffic squad, has organized a squad of five flying police officers.

Rum Runners Drag Cargo Under River

WHEN SLED WITH LOAD OF LIQUOR ARRIVES IN POSITION UNDERNEATH WHARF, DIVER DESCENDS AND FASTENS HOISTING CABLE TO CARGO. THE CONTENTS ARE THEN HAULED THROUGH A TRAPDOOR OPENING IN FLOOR OF WAREHOUSE

HAND WINCH SECRETED IN SHED ON CANADIAN SIDE OF RIVER PAYS OUT CABLE. LOADED SLED IS DRAWN OVER BED OF RIVER BY HIDDEN WINCH LOCATED IN WAREHOUSE ON THE DETROIT SIDE OF RIVER AND RUM IS THUS TRANSFERRED UNSEEN.

This would make for some pretty awesome car chases.

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The Air Police Patrol

By HUGO GERNSBACK

THE automobile, as a quick get-away instrument in crime, has assumed vast proportions during the past decade. Notorious gangsters and their henchmen are always using high-powered automobiles and, unfortunately, they are often able to outwit local police and state troopers after the crime has been engineered. Read the rest of this entry »

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Trapping the HARBOR Pirates

by ALFRED ALBELLI

The swaggering buccaneer of the Spanish Main, who defiantly floated the Jolly Roger from his masthead as he preyed upon the high seas, has passed forever. The modern pirate uses up to date methods and must be combated with the latest weapons.

IF YOU should sit of an evening in the eerie cabin of Captain Henry Malley’s ship, pride of the New York Police Department’s harbor flotilla, he would spin yarns of derring-do for you which would make your hair stand perpendicular. The subject would be harbor pirates.
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Ah yes, “vari-scenting of mucilage”. Oldest trick in the book.

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Tricks that Trap Mail Thieves

Postal inspectors “never lose their man,” because they use tricks like the vari-scenting of mucilage to trail certain thieves and keep everlastingly on the trail with a variety of methods of detection.

By C. MORAN

A SERIES of thefts of the contents of registered mail was reported to the Chief of Post Office Inspectors at Washington. An inspector assigned to the case limited the area of pilferage to half a dozen post offices. He arranged secretly to have the mucilage at the different stations given faint traces of various scents—lilac, violet, lily of the valley, mignonette, rose, and heliotrope. The next time a theft was reported the inspector smelled of the resealed flap and the thief was speedily apprehended.
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California Introduces Candid Camera “Cops”

Adopting the slogan “Pictures Don’t Lie,” the Police Department of Beverly Hills, Calif., has equipped its motorcycle and radio car officers with candid cameras, as shown at right. It is pointed out that the policemen will collect pictorial records of traffic violations to refresh the memories of careless drivers when they are hailed into court. The cameras will also be used by the officers to take pictures at the scene of a crime for use with court testimony.

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Uncle Sam’s Pirate PATROL

Fights every sort of danger from rum runners to derelict ships menacing navigation.

Thrilling adventures in fighting modern sea pirates; blowing up icebergs and derelicts; rescuing passengers and crews from wrecked vessels; pack the lives of daring United States coast guardsmen who are constantly on duty at dangerous points.

By JAMES NEVIN MILLER

“STICK ‘em up!”

Eight men, members of a Coast Guard patrol boat crew, were forced to obey this terse order on an afternoon not so long ago. Their situation was desperate. Read the rest of this entry »

Radio-Telephone Aids Police

MOTOR PATROLMEN, through the latest development in police communication, perfected by Bell Telephone laboratories, can now carry on a two-way conversation with headquarters without leaving their cars. The radio car transmitter weighs but 20 pounds, has a power of 5 watts, and is crystal controlled. The sound of the patrolman’s voice automatically puts the transmitter on the air.

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Young Detective Smashes Police Ring

MANY an officer saw stocky, youthful Wallace Jamie about the St. Paul police station the late winter and early spring of 1935 and laughed up their sleeves at his activities.

By midsummer that year, however, they wished sincerely in their hearts they never had heard of him.
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