Evening star., 1912-04-05
BILL FOR BOOK RETURN
APPROVED BY SENATORS
Penalty for Failure to Meet
Library Ruies-0. K.
Car Lines.

The Senate District committee today
approved the bill providing a penalty for
the failure to return books to the Pub
lie Library and the bill authorizing an
extension of the lines of the Washington
Railway and Electric Company along 14th
and 18th streets northeast,,t to connect the
H street, c and D streets and East
Capitol street lines and the passage of
both measures by the Senate will be rec
commended by the committee.
The bill fixing penalty for the
omission to return library property is
recommended by the trustees of the
Public Library and by the District
Commissioners. The administration of
the library has developed an increas-
ing need for a law by which the re-
turn of books issued by the public or
by incorporated libraries in the Dis
trict may be enforced by a suitable
penalty. In a large number of cases,
the Commissioners told the Senate
committee, the efforts of the library
officials to obtain the return Of books
loaned to readers are impotent.
Made More Stringent.
The committee. however, made the
proposed law more stringent than 1t
was framed by striking out the word
"wilIfully" in the description of the
offense. Complaint has been made
against the word knowingly" in the
prohibition against the sale of liquor
to minors and the word has been said
to make the law ineffective The COM
mittee members did not want the same
situation to arise in connection with
the prohibition against keeping books
borrowed from the Public Library or
any incorporated library in the District.
AS amended and approved by the COM
mittee. the bill provides:
THAT whoever detains any book, news
paper, magazine, pamphlet, manuscript
custody or control of the Library of Con-
gress or any public or incorporated libra
ry in the District of Columbia for thirty
days after notice III writing to return the
same. such notice to contain a copy of
this section and to be given after the ex-
piration of the time which, by the rules
Of such library. such book or other prop
erty may be kept, shall be punished by a
fine of not less than 81 nor more than $25
or by imprisonment for not less than one
month nor more than six months
1t also is specified that prosecutions are
to be brought in the name of the Distric,
of Columbia and that the penalties pro-
vided by this section shall be in addition
to any penalties lawfully imposed by the
trustees of any pubic or incorporated IL
brary in the District of Columbia and
shall be applicable when the offense is
not otherwise punishable by some statute
of the United States"
Bill for New Lines.
The bill for the extension of the lines OF
the Washington Railway and Electric
| Company in the northeast section of the
city is urged by the traction company
| itself It desires to connect up the three
| lines running parallel through the north.
! east section. to facilitate operation and
to tap a territory now without crosstown
| facilities.
| In approving the general object of the
| bill the District Commissioners had
recommended t at it be amended so that
| a dispute between different railway
companies involved regarding the joint
use of trackage shall be settled by the
| Commissioners instead of by the District
Supreme Court, as proposed in the bill.
| To that suggestion the committee turned
| a deaf ear. Several other minor amend
| ments recommended by the Commission
ers, however, were adopted by the COM
| mittee.