Evening star., 1929-09-05
OFFICIALS LAUNCH
PROBE OF D. c. CAR
TAG SALE REPORT
Licenses Are Being "Boot-
legged" in Miami, Harland
and Coombs Hear.
EACH DOUBTS STORIES
OF WHOLESALE SCALE
Florida Police to Be Asked to Fur
nish Names of Operators and
Numbers on Plates.

Aroused by reports from Florida that
the 81 automobile identification tags
of the District are being "bootlegged"
In Miami at $6 a pair, Traffic Director
William H. Harland and Wade H.
Coon1bs. superintendent of licenses, who
has supervision over distribution OF the
tags, jointly started an investigation
today to determine whether the situ-
alton actually exists.
The inquiry was decided upon at q
conference between Harland and
Coombs following publication in two
Washington newspapers OF reports OF
the new automobile tag racket IN
Miami. Both are dubious, however, that
District tags could be sold there on such
q wholesale scale as indicated IN press
dispatches.
Harland Asks Information.
Harland will make the initial move
in the investigation by requesting police
authorities in Miami to furnish him with
a list of the cars operating there with
District tags and the number OF tne
tags, Coomps plans to check this list
with the records in his Office. The re-
suit will show whether the tags were
issued to bona fide residents of the Dis
trict or whether they were procured by
misrepresentation and the falsif1cation
of names and addresses.
Discovery of the apparently flourish
ing business in "bootlegging" automobile
tags in Miami. according to press. re-
ports, followed drive by Florida tag in
spectors against the use of foreign tags
by residents. The appearance in Miami
of numerous cars bearing District tags,
the reports indicated, revealed they were
being "bootIegged" at $6 a pair, or IS
more than the tags cost in Washington,
but considerably less than Florida tags,
which range in price from about $40 up.
Believes Report Exaggerated.
CoombS said he believed the reports
from Miami were greatly exaggerated" !"
and pointed out that since December
/, last, not more than 80 sets of 1929
tags had been sent by his Office to
bona fide residents of the District, who
were in various parts of the country,
and of these, IT sets went to Florida.
The applications for tags which came
from the various States, Coombs ex-
planned, were carefully checked and
his Office was certain before mailing the
tags that the applicants were bona fide
residents of the District.
The presence of a large number Of
District tags in Florida, Coombs de-
clared, may be due to the fact that
number of District residents have
moved there since last December l,
when the 1929 tags were issued. and
have not procured Florida tags Under
the existing automobile reciprocity
agreement with Florida, he said, there
is no limit on the time which cars bear
ing District tags can operate in that
State. The same situation exists in the
District with respect to cars bearing
Florida licenses. Thus, the 1929 Dis
trict tags on the cars Of residents Of
Washington who have moved to Florida
this year must be recognized until
January /.
Doubts Extensive Operation.
Coombs, however, cannot believe that
an agency has been set up in Miami
for the purpose of selling District tags
to residents of Florida at profit. 1t
would be possible, he admitted. for such
an agency to procure tags through
representative in Washington who put
fictitious names and addresses on the
application blanks, and shipped the
tags to Florida. It Is unlikely that
such a procedure is followed, Coombs
pointed out, because tags are not is
sued in large numbers to any one ex-
cept automobile firms and automobile
organizations. An unknown person ap-
plying for large number of tags, he
explained, would arouse suspicion and
an investigation would be made to as
certain whether the names and ad-
dresses on the application blanks are
bona fide.
While Harland and Coombs believe
that the responsibility of rounding up
residents Of Florida who are using Dis
tr1ct tags illegally rests upon the Of
flcials Of that State, both said they are
willing to cooperate with the authori-
ties there to break up such a practice
II 1t exists. The traffic act provides
penalty for falsifying information on
the tag application blanks, and If the
investigation shows that any persons
in the District are procuring tags to be
sent to Florida to be ''bootlegged," steps
will be taken to have them prosecuted.
New Law to Curb Chance.
The new license tag law which re-
duires the payment of the personal
property tax on all motor vehicles be-
fore the issuance of tags, to become eff
fective in January, District officials be-
lieve, will aid materially in stopping the
use of District tags in other jurisdic-
tions. Although the price of the tags
will remain at 81 for all makes of gaso-
line-driven pleasure cars, officials point
ed out that the payment of the personal
property tax will raise the actual cost of
the tags to parity with most other
States.