Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-08
<<H ISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
- ssss; g. Why pay

- tags, SO. why pay
- Down In Florida
where tags for the ''hivverp cost
$40 and the price for the more
expensive cars is proportionately
higher, there is little doubt that
such q sign would attract an
unScrupulouS automobile owner.
from Miami, Washington Is led to
believe that while such signs may
not actually exist, there is big
tags. In fact, the reports declare
in the State-that Of bootleg
ging" the District tags. The OPP
orators are said to be waxing
wealthy.
1t is quite possible that such q
on the wholesale scale as the re-
ports from Miami indicate. It
would be difficult, indeed, for any
agency to keep the Florida tag
sbootleggerS" supplied with a
large number Of tags without dis
covery in the Office of Wade H.
CoombS, superintendent Of IL
cenSeS, where the tags are is
sued.
Reports Disturb Co0mbs. ..
Nevertheless, the reports COM
ing up from Florida have been
disturbing to CoombS. Traffic
Director William H. Harland also
read them with grave concern.
Now both of them are investigat-
ing to determine if the reports
are true, and, If so, how the flow
Of tags into Florida can be
checked.
Florida would be the loser and
the District the gamer by such a
practice. 1t would mean the loss
of thousands of dollars in revenue
annually to the State in license
tag fees, and, conversely, an in
creased income to the District.
Thus, it would seem that the re-
sponSibility for stopping the re-
ported "bootlegging Of District
tags rests with the proper Flor
ida officials. But Harland and
CoombS are not looking at the sit
their opinion that If the tags are
channels, then some one in Wash
ington must be procuring them
under false pretenSeS - either
through the Justification of names
and addresses or through utter
Misrepresentation, and that those
guilty should be caught and pun
ished.
Low Price Is Explained.
Automobile tags in the District,
unlike those issued by the States,
are not designed to produce rev.
enue. Hence the low price of ST..
They are issued for the. purpose
of Identification, and the fee
merely pays the cost of the tags
and portion of the expenses of
distribution. AS result, when.
car operates with tags issued on
the basis of fictitious names and
addresses, the tags no longer
serve their purpose. Primarily,
this is the reason Mr.. Harland is
50 deeply concerned over the Flor
ida situation.
The problem of preventing Dis
trict tags from being used on cars
not legally entitled to them has
long perplexed the Commission
ers and other District off1cials. In
the past, however, motorists liv-
ing in nearby Maryland and Vir-
ginia have caused most of the
trouble.
It is believed at the District
Building that the new law to be-
come effective January /, reouir-
ing the payment Of the personal
property tax on automobiles be-
fore the tags are issued, will, in
a large measure, aid in solving
the problem, since it will make
the actual cost of the tags nearer
q parity with the price in other
States.
Closer Check Is Needed.
But that is doubtful. If q mo-
toriSt is ShreWd enough to procure
tags through Justification of in
formation, then he will surely
find some way to evade a heavy
personal property tax on the car.
What would prevent him, for in
stance, for applying for tags on
an old model on which the per-
Sonal property tax is listed at the
50-cent minimum?
The situation in Florida merely
serves to re-enphasize the need
OF q closer check on the informa-
ton given by applicants for tags. |
Why not have all applications re-
ferred to the Police Department
for investigation of the accuracy
OF the names and addresses be-
fore the tags are issued?
The longest continuous link In |
Washington's ever extending net
work of traffic lights was put in |
operation last week, but indica-
tions are that completion Of the |
current signal control program,