Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-28
CARTER BROADENS
GAMBLING ATTACK
includes Other Officials in
Criticism of District
Law Enforcement.
fcontinued From First page)

al1h4A EICC1LCJ mas e11lCe Vo1Q me, bklAt
- has been arrested several times
before for gambling. but has never
served q jail sentence On the charges
Il also have evidence IN the form Of
swnru afiilavits that - has person
ally accepted racing bets in the room
recently raided The city directory
lists him wtth0at any occupation and
shows that he resides at - north
east. which Is the same home address
given for ---SsS who is listed in the
directory as owner Of the stand at -
H street, for which - obtained the
certificate Of occupancy. have it on
responsible authority that - and
- are one and the same person, and
that - uses the alias to conceal his
identify in certain transactions.
1.-The certificate of occupancy signed
nv the inspector of buildings states the
huilding and premises complies with all
the building regulations of the District
If CoIlinahia. In issuing such a GER
tificate believe that the inspector OF
buildings either made no examination
of the building or was grossly neghgens
in his duty.
"TypicaI Gambling Place"
a-rbe room at the rear of the cigar
stand is typical gamollng pIaee an soS.
,1s1Isf have been specially constructed LOT
tI,at unlawful purpose, as any one VINO
even casually examines the place can
see There & an entrance to the gam
SsISn., through a partially conceal
81 q behind the counter IN the cigar
Stand. The door, have been eoio. y
of massive construction. heavily noneq
and bolted, and required 10 OF 70
minutes for the police to break through.
usually. It is guarded by watcnnan
on each side, who admit on!y persons
S1.ou-,, tl them In fact, have been
toI6 that a representative Of the owner
If the property has not been allowed 70
enter the room. In or alongside the
door Is 8 peephole through which the
inside guard can see any one VINO ap-
I1rnacf1es. From this door, a narrow
hallway leads to the rear room, whicn
Is also said to have been specially con-
strNcted and equipped for use ana pro-
lection in gambling. have sworn evl-
dence that there is or was cagenke
booth In this room with small wlnooW
or peephole through which bets have
besa placed with man inside, VINO
uses a ear phone for the receiving and
sending Of racing results and wagers
Adjoining the betting booth Is another
door through which Il Is believed this
man escaped into another hallway at
tl,4 time of the raid and foiled the
ponce In whatever effort they made to
obtain evidence of gambling activities
at that time. It is reported That this
door was afterward found to be locked
on both sides 50 that the police could
not enter. and the other occupants could
not escape through it.
When the police demanded adInis-
sion, all the exits were locked, and the
score or more Of men inside, excepting
the betting booth operator, had no way
Of escape. In the room at the time
was blazing stove, the fire In which
was further inflamed by a mass Of rae.
ing sheets and other gambling para
phernalia, which was said to have been
hastily thrown into the stove before
the police were able to break into the
room In the excitement of the crowd
which filed the room and their rush to
destroy evidences OF their gambling.
upsetttng all the furniture, including
chairs and big crap game table, it Is
q wonder that the blazing stove was
not also upset, and the fire scattered
about the room. If this had occurred,
nothing could have saved the men inside
the small room from being burned to
death, as 1t took the police 10 or Is
minutes to break through the doors,
which the men themselves could not
open.
Holds Inspector Negligent.
81 contend, therefore, that the In
spector Of buildings was grossly negh-
gent In issuing a certificate for the
occupancy of such q fire trap. which
certainly did not comply with any
proper building regulations and was
evidently not intended for any lawful
use.
In this connection, I have been adj
vised that there are q number of other
similarly constructed gambling rooms in
connection with alleged cigar stands in
the vicinity of the Government Frint-
ing Once. I earnestly urge that all
Of these places be investigated at once
and compelled to comply with proper
regulations for the protection CT their
neighbors as well as the safety of their
patrons. Undoubtedly. Ii is the duty of
the inspector of buildings, under the
direction Of the District Commissioners.
to refuse certificates for the occupation
Of such places.
An investigation has also disclosed
gross careleSsness in the issuing and
recording of licenses by the superin-
tendent Of licenses. On inquiry by nv
representative, the District License Of
nee could not find in it's card files any
record Of a license having been issued
to the alleged - Shop or to -, who
had obtained the certificate of occu-
pancy, or to his associate. -. who was
arrested with him at the time Of the
raid, or In the name of -, which is
said TO be an alias used by -.
AFTER my investigator had ascer-
tanned that the cigar stand was display
ing license made out in the name of
the alleged shop, the License once was
finally able to locate duplicate stub
OF this license. but it does not bear the
name Of any individual as responsible
Tor the operation of the cigar stand
under the license. If this case is typical
OF the methods of the superintendent
OF licenses, believe that he is grossly
negligent in his duties and that the
issuing OF licenses should be better
safeguarded to insure that they will be
used Tor lawful business purposes.
Charges Laxity in Tax Collection.
Another serious defect in the ad-
ministration of the District government
was disclosed in the investigation I have
undertaken, and that relates to the
gross negligence in the collection of
personal taxes, especially from persons
who operate such places as the alleged
shop. The name - -, who is list
ed in the directory as engaged in the
cigar business at that address. was
1O 1 1CSoAuSu III tHS FeIsond Lax
once as not having paid any personal
taxes assessed against him for at least
the last three years. My investigator
was told that little or no effort is made
to collect personal taxes from such per-
sons, although they are subject to a
penalty of 20 per cent each year for
non-payment. If proper efforts were
made to collect the taxes which are due
from such places, believe there would
be fewer of them in operation and that
the gambling resorts in this city would
be greatly lessened or put out of busi-
ness entirely. The present laXity in
collecting personal taxes is grossly I'M
fair to law-abiding citizens, and I re-
spectfu1ly urge that you give immediate
attention also to this item of my COM
plant. Funds that might be obtained
from the collection of delinquent per-
sonal taxes would undoubtedly be of