Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-27
CARTER TO DEMAND
POLICE PROBE BY
SENATE AND HOUSE
Public Printer Says Enforce
ment of Law Is Impossible
Under Present Officials.
HOLDS z POLICE ORDERED
TO INVESTIGATE SELVES
Will Lay Charges of fragrant"
Gambling Conditions Before Con-
gressional Committees.

Charging that Maj. Henry @. Pratt,
superintendent of police. has failed in
his duty and that proper enforcement
OF law cannot be secured under pres
ent District officials. George H. Carter.
public printer, announced today his
4, intention of protesting to Congress
against what he terms fragrant con-
ditions."
The public printer, aroused over
gambling violations in the vicinity of
4 the Government Printing Office, made
Z public correspondence which had passed
{ between himself and Mai. Pratt, in
& which Carter hints at police corruption,
4 charges police inefdciency and stupidity
and excoriates Maj. Pratt and the Com
Jnissioners for official "laxity."
VIII Request Probe.
Carter declared all the charges grow
Ing out OF his controversy with the po-
lice over existence of an alleged gam
bling house patronized by printing Of
Zee employees will be laid before the
Senate and House committees on the
District of Columbia, with a request
that the municipal law enforcement
system be thoroughly investigated
Carter severed diplomatic relations"
with Maj. Pratt in a singing letter
mailed to the latter yesterday in repu-
diation of Pratt's reported statement
that picketing of suspected gaming es-
adjustments near the printing office
was adopted at Carriers suggestion.
Branding as utterly untrue the re-
port that he had suggested the picketing.
Carter declared the picketing plan. .~can
serve no other purpose than TO act as
a tip-o5 for gamblers and >bootleggers
to suspend operations for the present, -
ed gambling house proprietor on H
street has enjoyed special favor for a
piirnher of years"
SaysPOliceman Got Money.
The printing Office head gave the
police chief the name of a real estate
man who. 1t was asserted, told Carter
q having seen money handed to a
policeman by the proprietor in question
and intimated his suspicion that
detective OF the sixth precinct was
guilty of improper actions in connection
with investigation of gambling viola
tons.
Carriers ire was particularly stirred
when he learned that the letter COM
planning against the precinct detective
had been turned over to the detective
by Inspector Bean, whom Pratt had
assigned to investigate the charge. The
public printer declared there could be
no excuse for such "bungling, (" and Mai.
Pratt wrote Carter that Inspector Bean
had made "mistake"<1n letting the
detective have the letter.
Informed of Carriers plans, Mai
Pratt declared the Police Department
lis honestly enforcing all laws and
turning all information obtained over
to the proper authorities and tri-
bunalk." He declined to comment
further on the matter.
= The letter which Carter sent to Pratt
yesterday summarizes events which have
led him to arrive at the conclusion that
the police superintendent is "either
tnsincere or incompetent"
The letter with names and addresses
of suspects deleted for publication) fol-
lows:
Denies Asking Pickets.
"Dear Sir:
The newspapers are quoting you as
having said I requested you to picket
certain places suspected of gambling in
the vicinity Of the Government Printing
once.
Your statement is utterly untrue. I
have never requested or even suggested
that the police picket any place sus-
the vicinity Of this Office. Your an
nouncement of such picketing can
serve no other purpose than to act as
tip-oh' for gamblers and bootleggerS
to suspend operations for the present
or to place on me the odium of your
self-tnspired picketing order.
my only request of you has been
and is to enforce the law and to pro-
tect the employees of the Government
Printing Office from the gamblers and
bootleggers who have infested this
neighborhood for many years. That
you have failed to do during your adj
mtnistration as superintendent of the
Washington Police Department except
for the few spasmodic responses to re-
quests for law enforcement such as I
recently submitted to you.
"a conspicuous example of the failure
of law enforcement by District officials
was revealed in the case of - -,
who had been operating a notorious
gambling place under the nose of the
police nearby the Government Printing
ONCE for several years. AS / have al
ready complained to you. the recent raid
on 5 place was, in my opinion. con-
Quoted with customary police stupidity
or indifference, which afforded the chief
gamblers time TO escape apd to destroy
evidence of their violations of law. AS
far as can ascertain, little or no effort
has been made by the police to appre-
bend these men, although they can be
readily identified. Little effort was made
TO present proper and available evidence
against - to the Police Court and
the case against him was nolle pressed
for the usual lack of sufficient evil
dence'
AT my insistence, the - case
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