Evening star., 1932-10-05
law BODY DRAFTS
MACHINE GUN BAN
F0RENT|RE NATION
Uniformity Session Proposes
Harsh Penalties for
Criminal Use.
STATUTE ALSO FRAMED
ON NARCOTICS TRAFFIC
Annual Dinner Of National Com
missioners Conferring Here Will
Be Held Tonight at Mayfower.

Providing sentences ranging from 10
to 20 years for possession or use OF
machine gun for criminal purposes. the
draft of a uniform law proposed for
adoption by the States was ready today
for presentation to the National Con-
ference of the Commissioners on Uni
form State Laws.
Prior to considering this proposal the
conference was discussing the draft OF
a narcotics act designed to pick up the
loose ends in the two Federal statutes
the narcotic drugs export and import
act and the Harrison act-as well as
certain State enactments.
The machine gun act, which is to be
amended to include also sawed-of shot
guns, was going before the conference
with committee report which express
ed the hope that action would be taken
upon 1t. The report declared public
Indignation is daily increasing in the
United States against the lawlessness
which always seems to surround those
having illegal possession Of q machine
gun"
1t added a belief that the devastat-
ing influences Of the machine gun and
all its associations can be ended If this
act is adopted"
Inlay Helps in Drafting.
The proposed draft, which is the sec
ond that has come before the confer
ence. was drawn up by committee on
which is Charles v. INLAY, one of the
commissioners representing the District
of Columbia
The committee says also that 1t was
aided in its work by Calvin Goddard,
ballistics expert and director of the
Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory
at Northwestern University, and Mai
Gen. Blanton Winship, judge advocate
general Of the Army
The penalty sections are: Possession
or use Of machine gun in the perpe-
tration or attempted preparation OF
crime Of violence would be punished by
not less than 20 years Imprisonment;
possession or use Of a machine gun for
offensive or aggressive purposes would
draw not less than 10 years
The salient features Of the drug act
are: 1t requires licensing of manufac-
turers and wholesale dealers, in COM
parison to present legislation which re-
quires licenses for only druggists and
doctors
1t makes any place where drug ad-
diets congregate "a common nuisance
and the keeping or maintenance a
crime.
Would Lose Licenses.
1t would permit any court before
whom person is convicted of violating
a law to revoke any license held by
the violator This subject is now dealt
with by the individual licensing boards,
and 1t is declared the laws are ambigu-
Gus and have developed an unsatisfac
tory situation.
The draft also would provide that
State officers cooperate with Federal
officers. At present only the Federal
law provides for cooperation, it Is ex-
planned
The penalties are left open, but it is
proposed that the first offense be a
misdemeanor and the second and sue
cessive offenses constitute felonies.
The Federal Narcotic Bureau, headed
by Commissioner H. j. Anslinger. is
cooperating in this effort OF the con-
ference, as is DR.. William c. Woodward,
the legal representative of the Amer
ican Medical Association, and national
drug organizations
The FEDERAL representatives are anx-
ious that the uniform statute provide
that each State shall take care Of
its own addicts. but this has not yet
been written into the draft. As it
was explained. the treatment of addicts
now is not on a satisfactory basis and
the Government is attempting to cope
with the situation in part by the con-
struction of two institutions for their
care One of these is going up near
Lexington, KY, and the other is to be
built near Fort Worth, Tex, but Fed
eral officials say these will care for only
about 5000 persons, and are designed
to handle Federal convicts who are
drug addicts.
Dinner Dance Tonight.
The draft under consideration is the
fifth that has been before the confer
ence When any uniform statute is
finally approved by this body it is sent
to the State Legislatures for action and
to Congress for enactment for the Dis
trict of Columbia. The annual dinner
dance of the commissioners will be held
tonight at the Mayflower. where the
conference Is meeting The committee
in charge is composed Of Walter C.
Clephane, chairman; Frederick S. Tyler
and Mr.. INLAY, who are the three COM
from the District.