Evening star., 1932-02-25
"GAS" HUCKSTERS
SELL At RATE Of
100000 GALLONS
Figures Revealed in Check-up
Of Gasoline Sales by
District Assessor.
BO0TLEGGING TO EVADE
VIRGINIA TAX DOUBTED
Regulation of Curbstone Dealers
Being Studied by
Committee.

Gasoline hucksters here are making
! sales at the rate of 1000 900 gallons
| yearly. 1t was estimated today at the
| office OF the District Assessor, where
1t was revealed that an investigation
OF these street vendors had been car
ried on for the last month in an effort
to determine if any of their product
! was "bootlegged' to evade taxation.
! Thus far, it was said, no instances
had developed where the 2-cent District
tax has not been paid, but the Asses
| sor'S Office proposes to keep the huck-
| Sters under close supervision.
Meanwhile, committee named by
| the District Commissioners to study
| regulatory phases of the trade, follow
| ing move to bar the hucksters from
the streets, will present its findings in
few days.
Prohibition Proposed.
Some weeks ago the Commissioners
! proposed to prohibit this class of busi-
ness entirely. Following protests, a
modified regulation was adopted, put
ting them on practically the same basis
as other hucksters. This, in general,
| permits them to stay in one location
only 80 minutes and bars them from
the congested district and of Of arterial
| highways.
The gasoline hucksters are not. how
ever, subject to the license fees of other
| hucksters, which in the case of fruit
men, for instance, run as high as $12
All they pay, it was said, is the 81
automobile tag fee and the vehicle
and personal property tax.
The assessors investigation was
started January Is, and since then in
! spectors have located SO of the curb
stone wagons, whose individual sales
according to their records. Because of
! the difficulty in checking business of
this sort, where the operators are con-
| tinually on the move, it is conceded
! that some of the vendors may not
| nave been reached, but it is not be-
lieved that more than so Of the tanks
are in service, though one fuel man
put the number at $50.
Sell at IL Cents a Gallon.
They sell on a basis of IL cents a
gallon. which now is "a cents under
the filling station price for standard
said. is made possible both because of
the figure at which they obtain their
supplies and on account of the lower
overhead
Because of barrier that has been
raised against sales to tank wagons by
virtually all of the nationally known
distributing or importing companies,
this trade, for the most part, derives its
supply from two local concerns which
do a jobbing business. These two or
ganizations, it was found, sold to IS Of
the 80 wagons checked; the other four
reported buying from national groups,
but in one case, this information was
disputed.
! As for the wagons themselves, "a were
| found to be run by individuals; a local
| iobber had three; one company with
branches over the country was operat-
| ing one, and the other pedigree was IN
doubt.
AS a result of the investigation of
the curbstone operators and the super
vision that is maintained generally over
| the gasoline distributing business. TIE
assessors Office believes very little, If
any, gasolie is beinng "bootlegged" into
the Capital
Twenty-Five concerns supply all the
| gasoline used here. Two have tanks in
the Capital and the other 20 are across
| the river, where they went to avoid the
requirement for underground storage.
Every month they must make COM
| plete report of their busineSs-lmpor-
| tationS, sales and inventories-to the as
SCISSOR and pay the tax on all sales to
| local distributors. In addition, the as
SCISSORS Office inspects their books twice
year.
A $500 penalty is provided for tax
evasion, and it has never been neces-
sary to apply this
| When the hucksters make sales, slip
| is furnished to the buyer, showing the
/ fov hoc mo hV check
! ing on these slips that investigators
J found the tank wagons were selling
! gasoline that had been taxed.
| In addition to the check on RECORDS,
the assessors Office for two days had
men on Key Bridge, Highway Bridge
! and at Rhode Island avenue and
the Baltimore-Washington Boulevard
checking on the movement of gasoline
trucks making deliveries.
Uncertain on Bootlegging.
''bootlegged" from the District into Vir-
ginia, to profit by the Scent tax dlf-
ferential is open to debate.
Following the hearing before Gov.
Pollard of Virginia Tuesday, at which
leading sales concerns urged establish
meht Of patrol to break up smuggling,
several local agents were canVaSsed
without bringing to light any definite
| knowledge of instances of such boot
Logging" 1t was learned, however, that
representatives of all the leading sales
concerns in this territory have Or
ganized committee headed by Peyton
S. Cochran of Baltimore, manager for
the Sun Co., to study the question OF
tax evasion.
When purchases are made across the
river the buyer pays only the District
tax of 2 cents to the importer, instead
OF the scent Virginia tax, if he de-
clares his gasoline is intended for sale
in the District. Should this gasoline
instead be diverted by clandestine
channels to Virginia stations 1t is
pointed out that the Scent differential
could be turned to the pockets of the
operators in the same way as If the
gas were bought here.
Doubt was expressed, however, that
such a practice could be carried on
In other than q small way.
Capt H. G: Whitehurst, director OF
highways; William A. Van Duzer, di-
rector Of traffic, and Calvin G. LAUDER,
flre marshal, are on the Commissioners
committee studying the huckster prob
lem.
The coplmittee was directed to deter
mine If the wagons constituted a fire
hazard, If they damaged the streets,
whether they interfered with traffic or
were otherwise detrimental to the
public.
Civil War Veteran Dies.
| CHARLES TOWN, w. Va, February
25 (SpeciaD james H. Fritts, SO, one
OF the few remaining Confederate vet
Grams In Jefferson County, died Wed