Evening star., 1934-11-13
CITY OFFICIALS HIT
|. SPEEDL|M|T BANS
Hazen, Van Duzer, Brown
Oppose Abolition Talk
by Garnett.
Continued From First Page.) }

lOAI L lob dSCy
am shown by the experiences Of other
jurisdictions.
Garnett began his attack last night
on the traffic regulations as a mean,
of illustrating the demoralizing effect
Of too many laws and of laws which
cannot be strictly obeyed.
why, it makes fellow want to say
to hell with all laws" said the
prosecutor.
Speed Law Held Ridiculous.
The official described the Districts
speed laws as ridiculous" and i'm
possible to enforce"
Each time was arrested thought
1t was without Justification" he de-
clared. "One morning was driving
through the park about 40 miles an
hour and not an automobile was In
sight. 1t was during the Cannon
trial and I was thinking Of that and
not noticing how fast I was going
when an officer stopped me.
He said, Don't you know you were
making 40?'
what if I WASP I responded
Haven't you got anything better to dc
than follow me around?'
II don't know which of us was the
more embarrassed" he later addec
with laugh.
Careful Driving Main Need.
Every one breaks the speed laws
fellow who doesn't go Is when he i
supposed to go o." he said. "Anc
what difference does it make whether
man driving along a street like
Connecticut avenue is going % mile,
an hour or 80, just so long as he i,
driving carefully. Take the town Of
Norfolk as an example. They have nc
speed limit there. but 1t goes awfully
hard with the fellow who gets caught
for reckless driving"
One of the reasons Washington ha,
so much crime Is because 1t has sc
much law, the prosecutor said, telling
the trade body members that putting
impossible laws on the statute books
breeds disrespect for law"
He repeated the attack on the Dis
trict's indeterminate sentence an6
parole law that he first voiced at the
mass meeting in the Mayflower Hotel
recently, sponsored by the bar asso-
citation in its war against crime.
Raps One Fifth Terms.
There is no reason why a criminal
in the District should be eligible fol
parole after serving but one-fifth OF
his sentence, while the man who
commits the same offense in Hyatts-
vile cannot get out until he has
served third Of his sentence. in
sist upon a return to the Fedora
parole system
Virginia, where he once was prose
cutor, was cited by Garnett as an
example Of law enforcement through
adequate punishment
There is no racketeering and no
parole board in Virginia and its crime
record will compare favorably with
that of any State" said the speaker
Commercialized gambling is the
basis of most racketeering here, he
told the Board of Trade members.
He prefaced his references to gam
bling by saying that he did not want
to be placed in the role of a re-
former and that he, himself, some
times went to the races.
II do not think risking a little
money on a game Of pitch and toss
is the worst crime in the world, but
do believe that commercialized
gambling provides the money behind
most of this city's racketeering," he
declared.
Would Pass Gaming Bill.
He urged strongly the Board Of
Trade to support the stringent gam
ing bill which has been drawn up
by Corporation Counsel E. Barrett
Prettyman for presentation to Con-
gress.
The numbers" game goes into
every high school in the city and
even the courts are not free of it
Garnett disclosed. He said that
runner makes a daily collection o1
bets from attaches Of one Of the
local courts.
There is nothing we can do about
IT," he added, because there Is M
law that can touch It,"
Garnett's address was the last Of
a series of talks by civic leaders, in
Guiding Odell s. Smith, chairman oi
the Public Order Committee; George
w. Offutt, chairman Of the Alec.
hol Beverage Control Board; Robert
v. Fleming, president of the Board o!
Trade; Claude Owen, past president
Maj. Ernest w. Brown, superintendent
of police, and Frank Morrison, secre.
tary of the American Federation o1
Labor.
Reporting for q subcommittee which
he headed, Offutt recommended crea.
ton of three groups. One woulG
seek more policemen and better polics
equipment; the second would f1ghi
for reform of the penal code, and thu
third would foster cooperation be.
tween citizens and law enforcement
agencies.
Mai. Brown said evasion Of jur!
service by substantial citizens pre-.
vents proper law enforcement.