Evening star., 1935-09-01
BROWN APPEALS
AGAIN FOR TIGHT
ANTEGAM|NGLA
Police Superintendent's Re-
port Declares Numbers"
Game FIourishing.
PLANS TO PUSH FIGHT
IN NEXT CONGRESS
Declares Police Hold Little Hope
Of Curbing Evil Under
Present Regulations.
BY JAMES z. CHINN.

Another plea for enactment of the
bill to strengthen the District gam
bling laws will be made by Mai. Ernest
w. Brown, superintendent Of police.
in his annual report to the Commits
sioners, now in the process Of prep
aration.
The measure passed the Senate at
the last session of Congress, but never
reached the House calendar because
OF the refusal of Chairman Palmisano
Of the Judiciary subcommittee OF the
District Committee to report it out.
Palmisano also declined to hold public
hearings on the bill.
Maj. Brown is particularly anxious
to have the bill enacted at the next
session of Congress, and will appeal
for renewed public support in an effort
to move it out of Palmisano's COM
mittee, where it has languished since
last January.
Numbers" Still Widespread.
The bill, Maj. Brown declared. will
give the police department q more
potent weapon to deal with the gam
bling fraternity, especially the num-
bers "racketeers," who, it has been
disclosed. are milking Washington's
small wage earners. as well as school
children. of thousands of dollars a day.
While there has been a marked i'm
provement In the gambling situation
in the District, according to Mai.
Brown. the number operators are stiIl
active, and until the Senate-approved
gambling bill is placed on the statute
books, he has little hope of eliminat-
ing this evil.
L believe the police department
has the big gamblers under control"
said Mai. Brown, but our trouble
now Is with the numbers operators.
i feel quite certain there are not
eny OF the big gambling houses like
those which flourished several years
ago in operation at this time. Our
campaign now, must be aimed at the
numbers racket, but we must have a
law with teeth to deal with it."
Penalty Would be Increased.
The gambling bill would strengthen
the existing law by making posses
sion Of gambling devices, or slips on
which numbers are written prima -facie
evidence of guilt. 1t also would in
crease the penalty for permitting a
gambling device to be set up from
one year imprisonment or $500 fine,
to one years imprisonment or G hne
of 81 900 or both.
Various organizations in the District
gave their support to the bill when it
was before the Senate. A number of
District officials also indorsed it.
Aside from the Commissioners, they
included Corporation Counsel E. Bar
rett Prettyman and United States
Attorney Leslie c. Garnett
Chairman King of the Senate Dis
trict Committee, in reporting the bill
favorably to the Senate, pointed out
that attempts in the past to enforce
the present laws have shown the
difficulty, indeed the impossibility, in
securing not only convictions but also
indictments upon charges Of violation
of the various provisions of the Dis
trict code. due to the unwillingness
and refusal of those found and ar
rested in gambling establishments to
admit their participation in betting or
gaming or observing the operation Of
gambling devices or placing of bets in
such places"
Sees Numbers" Flourishing.
ITO meet the situation confronting
the officials charged with the duty
of enforcing the laws in the District,
particularly in the matter of proof"
he continued. "the proposed bill pro-
vides that possession of tickets, slips.
and the like. which are issued in
gambling transactions, shall be prima-
facie evidence of the purpose or in
tent of carrying on gambling trans
actions; that possession of gambling
paraphernalia shall be prima-facie
evidence of the use thereof for gam
bling purposes and of permitting, in
ducing. betting, or playing on the
part of the owner, lessee, or occu-
pant of any house, or other place
where the paraphernalia is found
During the last few years and
IOIls olIlCC eAAC CAAotAAlb law wac Oh-
acted, a new gambling game or de-
vice called numbers has sprung up
and is now fiourishing in the Dis
trict of Columbia. 1t is said that the
principals carrying on this game real
ize about $4,000 q day on their op-
erations.
The amount which may be
played ranges from 1 TO so cents.
1t is reported that this numbers
game makes a special appeal to
those of little means. porters. mes
sengers, domestic servants and the
like; particularly is there an allure
ment to the young and immature:
school children in considerable num-
bers invest in the slips which rep
resent chances in securing the prize
money. The chance of winning is.
so we are informed. to 600; the
winning numbers pays about $25 TO
$50 on q scent chance.
Gas the present law does not cover
such a game or device as this, the
bill proposes amendments whicn will
bring the numbers game within the
certain rlrview of the law"