Evening star., 1935-06-27
L DISTRICT BILLS
ARE GIVEN HOUSE
COMMITTEE 0. K.
Senate Approved Smoke
Control Measure Accepted
as Substitute.
MEASURE IMPROVING
LEGAL STANDARDS ONE
Four of Favored Bills Designed
to Improve Machinery Of
Courts to Speed Trials.
BY JAMES z. CHINN.

The House District Committee to-
day cleared its calendar Of nearly all
important pending legislation by Or
Gering favorable reports on IL miscel-
laneous bills ranging from traf1c reg
ulation to smoke control.
Action of the committee was marked
Dy unprecedented speed. The II bills
were reported in a period of about
80 minutes. Discussion on ecah was
limited.
Three of the measures already have
passed the Senate-one designed to
bring about abatement of the Dis
trict's smoke nuisance, another in
creasing the penalty for prostitution
from s25 to 500, and the third to
raise the standards of the legal pro-
fession. Four others designed to inn
prove Police Court machinery and ex-
pedite trials were the direct outgrowth
of recommendations Of the Special
Crime Investigating Committee.
Substitute Smoke Bill.
The committee accepted the Senate-
approved smoke control bill as a sub
Stitute for two similar measures it had
under consideration. 1t is modelled
after the New York City smoke con-
troll law and gives the Commissioners
authority to promulgate regulations for
enforcement of the various provisions.
Aside from the smoke control, legal
profession and prostitution bills, others
ordered placed on the House calendar
follow:
A bill to limit jury trials in Police
Court to those whose constitutional
rights are involved.
A bill to increase the length Of jury
service in Police Court from two weeks
to 80 days.
A bill to reduce exemptions for jury
service so that those eligible to serve
will include employees of the District
and Federal governments, notaries and
officers and enlisted men in the Army,
Navy and Marine Corps, the Coast
Guard and National Guard.
A bill to require women to serve on
juries.
A bill requiring Semi-annual me-
chanical inspection of all automobiles
in the District.
A bill authorizing the Pennsylvania
Railroad to substitute an inclosed
waiting room for its present ticket
Office and subStation at Seventh and G
streets southwest.
Small Loan Measure.
A bill to regulate the small loan
business which authorizes an interest
rate Of per cent month.
A bill to raise the standards of
vocational schools to the level OF
| junior high schools.
Two other important bills in the
committee were not considered, how
ever. One, which the Senate passed
early in the present session, is in
| tended to tighten the Districts gam
bling laws by making possession Of
gaming devices prima facie evidence
| of guilt. The other is designed to
liberalize the Districts divorce laws.
Both bills are in the Judiciary Sub
committee headed by Representative
Palmisano, Democrat, of Maryland,
who announced that because of sud-
den opposition to the divorce bill, he
would hold another hearing on the
measure tomorrow at 10 am.
Representative Randolph, Democrat,
Of West Virginia, who served as chair
man of the Crime Committee, was
critical of Palmisano's delay in pass
ing on the gambling bill, pointing out
that it would strike at the very heart
Of the Districts gambling evir'-one
Of the problems seriously considered by
| the Crime Committee.
Palmisano, however, said the bill
had a number Of Objectionable fea-
lures and he had no intention of seek
ing action on it until the next session
of Congress.
Randolph also called attention to
the fact that Corporation Counsel E.
Barrett Prettyman is drafting series
of bills based on the Crime Commit
tees recommendations, which are to
be introduced in the near future.
These, he said, will cover various sub
jects, ranging from change in the
parole law to bribery and habitual
criminals.