Evening star., 1938-03-11
Numbers Bill Almost Forgotten
As Hearing Stirs Other Issues
Police, Judges, Churches and Racing
Necs appear to Be on Trial at
Times-SessiOn Recesses.

pAiC PAoPOAtlSA eAAot Jul SiOy olltLdlo
say it has" Mr.. Nichols said, "it is
very definite that something must
be done to combat this racket"
The Oklahoman has indicated at
the hearings that he feared the
penalties provided in the bill were not
drastic enough
Those present at the conference in
cluded Robert " Fleming, bank presi-
dent and past president of the Board
OF Trade; Francis G. Addison, banker
and vice president of the board, and
Frank R. Jelletf, merchant and men,
ber of the Parole Board.
Would Not Quiz Judiciary.
Later Mr.. Nichols said he did not
favor broadening the committee in
quiry to include investigation of the
District judiciary, as suggested at
the hearing yesterday. He pointed
out that If such an inquiry were
needed, which he did not affirm, it
would properly be referred to the
House Judiciary Committee, not the
District Committee.
IL was Mr.. Nichols reference to
alleged inequalities and overleniency
in sentences which brought on the
| discussion. The Oklahoma membe,
cited an instance where one court sent
a drunk with family to Jail for six
months and another court gave pro-
baton to man found guilty of armed
| robbery for the third time. Such in.
equalities, he said, did not increase his
respect for the judicial branch of the
Government.
Representative Bates, Republican, OF
! Massachusetts, suggested that per
haps the law enforcement agencies OF
the District have broken down" and
maybe we had better investigate the
judges"
Representative Schultz. Democrat
OF Indiana said he was willing to call
in the judges.
Sees Hint Of Criticism.
After the hearing Mr.. Bates ex-
planned that he felt Maj. Brown in his
testimony before the committee had
charged, at least by inference, that the
courts were not cooperating with the
police, which, If true, was "a most
serious situation" He added:
I'm going to insist on getting to
the bottom of this thing. We are told
We need more stringent law. But first
We should find out whether the police
are doing their duty and whether they
are getting the cooperation of the
| courts
Chairman Palmisano, who opposes
the numbers bill, indicated he did not
favor broadening the inquiry and had
heard no testimony justifying any gen.
eral investigation of law enforcement
in Washington.
Il still have respect for the Judi
ciary," he said.
Graft Testimony Stressed.
When the chairman, still harpine
on an episode Of four years ago when
a colored bellboy told a congressional
committee he was writing numbers
and his boss paid $40 a month police
protection. asked Maj. Brown about
| 1T. the police chief said the charge had
been investigated, but lacked corro-
boration and there was nothing to take
before the grand jury. Maj. Brown
added:
I'm more anxious than anybody in
this room to investigate such q charge
II anybody in my department is TAX
Ing graft, I want to know about it,
and I will be the first to take such
an informant to the grand jury"
The church bingo angle was injected
into the inquiry by Representative
Randolph, Democrat, of West Virginia,
but Maj. Brown said he understood
churches which conducted this oper-
ated it as a game of skill, not one of
chance.