Evening star., 1940-07-21
mo. z of a Series.)

Every time a piece of paper is
tossed into the gutter somebody is
breaking the law.
But that's one law people have
been violating with impunity, not
only in the matter of throwing
paper in the street, but of piling
trash in alleys and sweeping litter
over the curb. Few persons are
punished.
The police regulations governing
the disposal of litter are specific
enough and all-inclusive. Here they
are:
No person shall throw, cast, de-
posit, drop. scatter, or leave, or
cause to be thrown, cast. laid. de-
posted, scattered or left in or upon
any street, avenue, alley, highway,
tfuUtway, stdewalk, parking, Or other
aN6lie- P4ase in the DistEcf~ef Ca
lunabia. any coal, dii1. mud, asffes,
gravel, sawdust, sl1avings, hay.
straw, offal, vegetable matter, gar
bage, trees, cinders, paper or refuse
matter of any kind. or any dead
animal or putrescible matter of~any
sort, or kindle or set on fire any
combustible upon any paved side
walk or roadway
Health Section Inclusive, Too.
Similarly inclusive is the health
section that follows:
mo person shall throw or deposit
or cause to be thrown or deposited
in or upon any vacant lot or open
space in the District of Columbia
any sawdust, shavings, vegetable
matter, paper. rubbish, litter, or any
dead animal, offal, garbage, putres-
chile matter or any sort or any other
matter or thing injurious to public
health"
Proof that these regulations are
not being enforced is available in
every litter-strewn block.
Says Maj. Ernest w. Brown, sup
erintendent of police:
Technically, people are violating
the regulations when they drop
paper in the street. They could be
arrested, but would you want to go
to that extreme, carrying them of
in patrol wagon?
Then there are some conditions
where you can't enforce the law,
like people throwing newspapers out
of streetcar windows. AS for trash
being piled in alleys, we'll, you have
to establish the identity of the
individual who violated the law"
Check Made on Precincts.
Inspector L. I. H. Edwards, assist
ant superintendent of police, made
a check of the precincts for two
| days during the week to see If any
one had been arrested for violatin
the litter ordinances. There had
been no arrests.
Arrests, said the inspector are
made from time to time and mes.
sages are sent to captains remind
ing them to have their officers
enforce the regulations.
The litter ordinances come under
the general heading of police regu-
lations and the regulations are not
broken down, for statistical pur-
poses, into the various ordinances
violated. 1t was impossible, there
fore, for the Police Statistical Bu-
reau to determine how many arrests
for violation of litter ordinances
had been made for any given period
Poll Of Precincts Made.
A poll OF the police precincts by
The Star, however. revealed the
following. to the best of the memory
OF the officers questioned:
First precinct-Some time ago ar
arrest was made on a complaint
For a while the officers were max
Ing arrests. Not lately.
Second and Thirteenth precincts
Cant remember any arrests
When a complaint of a violation
comes in, the officer on the beat
is sent around to give a polite
warning" CThis oficer could re-
member only one arrest since he
had been on the force. That had
been made in the Third Precinct
when a policeman observed a mar
dumping a pile of trash on the
street. He told the man to pick IL
up and arrested him, not for dump.
ing the trash, but for refusing tt
! pick. it up)
Third precinct-None lately.
Fourth precinct-A scavenger wa.
arrested month ago on . com.
plant.
Fifth precinct-No complaints ir
the past six months. No arrests.
Sixth precinct-A man was ar.
rested July 2 for dumping dirt or
private property.
Seventh precinct-A couple ol
months ago two men were ARRESTED
for dumping trash In . public place
Eighth pr6cinct-Two or three