Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-12-10
PinbaII Devices
Termed Lure
For De|inquents
Their Regulation
Is Supported as
Hearings Open

IS SuPPorted as
Hearings Open
Pinball machines are lure for
juvenile delinquents, tempting them
to steal money and to play hockey
from school, according to Police
1t. William T. Murphy of the Juve-
nile Bureau. His statement opened
a hearing before the District Com
missioners today at which civic
spokesman and distributors agreed
that control should be exercised
over operation in Washington Of
mechanical amusement devices"
In discussing proposed draft
OF regulations under which city
heads would license and control OPP
Grafton of the machines, witnesses
differed sharply, however. as to the
age limit under which children
should be forbidden to use them,
In the proposed draft the age limit
is II.
Let's be realistic about this" de-
clared Maj. Ira T. Byram, jr., owner
and manager of the Silent Sales
System which distributes pinball
and other machines When a per-
son becomes II these days he's q
man."
Favor IA as Age Limit.
Maj. Byram and William r. Lich-
tenberg, counsel for the Washing
ton Coin Machine Co. and others,
both stated that any age limit
should not be higher than IA.
The argument drew from Com
missioner Guy Mason the observa-
ton that kid of is today is not
as old as kid of IA when I was
boy"
1t. Murphy, whose complaints are
responsible for the present effort
to regulate the machines, favored
the age limit of II as being in line
with another regulation governing
play by children in pool halls. Only
a few days ago, he said, he caught
seven truants ranging in age from
Is to IS years around pinball ma
chimes.
Position Supported.
1t. Murphy added that many of
the delinquents had told him they
had stolen for the express purpose
of obtaining funds to play the
machines.
He was supported by Miss Cecilia
P. Dulln, representing the District
Congress of Parents and Teachers;
Mrs. Ernest w. Howard, represent
ing the District Federation of Wom-
ems Clubs, and the Columbia
Heights Citizens Association. Sew
eral others spoke for the regulations
as parents"
| The proposed age limit was the
only specific point in the draft of
the proposed legislation that came
up for discussion during the session,
the rest Of the testimony being di-
rected toward the desirability Of
controlling the machines. Contro-
versy over the matter has ragged in
the courts and in civic forums for
the last 10 years.
Referred to Corporation Counsel.
The Commissioners ended the
hearing by referring the matter
back to the corporation counsel to
work out details of compromise with
the organizations represented at
the hearing. Assistant Corporation
Counsel Chester Gray, however,
protested that he would not be able
to reconcile the differences over the
age limit and was told by Commits
sioner Mason to leave that to U.S."
Mrs. Dulin told the Commission
ers the PTA opposed pinball ma
chimes because they encouraged
"spendthrift" habits and led to
gambling. She cited newsboys as
. often wasting their earnings on
these devices and said that the
habits of a lifetime are being
formed at that age"
Mrs. Howard said the orga,iza-
; lions she represented especially ap-
proved the limitation on age and
the licensing feature of the proposed
draft. She called it vicious circle"
to spend money to curb juvenile de-
llnquency and then allow these ma
, chimes to operate.
Called "Clean Amusement"
Maj. Byran observed that if tho
: community wanted to regulate the
machines he would support controls,
!, but he objected to penalizing his
business any more than was abso-
; lutely necessary.
,, He defended the machines as
1 clean amusement" and said he had
been asked by Georgetown Univer-
sity to install a number of ma
chimes for the express purpose of
keeping the students from other
,, types OF amusement that college
authorities feel less desirable. Most
). OF the business on the machines is
from adults anyway, he said.
!. With all due respect to machine
!. distributors and operators" Com.
missioner Mason commented, It
,, think it sort of moronic for adults
to play those machines"
,, Compromise Suggested.
A compromise preventing the use
, OF the machines by children during
: school hours and by children under
IA after school hours unless accom-
panied by their parents was sug-
gested by Mr.. Lichtenberg. He said
he did not believe that the control
should apply during vacation Pc
RODS, however.
The machines are profitable to
the operators, he pointed out, and
they are willing to exercise, certain
I controls themselves as a means of
1 staying in business.
4 In opening the hearing, Commits
I sioner John Russell Young said a
number of complaints had come
/" from police and civic sources that
children of tender years" were
finding pinball machines an "irre-
$ sistible lure" to truancy.
: D. B. lassefer Of Atlanta
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