Evening star., 1947-07-26
.Conferees Clear
|4D. {. Bills for
Final Passage y
Include Clinics for
Alcoholics, Tighter
Weapons Law
By Don S. Warren

Eleventh efforts were to be
made today to gain final congress
sional action on four District meas
ures having the blessing of House.
Senate conference committees but
facing the adjournment logjam.
One is the revised Hebeft bill
for establishment and financing OF
clinics for the rehabilitation OF
chronic alcoholics. A conference
committee late yesterday adopted a
unanimous report recommending the
passage Of Senate amendments to
this bill which would increase the
annual liquor license fees by 10 per
cent to finance the clinics.
Members said the increase in fees
would aggregate about $4,000 a
year, to be earmarked for the financ-
ing of the clinics. The sum was
considered adequate for clinic costs
for the present.
House to Act First.
The House was to act first on this
conference report. If approved, Sen
ate acceptance was considered only
formality. since it already has
approved the plan recommended by
the conferees.
The bill to strengthen District
controls over the carrying of con-
cealed weapons may be passed today
by the House and sent to the White
House for signature. A conference
recommendation for settlement of
House and Senate differences over
the measure was adopted last night
by the Senate.
The measure as revised by the
conference group would give police
the right to make arrests and
searches, without a warrant, when
they have reason to believe con-
cealed weapons are being illegally
carried. Since the offense is kept
in the misdemeanor classification,
however, the conferees added a pro-
viso that. if the person arrested
is found not to be carrying con-
cealed weapon, police may not use
against him evidence of any other
law violation they may find in their
search.
One Adverse Vote.
This compromise plan was ap-
proved by the Senate with only one
adverse vote. Senator Cooper, Re-
publican, of Kentucky, who had
maintained the offense should be
classed as a felony instead of a mis-
demeanor, asked to be recorded as
voting against it.
Senator Cooper earlier had ex-
planned that, while he favored more
stringent rules against gun-toting,
he feared that to permit searches
without a warrant in cases of mis-
demeanors might lead to trespasses
on civil rights.
Embalmers Bill Ready.
The third bill cleared by a House.
Senate Conference Committee and
today awaiting final action is one
to establish a system of licensing
undertakers and embalmers oper-
ating in the District. The Con-
ference Committee. meeting late
yesterday, was unanimous in recon-
mending adoption Of minor amend
ments which had been added to the
House bill by the Senate.
Also awaiting action was bill to
authorize the District recorder of
deeds to adopt photostatic process
in the copying of legal documents
which, by law, now must be done
by typewriter.
The House had included this au-
thority in a much broader bill which
would have made the Office partially
subject to the District Commission
ers and would have transferred the
recording of auto liens to the De-
partment of Vehicles and Traffic
The Senate eliminated all of this
bill except the authority to use
photoStat machines. The Confer
ence Committee has recommended
enactment of the limited Senate bill.