Evening star., 1953-12-15
Youth DRINKING
In D. {. Probed
Senator'S
State Policeman
Says He Never
Sow Like of 1t
Continued From First Page.)

police make two arrests after a
fist fight at the arena but he
saw no arrests of drinking juve-
niles.
He testified that he had in
terviewed Capt. Otto p. Fuss of
No. 13, who told him that he
had had no complaints on drink
ing juveniles but had had COM
plants on fighting.
Arrest records at the precinct
showed 1873 arrests at Fourteenth
and w streets last year of which
81 were under 81 years of age
The juvenile squad, he added.
reported five juveniles arrested
there for drinking.
Police Removal Asked.
1t. Lacaire put into the record
some correspondence on police
protection at the arena. He pre-
Sented a letter to the CommiS-
SionerS dated July %, 1858, from
the law firm of Charles E. Ford
and Clifford Alder requesting
that the assessment for two Met
ropolitan policemen amounting
to $202.93 month be set aside
because the cost was burden
and the management provided
as many as seven of its own spe-
cial police who could protect the
public.
The letter pointed out that
the police force was under
manned and the public would be
better served if the two police
men were relieved for other du-
ties.
The witness then introduced a
memorandum dated August 19,
1858, from Capt. Fuss reporting
on an interview with Vincent j.
Mcmahon of the arena corpora
ton and Attorneys Ford and
Alder in which they argued that
other halls do not have regular
police. Capt. Fuss recommended
that the regular police services
be dispensed with for a trial pc
riod of six months.
Warming to Arena.
A report to Capt. Fuss from
1t. William F. Rector of No. 13,
dated September 18, was then
introduced. 1t. Rector wrote
that he had visited the place on
September IL, had been unable
to spot any special police, had
been told by Mr.. Mcmahon that
four were supposed to be there.
but only one had showed up.
1t. Rector wrote that he had
told Mr.. Mcmahon that If spe-
cial police were not provided the
halls license would be revoked.
The last communication was a
letter to the Commissioners from
Ford and Alder dated November
10 requesting that police protec-
ton be resumed as soon as
possible.
Lists Places.
1t. Lacaire gave the commit
tee the following list of places
where he had seen drinking ju-
VenileS:
Bennys Tavern, 829 Four
teenth street NV; Rands Tav-
ern, 1416 I street NV; Harry'S
Tavern, Twelfth street and New
York avenue NV; the Famous
Restaurant, New York avenue
near Twelfth street NV; Guys
Place and the Round Up in the
500 block of Eighth street Sc,
and Woodys Restaurant at Third
and Kennedy streets NV.
He testified that he saw a
crowd of youngsters who looked
to be IA and Is years old drink
ing beer at Woodys on Sunday
afternoon.
He testified that at the Cam
den Tavern, at H and Thirteenth
streets NE: he saw a 5-year-
old wandering around from
table to table while the woman
who was apparently her mother
and was called Mabel, sat in a
booth drinking with a man. He
said three policemen visited the
place during this period late at
night and none of them did any,
thing about the child.
Change in Age Limit Urged.
1t. Lacaire strongly recon-
mended that the age for selling
beer and wine to young people
should be raised from 18 to 81.
He said it was difficult to enforce
a law that permits beer drink
ing at 18 because it is easier for
a 15-year-old to pose as an 18-
year-old than as a 21-year-old,
and it is difficult when there are
many young people around a
crowded table to tell whether the
teenagers are drinking beer while
their older companions are
drinking whisky.
Trooper Detective Rulon c.
Peek, of the New Jersey State
Police, supported 1t. Lacaire'S
testimony on Turner's Arena and
described what he had seen at
the Pythian Temple, in the 1000
block of Ninth street NV. He
testified that he saw young peo-
pie drinking at the hall in dark
corners and lavatories. He said
they apparently made a game of
seeing how much they could
swallow in one gulp.
He said he saw them going
back and forth to the Fedora
ton Grill, at Ninth and L streets
NV, and also crossing the
street to the Service Liquor
Store to buy bottles of whisky
and bring them back to the
dance hall for post-midnight
drinking on Saturday night.
Above the Federation Grill, he
testified. girls hang from win
dows trying to lure young men
upstairs for prostitution. He
said he himself was approached
by a procuror.
Trooper Peek told Of two m
efonccS- -ono invnIvinO fuo n