Evening star., 1953-06-18
House Speeds
D. C..CriiIrle Bill
10 President
Accepts Senute's
Modified Version
Of Tighter Law

put into force the big crime con-
troll bill for the District.
Congressional action was
completed late yesterday, when
the House approved the Senate
version of the measure and sent
it to the White House.
Action on the House floor,
carrying out a request for con-
currence with the Senate bill,
required only a minute and a
half.
House sponsors of the tougher
House-passed bill had agreed
earlier to accept the toned
down Senate bill to avoid the
hazards or delay Of sending the
measure to conference in the
closing days of this session.
Passed without Debate.
The bill was called up by Rep
resentative Tale. Republican, of
Iowa, chairman of the House
District Crime subcommittee. He
asked the House to concur in the
Senate amendments to the
House bill. There was no objec-
ton, and the measure was
rushed through without a word
of debate.
Ready to defend the measure
on the Democratic side of the
House was Representative Smith,
Democrat, of Virginia a member
OF the crime subcommittee. But
he didn't have to say a word.
Representative Tale and other
members of the District Com
mittee. including Representative
Davis, Democrat, of Georgia had
conferred with House leaders on
the floor during lengthy debate
on a national appropriation bill.
Agreement was reached by all,
Mr.. Tale said, that the best pro-
cedure would be to take the Sen.
ate version, instead Of sending
the bill to conference.
Four Years q Work.
Mr.. Tale, expressing gratiflca-
ton over congressional enact
ment said: The bill represents
four years Of WORK. It is my
firm conviction, if the law is well
inforced, we shall see great i'm
provement in the crime situation
OF the District.
"As I previously told the House
when the bill was called up for
consideration early in June,
Washington should be the model
city in law and order. The work
we did on this bill was in the
direction of achieving that goal"
Representative Davis said he
favored the House bill, with it's
stronger provisions on fixed min
imum sentences but that he felt
it was better to concur with the
Senate amendments than to put
the bill in jeopardy.
Fixed Terms at Issue.
The major differences between
House and Senate bills involved
mandatory minimum sentences
for second offenders. The Sen
ate acting on advice of it's Dis
trict Committee, had knocked
out of the House bill mandatory
minimum sentences for first Of
tenders. Left in the bill as it con-
fronted the House were manda-
tory minimum sentences for only
six crimes of violence for re-
peaterS.
Under the bill as finally en-
acted, Senate amendments pre-
served the effect of the National
Youth Corrections Act for pro-
baton and rehabilitation of
juvenile offenders and gave
greater discretion to the judges
in deciding the punishment for
other offenders.
Changes in Law.
The bill was developed as a
result of a 1949-50 crime investi-
cation by the House District
Committee, and the more dra-
matte investigation by the Sem
ate District Committee last year.
Out of these came a flock of bills
from the Senate District Com
mittee and a reintroduction of
the House bill. These were
merged into the so-called omni-
bus bill, after joint hearings by
a House-Senate District subcom-
mittee.
In addition to the minimum
sentences provision, the bill
would make some 70 changes in
District laws. It would stiffen
penalties for certain crimes,
streamline gambling laws, define
certain offenses more clearly, put
after-hours bottle clubs under
license and control, set up a
permanent council on law en-
forcement and provide police
with more tools to enforce the
law.