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Show Overripe Traffic Tags NO ONE will ever know how much revenue has been lost to the city through slovenly handling of traffic tags for overparking. The promise is, though, that after the first of the year additional clerical help in the police department de-partment will be provided so that it may "keep up" with violators. Not for the first time, by any means, but the year-end cleanup has been begun by officers offi-cers of the traffic department. A vast accumulation accumula-tion of parking tags is being sorted to determine what tagged individuals failed to report to police po-lice headquarters to make amends for leaving their cars overtime at the curb. Traffic officers say that from IS to 30 per cent of such offenders never show up. They also i.im that "tag iixing"iti thing Dlthe past but, of course, though they didn't say to, everyone every-one who reads the papers knows that this sweeping sweep-ing claim could not take in the city commission. commis-sion. Occasions have arisen when the "right party" has been able to induce the commission to "tear up" a tag as an act of grace, friendship or "diplomatic courtesy." Catching up for lost time, the traffic department depart-ment now plans to offer a last opportunity to traffic tag scofflaws to come in and take their medicine. For those who do, treatment will probably prob-ably be more or less homeopathic at a cost around S3. Allopathic treatments will cost about $1 more that is where it becomes necessary to issue a summons. Bitter or sour as that may be, "ambulance cases" will be still more disagree- . able, that is where bench warrants are issued and uniformed men have to go after the tag lgnorers and bring them back alive. The trouble is that after traffic tags have ' been "kicking around" for many months memories mem-ories may be dimmed and there will come the difficulty of placing evidence before the court sufficient to convict Many of the overparkera may have been transients or may have removed residence from the city. In any event, not all the delinquents will be caught in this neL To be effective, enforcement of the traffic code must be rigid and it must be followed up while the cases are "hot" or there is no punishment punish-ment and no revenue. It is nothing less than slovenly for this part of the public business to be carried on as has been the rule for long put. The employment of an extra clerk, if this is necessary, ought to bring sufficient additional revenue to more than pay the extra salary involved. |