Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-06-05
Continued from Grst PAGE. ]


states OF the Union where the goyerzmeut holds
landed estate II has paid taxes upon il, and
these taxes have been expended Tor the ordinary
sarne = situatCd.
VIE ther this latter fact be true or not your
Committee have TO evidence. The report further
calls attention TO the fact tn the har4shlps %
private property holders in exemption OF gov
ernment property from taxation, IL strikinRlv
illustrated when Il is remembered that the gov
eminent has been the owner OF lots held for
sale ever since the capital was located here
and vet these lots not reserved for public use
but held by the government for speculation.
have pad no taxcs. The report concludes az
follows:
them ard Of he relief to De proposed, the commit
tee have been separate the Interests Of the
IA,y regard Il As tie eaild Of the aion, az the
sh5ss,i.9 81 the 9nIon ror its own purposes Th
t. create residence Tor the government, where
which shCuld be regaIstsf and s9neSned Sy tbea,
without ihe intsreTsnee q partial interests in the
their authority and reso aroes, nCt tepsTdent up
thH VII u resources Il anJ state OF local inter az
IL this hst rot been the design, a Temporary or
permanent seat Of government would have bee sc
ieettd N sorse PoPulous city, or song9 terri 'rJ,
sgn il is not easy 70 pretend eIher the princ-
PIE which would prevent :he go:errmeut frsm q
accomplish the object, or ths policy which conf /
Cor fac the cry 70 ths meao. sse5sei b. The ia
In these views your committee entirely con-
cur. The committee believe that they express
the relations Of Che general government ant the
District government with respect 70 municipal
expenses.
Of Justice in the idea that the CnjteI States
should hold free from taxation more than one.
half Of the area OF the capital city, should
require to be maintained a city upon an unusu-
ally expensive scale from which the ordinary
revenues derived from commerce aud MANN
features are excluded; that in such a case the
burden OF maintaining the expenses for the
capital should fan upon the resident popu-
lation-
very large proportion Of this population are
temporary residents, and only brought here to
ssrve the go7ernment IN various capacities.
orally hold but little property. The remaining
portion Of the population is made up chiefly of
persons engaged in minor traffic, and in supply
isg The wants OF the government, Of themselves,
and Of the temporary residents referred TO, 80
that there is Absolutely 10 source of revenue
which can be looked 70 as permanent support
for the necessary expenditures Of this city.
Aside, then, from sll question of sentiment or
patriotism or pride in the national capital, your
committee are impressed with the belief that
the federal government sustains at least such
relation toward the citizens and the local gov
eminent as would require it to contribute to
municipal expenses an amount bearing the re-
IatiOn 10 the whole amount required, which the
Interest OF the federal government here bears 70
the interest OF the local government; and this
they believe 70 be at least one-half.
AN ACCURATE BASIS or EXPENDITURE SHOULD
EE DEFINED.
As 70 the third and last branch OF the resolution
asking whether some accurately defined basis OF
expenditure cannot be prescribed and main
tanned by law, yeur committee remark that
they believe this 10 be OF paramount import
aree, both 70 the federal and local govern
ment.
There never has been, since the location OF
the capital at this place, any consistency, or
even Intelligence in toe adjustment OF these
expenditures. For aNample, the government is
now paying two thirds OF thu expenses incurred
by the police fUrce of the city, and by law is also
paying One-third OF the expense of the fire da-
psrtment OF the city, and yet IL must be adj
mitted that both or these departments are
equally important to hefederaI a. well as local
govern ment; while at the same time the gov
eIhneht Is eOhuloGting nothing toward the sup
port OF Oteer branches OF the local government
that have eQuai claims upon il for assistance.
In the matter OF lighting the city the district
"a paying an annual expense of $50, COO, and l.
lighting over three thousand lamps, many of
them around government property, and within
government reservations, while ths general
government ls lighting but about one hundred
lamps AZ an expense OF about i've thousand dol
lars, 81 OF this being for the lamps Immediately
about the Capitol building AMI the Presidents
house.
The health department is, IN part, sustained
by The general government, while the public
schools receive no aid whatever. Aud vet in
these schools it Is found that over seventy-three
Fer cent. CT the parents whose children attend
school pay 70 taxes; that over thirty per cent.
are the Children OF parents in government en-
ployment, and over thiTty-tWO per Cent the
The committee dnd, also, that the expenU-
tur6- OF government have never been UPON any
fixed principles, but have been unsteady AMI
tuUl, and ia such manner as 10 almost enf;rG-
ly fail 20 carry out any OF the features in n .
Plan Of the city.
From \ statement Of expenditures BY the gov
eminent by the Treasury department lp to Isl I,
We End that some years the government wont 1
spprcp pirate quite large sum, and other years
quite smsll sam. In the year $50 for exam -
pc, the expenditures were over three hundrr d
thousand dollars, while the year following they
were but about two thousand dollar, ard the
year following that 40 000; the total expenti-
tures up 70 ISL for improvements or avenues
and streets being but little over one million
dollars, during which per.O1 the local govern
nsnt Tor the District has expended over nins
times that amount
YCur committee will not attempt 10 present A
comparative statement of expenditures male
by the Federal and local governments. Refer
enee has been made to expenditures only, to
show the utter lack or any policy toward the
District, which runs through the whole Ieyisla-
ton OF Con greEs. and this is sufficiently Illus
trated in the one fact, that the forty second
Congress appropriated more money toward the
Improvement or the capital than had been ap-
propriGted during the seventy years preceding.
IL Il believed that II would be much wiser anu
much more economical, both 20 the national
and local governments, 20 TX upon a definite
sum, or proportion, to be contributed by both ,
and that II : more Important that these sppro-
PriatiOns should be made regularly and upon
some well-cehned principle, than that they
should be large. such a course, had IL been
adopted IN lsoO ard steadily pursued toward
the capital, would have made IL to-day the
rlost beautiful capital city in the world; and
such course now, steadily pursued, will MAKE
II 20 az 10 very distant day.
Your committee would not hesitate % under
take me preparation OF a bill looking 70 this
wei defined basis or expenditures; but in view
OF The fact that Joint committee OF tue Senate
ard HcuSe have been charged with an exaclIna-
ton Ito al the questions IL their detail which
should De first examined before ataring such
q measure ana your committee IL not so
charged, rOT n possession 0. the necessary facts
Trey therefore FEEL constrained 20 submit these
general views and wait he further order OF the
House should The yCiat committee referred 20
fail 20 present bin ais weTIBg the INJURY OF
the resolution
LAW DETA ETIEST GEORGETOWN UvIvER-
sfTY.-The aCrEIl commencement Of the law
department O. the University Of q georgetown
took place last evening, at : O'Clock, ia EOrds