Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-05-22
District Interest. fin the Senate.

Although the Senate did not make much
progress yesterday with the consideration of
the District BILL it was satisfactory to ROte the
intelligent interest displayed in District affairs
by those who spoke incidentally upon the mat
ter-Messrs. Bayard, ingalls,, Whyte. Hamlin.
HOar, Edmunds, Thurman. and others. Mr.
Bayard, who spoke most at length set forth
very clearly the relations existing between the
District and the government, and the reasons
why 1t was unjust to throw the great burdens
OF the expenses of the government city upon
the handful OF taxpayers residing here. The
government, he said, owns and controls vast
portion and the valuable portion of the real
estate. Proceeding in this connection, he said
The city of Washington is not alone a depot
Tor its Teal con meree and transactions but it
IS the po'ifical center of the entire Union.
Repr' Sc tdtives from every state and territory
md their homes here during the sessions of
Congress. The agents for the federal govern
ment IN all its executive branches find their
departments of labor here, and all persons
having bu, in as throughout the United States
IN connection with the federal government
must In scme way or other find their way to
Washington. This makes it federal city 1t
Is used FIR federal purposes. The occupation
OF the or Jund by those who own houses aud
make the il permanent homes here is mel
incident TO the great purpose which is the use
OF thlS town as center for federal action.
The result is, as far as property is concerned
that sys EN- of expenditure has been permit
ted here and system of legislation that would
never have been allowed to have one wears
contll uous existence in any place where the
people were allowed to govern their own affairs
with intelligence. There have been abuses i'm
the way OF expenditure, there are D. day abuses
IN the way of expenditure in the District that
would not be suffered to exist anywhere else
No people who were to pay such taxes and
nave such expenses would ever vote to lay
them upon themselves, because bankfup cy.
hopeless and complete. would be the necessary
result"
Mr.. Bayard did not hesitate to declare his
conviction that under the circumstances the
Proportion of One-half of the expenses to be
boz ne by the people of this District is ex-
cesslye, and that it ought to be less even than
OnefOurth. Justly considering the fact that
the expenses of governing this town are chiefly
caused for the entertainment and for the use
and convenience of nonresident population
from all the rest of the Union 1T is" he
said, simply absurd to suppose that this little
town-fOr that is all it is-on the borders OF
Maryland and Virginia can be main aimed
upon the scale which we now see it in, at such
an expense 10 the local inha bitantS. If il is to
be-aS think it ought to be-a Federal city
worthy of the great nation whose seat of CIV
eminent il Is, then it seems to me that by far
the greater portion of the expense must be
borne by the federal government, and not BY
the local lnhabiialtS. The local population
OF Washington, he pointed out, could not bear
these expenses; the property will not bear it.
Is not worth it If it is to be paid it must be
paid out of the Treasury of the United States
from which in his judgment it ought to be
paid, because the laws contracting the expense
and authorizing the outlay were passed with
out consultation with, or without sufficient
consideration in any way for, the people
whose property lies here.
These are the views of one of the ablest.
most thoughtful and conscientious member
of the Senate, and it is matter of great sat
isfactiOn to the people of the District to have
the weight of his good word in their behalf