Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-08-14
THE WATER RATES.
IConfinmed from, First Pooe.l


Congress, by the statute approved 18th July,
1876 page 81, IS Statutes at Large, expressly
recognized and ratified this action OF the cor
poratiOn Of Washington In these words: ssThat
all laws and ordinances now In force in the city
ofWashfngtOn relating to the payment and col
lection OF water taxes, water rents, and tax
extended to and made operative over all parts
OF the District OF Columbia where the water
taken from the United States Aqueduct is used.
ara said taxes and rents shall be payable and
cOllectlDle therein In the same manner and at
the same rates as tn the city OF Washington for
the year beginning January hrst eighteen hum
dred and seventy-sfx, and for each subsequent
year."
Second. The second ground OF illegality al
legged Is that the Commissioners having selected
the assessed value OF the houses as guide In
apportion1ng the rents, have not applied the
principle to the individual houses, but have
divided then into classes according to their as
sessment, and imposed the rates accordingly.
But the serious inconvenience and injustice
that would have resulted as well to the con-
Sumers as to the city government II 1t had been
required to resort to the individual valuations
suggested the provision in the law which ex-
pressly authorizes the commissioners to estab-
lish ga scale OF annual rates. "apportioned to
different classes OF buildings according to size,
&C." This method Of cLaSsifcatS has con.
stantly been adopted In tax and license laws
and although there may be inconsistencies dis
closed by scrutiny OF the operation OF the
schedule, /, nevertheless discover nothing in
the arrangement Illegal or violative OF the re-
quirement In the law that the rates should be
"nnifof1n, Whlcn does not signify that they
shall lie indtntical, but only conSO7,aat, Or &C.
cOTding to one rule or method.
The whole subject OF the establishment and
apport1Onment Of the rates was cOntided by
Congress to the discretion Of the District Com
missioners, officers specially selected for the
purpose. Congress had the power to appoint
others as repositories OF che trust. but it saw
lit to select these; and so long as such selected
agents, In performing their allotted duty, act
within the scope OF a discretion confided to them
by law, their powers, except in extraordinary
and exceptional instances, 10 restrain gross
abuse, are not subject to judicial control, what
ever the judges personally may think OF the
wisdom OF their acts. COncedlng to whoever
may DE commissioners for the time being the
natural and honest disposition to do justice to
their fellow citizens and themselves which
would be claimed by the complainant for him.
self II he occupied the same official position
we would still expect there would almost inev-
ftably be some complaints made with which
ever scale of rates might be devised The only
system appToximating in exactness Of result
measurement by meter,-wOuld probably be
obnoxious to many OF the objections which are
made against the use OF this method by the gas
companies. In the language Of the Supreme
Court in the state railroad cases In I'd Otto, 612
perfect equality and perfect uniformity OF
taxation as regards individuals or corporations
on the different classes OF property subject to
taxation, is dream unrealized. 1t may be ad-
m1tted that the system that most nearly attainS
this Is best. But the most complete system
that can be devised must be imperfect" at
there Is an excessive estimate of the value of the
FRANCHISE or capital stock. or both, 1t is by an
error OF Judgment Of the officers to whose judg-
ment the law cOnfided that matter; and it does
not lie with the court to substitute its own
judgment for that of the tribunal expressly
created for that purpose. Ibid, GIG.
II would be most uncharitable to suppose that
public officers would designedly Cypress
their fellow citizens or be needless Of reasona-
Die complaints, and II the rates proposed are
unreasonable or excessive the remedy Is with
mi Ccf o1r,nc
gress. For the court to substitute its judgment
Tor that OF the Commissioners would simply be
usuTpation OF an authority not committed to
IL Gy aW ana VIII probably less chance OF
of admitted difficulty requiring thorough ex-
animation by persons who have made it the
subject Of careful study.
gahty In the collection OF the new rent, that
the Commissioners were only authorized BIZ
law to establish annual rates-that they had,
half yearly periods, and thus require the s pay.
and different rate for the residue OF the year
This objection is not directed to the intrinsic
lect 1T within the year 1879.
In my opinion, this objection is we'll founded
The first ordinance On the subject passed In
october, 1889, declared that the water rates
should commence from 1st of January, 1860,
and they have ever since been reckoned from
that date and collected for the year ending OF
tuc lSt vi 06uudry. Inc act OF con-
gress OF 18th January, 1876 declares that the
then water rates shall be payable and collect
able, &C., ''for the year beginning January 1st
1876, and for every subsequent year." and sec
that the Commissioners shave authority to
establish scale OF annual rates." This clearly
means that the rates established shall CON
the power Is given to the Commissioners. by
the same section ITO modify, alter, amend, In
crease or reduce such rates from time to time,D
but "Ihe statute must be go construed that no
significant. "-DwarisOn Statues {65s) And
according to this canon Of construction the
power to change "from time to time" cannot
destroy the provision that the rate shall be an
annual one. lasting throughout year. Unless
this be so, the Commissioners might change the
rates four times or twelve times In the year,
and thus convert 1t into quarterly or monthly
rate, instead OF the annual one, which Congress
saw fit to prescribe In the law When the com
missfoners before the list day of January, 1879
determined what the rate should be for half OF
could make no other establishment Of rates for
that year, and the rate then established must
necessarily continue unchanged during the
entire year, until January 1St, 1850. Any Change
TO apply during the year 1880 must be made
before Its commencement, and when made must
remain uniform throughout that year. This
The only authority OF the Commission
ers to levy the rate was derived from
the law which limited their power to
tAO CStoOAcAACHt VI I'LL QHUuut rae. AhQ
1t Is Well settled that a tribunal or board
or limited jurisdiction can perform the duties
assigned TO 1t only in the manner prescribed In
the grant imposing the duty. Especially Is this
the case where such bodies are attempting the
exercise OF delegated power Of assessing taxes.
1t Is upon this ground that the courts have held
that Levy Court which is authorized by law
to lay tax between certain periods in the year.
have no right to attempt the performance OF
that duty after the expiration OF the time lint
ted-that tax SO imposed Is illegal, and al
though 1t has been collected by the collector,
no action could be maintained On his bond for
the amount collected. BY the operation Of this
new schedule the rate payer Vino has already
PAID SIX months rent, during this year. vii.
De required, within the same year. to pay q
further charge for twelve months more, thus
paying eighteen months rent within the year.
Gould the commissioners have eon1pelIel Int
payment OF thirty months rent within ore wear?
ana nave they any more power granted them tn
coliect eighteen months rent In the same DeIiol9
tOr OBVIOUS reasons 1t might have been con.
s'dered important that the CORPORATION should
aetarmine beforehand What would be thu ..-,n,"
bic extent Of the revenue "..1ine the entire
year, while it would be desirable that the
owner or renter Of house could be able to as
certain in advance the amount Of the charge to
which he would be subjected for the entire
year. But whatever the purposes OF the pro-
vision may have been, It's requirements seem
too plain TO admit OF question. 1t therefore re-
suits that the Commissioners have not the legal
right to enforce the collection OF the new rates
during any part OF the year 1879, while their