The Evening critic., 1885-01-27
THE DISTRICT BILL.
An Interesting Review Of Local
Matters.
ACTION IN THE HOUSE.
Judge Follett Leads Discussion On
City Matters-School Manage
ment, Firemon, and Hos
pital Disputes.

In explaining tho District Of Columbia
Appropriation bill in tho Committee of the
Whole In tho House yesterday afternoon,
Mr. Follett called attention TO the now Log
islation In that measure. In regard to the
provision directing the accounting officers
Of the Treasury 90 adjust and settle equit.
ably the accounts Of the late Commission
ers, Mr.. Follett said
There are involved Ia this provision
about $1,000 between $4,000 aud $2O,-
00O-Of unadiusted accounts of the late
Board Of Commissioners. These accounts
arose largely from the fact that Congress
provided for tho work Of reassessment or ro-
adjustment Of the assessment upon tho
property Of the District OF Columbia with
out providing for the clerical force neces.
sary to accomplish that work. The work
was made imperative; the Commissioners
were directed 10 have II done; but no ap-
propIiation was mAdo for tho purpose Of
employing the force necessary to do IT, Tho
result was that tho Commissioners en-
ployed a force, paying thom out of the con-
tingent fund which had been appropriated
for contingent expenses.
"The First Comptroller OF the Treasury
held that clerical force for such work as
that could not be paid out Of tho contingent
fund, and hence these accounts have re-
mained unadiusted to this time This
provision simply authorizes an equitable
adjustment OF those accounts, leaving it
| discretionary with the proper officers TO de-
| teImine which one of these accounts ought
to be allowed and the amount that ought
/ to be allowed.
| "The next item of new legislation" OK
| planned Mr. Follett, 'is provision that the
records of the surveyor Of the District of
Columbia shall DO public records. They
have surveyor here in the District, but
his records he has stoutly insisted were
private records, and therefore belonged to
him, and the District Commissioners havo
no control over them. To obviate that
trouble the District Commissioners re-
quested that this officer should DO made a
salaried officer, and should pay such foes
| as he collected into the Treasury for the
general benefit of the District and the
| Government. The Committee on Appro-
| priations prefer to leave the officer as a
feed officer, but by provision OF law to
| make the records of that officer, for he is
to all intents and purposes a public officer,
public records.
The next new legislation in the bill Is
| to create a relief fund for the Police De-
| paItment in the District as we did last
| year for the Fire Department--taking out
| from the compensation of each one of the
police of the city 81 per month to be set
| apart for relief fund to be used for such
abled in the service.
1.-THE next provision that Is new legisla.
tion is, that the District shall be allowed
credit as part of Its revenues for one-half
of all drawback certificates heretofore re-
ceived or that may hereafter be received for
general taxes under the acts Of June 81,
1870, and July ., 1884, less any of said draw
back certificates already credited thereto.
Under tho act of Congress by which It
was provided that oue-half of the expenses
of running the District Government should
be paid by the Government and the other
half by the District those expenditures in
cluded not simply payment Of current ex-
penses, but payment of the Indebtedness
then existing against the District aud the
interest ON that Indebtedness. After the
passage of that law an act was passed in
1870 requiring the Collector of Taxes of the
District TO receive in payment of taxes
drawback certificates which had been given
on readjustment of taxes alleged to have
| been improperly assessed. In other words,
the District Of Columbia, in the collection
of the taxes, takes these drawback certih-
Gates and thereby pays the entire amount
| of that Indebtedness resulting from the re-
adjustment of the tax.
The Secretary of the Treasury or the
First Comptroller of tho Treasury has de-
clined to allow credit to the District for
those drawback certificates unless it were
necessary to allow it for the purpose of
meeting the amount of appropriations that
were made in the fiscal year in which those
drawback certificates were received and,
therefore, there are Of these drawback GER
tihcates at that credit some $4,000, as l
now remember, for which the District has
received no credit. 1t has been deemed just
and proper that the District should receive
credit; having received these drawback
certificates as so much cash in the collec-
tion of taxes, that they should be credited
with that amount as against like amount
contributed by the Government for the
| purpose of paying the expenses OF running
the Government of the District OF COlum-
bia."
There are three new items in the bill
OF them Mr.. Follett said "One is for the
construction Of new building for the ben
fit of the females who are sentenced to the
workhouse, building for the female con-
victs separate from the building in which
the male convicts are confined. Work
house facilities are now totally inadequate
for the cOnvicts that are sent there. In the
male department there are from twenty to
twenty five male convicts put In one ROOM
sleeping in hunks, and sometimes two to-
gether, for the purpose of giving room to
accommodate all that are sent TO the work
house. l know of no workhouso Ia the
country that is so crowded as the workhouse
| In the city OF washington.
"There is another item under the head of
charities-an appropriation Of $4,000 for
the purchase or construction Of building
for the National Homeopathic Hospital OF
the District of Columbia. 1t is claimed by
residents of the District Of Columbia that
all the charities now are under the exolu-
sive management Of tho Allopathic School
of Physicians, and for the purpose of testing
the two systems in part; and for the pur-
pose of accommodating those who desire TO
be treated by the homeopathic system, they
request that an appropriation shall be made
for the construction or erection or purchase,
as they may deem best, of a homeopathic
hospital. The committee have recommended
$4,000 for that purpose.
Another new provision in the matter oil
charities is for the construction Of an addi.
tional building for the National Association
for Destitute Colored Women and Children
and an appropriation of $4,000 is recon.
mended for that purpose.
"The committee this year have appro
priated for the improvement of streets and
the making Of new streets $265,000, all
that it was deemed possible to appropriate
orproper to appropriate in view of the othel
appropriations Of the bill.
81 may say here that it is impossible in
any appropriation bill for the District oi
| Dpln 10 20 80 al al - al