Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-19
Auditor Petty Makes His Annual
Report to the Commissioners.
WHAT THE BALANCE SHEET SHOWS
The Question Of Making Only One
Collection a Year.
ANTICIPATING REVENUES

The annual report of the auditor Of the
District was submitted to the Commission
srs this morning. The report Is supple
mented by several tables giving an ex-
haustive statement of the finances Of the
District.
The report says: THE question as to
which is the better mode of collecting taxes
in two installments. as now, or In single
payment. was formerly the custom-is
at present the subject of much discussion.
As a means of lessening the liability to
error on the part Of the taxpayer and Of
Tightening the burdens Of the assessors
and the tax collectors offices, one payment
would prove Of mutual advantage to the
public and the government On the other
hand. there are two arguments which sug
gest themselves against the change. One
is the possible hardships 1t might work In
the cases of persons with limited means
and small holdings, who would find 1T diff
cult to meet their obligations. The other
and more serious objection Ia the embar-
rassment which would be sensibly felt In
BUSINESS and monetary circles as a conse-
quencs of the withdrawal at one time of so
large an amount from the ordinary chan
nes of circulation. If. however, it be
deemed expedient to adopt the proposed
system. the month In which payment may
be made Is a matter Of Importance. Some
favor May, while others incline to Novem-
Der. Should the former month be chosen
support the District government from the
commencement of the fiscal year-a period
OF ten mountaineering the risk of failure
to receive in the May collections a sufficient
amount to reimburse It's outlay in excess
of the one-half 1t Is required by law to con-
tribute. Whereas If the collection be made
In November. the resources of the District
would be definitely ascertained before the
fiscal year had half expired, and there
would be no danger Of viola ting the
ganic act in Its requirement that the Com
missioners during any fiscal year, shall not
make requisition upon the revenues of the
United States for n larger amount than
they make upon those of the District Of
Columbia.
Anticipating Collections.
Il find in conversation with many Of our
citizens that an impression prevails that
taxes are collected a year in advance of
their disbursement. and lie in unproductive
idleness from the date Of their collection
until the passage Of the law which author
ICES their expenditure. That Is to say, that
moneys received in November are. to
speak, locked up In the treasury until
the succeeding Congress releases them by
appropriation. As a matter of fact, our ap-
preparations for a given year are made
months before the collections for that year
begin. and are based, not upon moneys al
ready in hand, but upon estimates of what
we expect to receive. To correct this mis-
apprehension the following statement from
the present years transactions is sub
mtted:
Receipts.
Cash balance to credit Of the Dis
trict of Columbia In U. s. treas
ury, July l. 1895. observation-disclosures. 500. 900 90
Collected in July, 1895. ............. 1892 II
Collected in August, 1895. .......... 5O,96s 80
Collected in September, $780,. $1,000 33
Collected in October, 1895. 29I, 693 90
Total collections July 1 to Oc-
tober 81, 1913. Decentralization. 9O3, f4S 70
Add amount dine from limited
States acknowledgements. 9Os, AS 10
Total revenues. District Of
Columbia, July to October
81, 1879. ,SOt,S 91 oS
Expenditures.
acquisitions paid by U. s. treas
ury in July, 1895. $732, S51 81
acquisitions paid by U. s. treas
ury in August. 1895. .............. 571.549 IT
acquisitions paid by U. g. treas
ury in September, 1895. ........... 1872, 04s OF
ury in October, 1885 ............ $3.50, 400 So
Total payments by u 8. treas
ury July to October 81, 1895. 2. O72, $50 II
Columbia, as above. ........... i, sO6, ss7 So
Expenditures in excess Of re-
cepts, November 1, 1895. ........ 266,042 Is
1T Is clear from the foregoing statement
that on the list day Of November. 1895. the
District treasury was empty, and the gov
eminent In debt to the United States. The
collections for the month. therefore. instead
OF being boarded until Congress shall appro-
pirate them, Will be used to pay this indebt-
edness and to meet our obliga tons between
November 1. 1885, and the collection of the
second installment Of taxes, in May, 1893.
During this interval our expenditures will
again exceed our receipts. and the May col
lections will be needed in part to reimburse
the treasury for its outlay in excess of the
one-half payable by the United States.
ntrr- tnI ftNy,
present month was exceptionally favorable
In consequence of the fact that We had
large surplus at the opening of the year in
stead of commencing with a debt as we did
In 1S93 and in prior years. But for this fact
We should be largely in arrears to the gen.
eral government long before the second in
stallment of taxes becomes due, in May,
1896.
The Dockery System.
'Under the operation Of the act of July 81,
1894. Familiarity known as the Dockery law,
many accounts of former boards of Commits
sioners which, with their unavailable bal
ances, have numbered the books of the de-
partments for years. have been adjusted and
closed. Other accounts Of the same char
acter, which have been suspended or dis
allowed upon purely technical grounds. or
for some informalities which involve no loss
to the government, but are due to mere diff
ferences of opinion between the accounting
officers of the District and those of the
tiCdSuiy dS " liie Oh dpprOpFld-
lions, are now the subject of conference be-
tween the controller of the treasury and this
office. with good prospects of early and sat
isfactory adjustments. In few instances
of disallowance the differences are irrecon-
cilable. and recourse must be had to Con-
gress for remedial legislation. But, mas
much as the disallowed expenditures were
all made in good faith, and the government
received in every instance fair equivalent
for its outlay. there would seem to be no
reason TO expect other than favorable con-
gressonal action in the premises.
The new system CT accounting in its
application to the District. has produced
some good results in addition to the closing
or the accounts herenbefore mentioned It
is flexible. reducing to minimum the fric-
ton which Is more or less incidental to a
review Of the action of one department by
the officers of another. and speeds the ad-
1ustmtnt and settlement of our accounts as
rapidly as could be desired. In these par
ticuiars 1t Is an Improvement upon the old
method. but IN respect Of safeguarding
against fraud or error the latter is, in my
opinion, much to be preferred. OF course,
as my observation is confined to District
accounts my criticism is correspondingIy
limited, for. without experience in the gem
eral workings of the law, l would not pre-