Evening star., 1895-02-12
CONGRESS AND THE DISTRICT
Injustice Done to Washington by National
Legislators
More Taxes Than Bcncfts-The Equity
of the Matter Considered by
an Intelligent Observer.

CT a well-conSidereQ special QlSpatcn 10 tne
Philadelphia Press, published today. The
correspondent says: The people OF the Dis
trict of Columbia are having their annual
contest. so to speak, with Congress. with
the view of getting anything like the reQui-
site appropriations for the conduct of the
city government. The relations under
which the appropriations are now made for
this District grow out of the act of 1873,
which provides: ITO the extent to which
Congress shall approve of said estimates
Ghe annual estimates made up by the Dis
tyict Commissioners Congress shall appro-
pirate 80 per centuIn thereof Under this
arrangement the Commissioners appointed
by the President make the estimates for
the city and Congress approves of them
to such an extent as it pleases, and the
people of the city have no voi,e whatever
in the matter. The excuse for this dis
franchisement of the people is that Con-
gress pays one-half of the appropriations
for the District, the remainder heing raised
by taxation. But there is no gain to the
city in the fact that the government pays
one-half of the expenses. The government
owns more than one-half in value Of all
the real estate in the city. And if taxes
were levied the same as they are in Berlin
and other cities on government property
the government would necessarily pay
more than one-haf tie taxes.
But tnere are many burdens WHICH ran
on the city simply because 1t is the capital
For instance, of the rumber Of persons fur
nshed relief in one year from the charities
fund, fund raised by private subscrip-
tion, only 2q out of the IS5 were residents
of the District. Nearly three-fourths of
those furnished relief belong to other
states; twenty-four states and one territory
furnished 43S, considerably more than one
half of the whole, while eleven foreign
countries furnished ia. of whom one was
from Mesopotamia. The same is true of
the hospitals and other charitable inStitu-
tions. In one year 622 non-residents were
furnished transportation to their homes
Among these were 154 eX-soldiers and sail
ors attracted here by the hope of getting
government employment or of pushing
through some claim in the pension Office
or elsewhere. OF the -arious hospitals to
which people are sent for treatment, the
taxpayers of the District compelled to
bear one-half the cost of all the cases ad-
mitted. while more than one-half of them
are of persons belonging to other states
who were in Washington temporarily. All
the crankS and that class of people who
are attracted here become more or less of
an expense to the city. The hundreds sud-
denly thrown out of employment through
various reasons in the departments often
become more or less charge the city.
All these things go to make large bill of
expense TO the local taxpayers. while the
government should, as a matter of fact,
bear all of this outlay.
Neither Land nor Money.
The general government has given to the
states over S55,0o0,000 surplus cash from
the treasury and about 40.OO0,OoO acres of
public lands for school purposes. 1t has
never given to the District of Columbia
dollar of money or an acre of land for this
purpose. This city has no permanent
school fund such as the states have The
so-called District debt was created prn-
cipally by the board of public works and
other commissioners appointed under acts
of Congress, and the people OF the city
have had nothing whatever to say about it.
This debt, created in that way, good part
of which represents money wasted, has to
be all met by the people of the city, who
are taxed for the payment of the annual
interest on IL Congress authorized the
construction OF tunnel for the increased
water supply of the city. The work was
put under the charge of an army engineer.
The people of the city had nothing what
ever to say about 1t. The tunnel proved to
be fraud and could not be used. Con-
greSS appointed a committee TO examine
the fraud, and the cost of that investiga-
tion was $4,000. The people were COM
PEELED to pay one-half the expense of in
veStigatins a government fraud and then
were compelled to pay Sl,2S6,OOO as one-half
the expense of constructing the tunnel.
with which they never had anything to do
and which has not been one penny of value
to them. The government then constructed
a temporary main at a cost of SJto,OOO to
take the place of the fraudulent tunnel,
half the cost of this main, as well as one
half the cost of the tunnel and one
half the expense of investigating the tun-
mel fraud. The Geological Park for the
Smithsonian Institution was created by act
of Congress, and the people of the District
were taxed to pay for it,
Burdens Oh the People.
These merely illustrate the enormous
burdens thrown upon the people Of the city
by Congress. But for necessary school
houses, sewers and thlrgs of that kind
Congress refuses to appropriate the money
absolutely required, on the alleged plea of
economy. MIR. Aldrich made a statement
in regard to school facilities in the Senate
this week which will illustrate the wisdom
shown by Congress in acting ON these local
matters. Mr.. Aldrich said:
According to the statement furnished
me, which 1 have no doubt is either cor
rect or approximately so there are $500
children of school age in the District, and
of this number Al los attend school, leav-
ing over 10000 children growing up in this
District in Ignorance. There are 4,410 white
pupils who attend school half time for
lack of room and 1t is estimated that 23
per cent of the white children in the Dis
trict do not attend school; 3,S1S of the col
ored children attend school half time be-
cause OF lack of room, while 1851 are un-
able to get even half days schooling for
lack of school facilities. This scandaIous
state of affairs in the capital city of the
nation the demOCrauc House OIL REPRE-
sentatives refused to relieve in any way.
The Senate has come to the relief to
certain extent, but the House will un-
doubtedly hold out against even that much
relief. But perhaps the worst reflection on
congressional government for the local af-
fairs of this city is found in the condition
of the sewers. The city is very made
quately supplied in that respect and the
great trunk sewers are at high tide filled
with water, and in freshets the lower
grounds of the city. including Pennsylvania
avenue, are flooded. This condition OF the
sewers and an impure water supply are
responsible for the large number of un-
necessary deaths and a great deal of sick
ness The medical men Of the city and the
public generally have been endeaVoring to
get Congress at this session to authorize
the city to issue bonds in order to provide
for the necessary sewers, but the democrats
have in both houses refused to permit this
to be done.
A Disgrace to Any City.
Washington is liable constantly from the
sewerage Of towns on the Potomac above
here The 600O or more pumps and the
14OOO surface privies in use in this city
would be a disgrace to any city of it's size
in a balf-civilized country. But that they
should be allowed to remain in the capital
city Of the nation Is disgrace TO the
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