Evening star., 1900-08-08
CAN ADVANCE MONEY
OPINION OF CONTROLLER IN THE
11TH STREET EXTENSION CASE.
He Reviews the Law and Decides
That This is an Ordinary
Expense.

Controller Tracewell today sent TO Sec
retary Gage a decision that the treasury
can advance to the District money to pay
the expenses of the extension of llth
street northwest. He decides that this Is
an ordinary expense. The controllers de-
cision is as follows:
II am in receipt Of your communication
of the 3d instant, in which You exhibit
requisition of the District Commissioners
wherein they ask that you cause to be Is
sued a warrant in favor of the treasurer
of the United States, to be placed to the
credit of c. c. Rogers, disbursing officer
of the District, for S259,126, TO pay liabili-
ties incurred on account OF the extension
OF 11th street.
You request my opinion as to whether
the expenses for which the contemplated
warrant is to issue in payment are gem
eral expenses of the District of Columbia,
within the purview of the act of June q.
1900 entitled AN act to regulate the col
lection of taxes in the District of Colum-
bia' and the several acts of Congress pro-
viding for the extension, etc, of the streets
and avenues in said District
Act of June q.
THE act of June 6, 1900 tPubhc No. 1S0l,
referred to in your communication, reads:
That for the fiscal year commencing
JULY l. 1860, the whole tax on real and per-
sonal property in the District of Column
bia shall be due and payable in the month
of May 1901. and if said tax upon real and
persona! property shall not be paid before
the LIST day Of June in said year, the same
thereupon shall be in arrears and deln-
9uent and there shall then be added, To be
collected with said tax, a penalty OF one
per centum upon the amount thereof, and
like penalty on the 1st day Of each sue
ceeding month until payment OF said tax
and penalty, and the whole together shall
constitute the delinquent tax, to be dealt
with and collected in the manner now pro-
Vided by law: Provided. That the Secretary
of the Treasury is hereby authorized and
directed to advance TO the disbursing Off
Ger of the District of Columbia, in the
manner now prescribed by law, out of any
money in the treasury of the United States
not otherwise appropriated, such sums as
may be necessary from time to time to
meet the general expenses of said District,
and to reimburse the treasury for the one
half advances payable by said District out
of the taxes and revenues collected as here
in provided for: And provided further,
That for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
1901. and thereafter. taxes on real and per-
sonal property may be paid in two INSTALL
ments, as is now provided by law.
without extending this communication
by quoting the act. of Congress providing
for the extension of 1lth street, and max
ing appropriation to meet the expenses
thereof, it is sufficient to say that such
act was passed by Congress along with
other acts for the extension of other streets
and avenues IN the District ard making
appropriation to meet the expenses thereof
wholly out of the District revenues.
Cause of the Insertion.
These acts of Congress providing for
these extensions were passed and became
laws prior to the passage of the act of
June 6, 1900. The occasion for the inser-
ton of the provision in the act of June g.
SUPRA directing the Secretary of the Treas
ury to advance to the dishursing officer of
the District in the manner heretofore pre-
scribed by law such sums as might be
found necessary to meet the general eX-
penses of the District. was the fact that
this act changed the method of collecting
the District taxes for the fiscal year 1901
in this, that heretofore such taxes were
paid in two installments, namely. Novem-
ber and May. By this act, for this par
ticular fiscal year, the taxes do not become
due and payable until the month of May.
AS consequence the District is practically