Evening star., 1902-04-25
PER CAPITA FIGURES
Municipal Finances Reduced
to.IndiVidual Basis.
WASHINGTON'S BURDEN
THE DISTRICT CITIZEN PAYS
MORE THAN THE AVERAGE.
Department of Labor Statistics Fur
ther Analysed to Show Local
Status.

Status
The question of municipal finance has re-
Gently become acutely interesting to Wash
ingtonians in consequence of the pendency
of propositions in Congress to add ma
terially to the local revenues by means OF
q personal property tax and a large in
crease in the real estate assessment.
In the course of its analysis the other day
Of certain municipal statistics compiled by
the department of labor. The Star printed
in a table a column showing the per capita
Yrvsnue contribution" for the cities COM
parable in size with Washington. This fig
ure was obtained in each case by dividing
by the population the total revenue derived
from all sources by the various municipali
tbs In the case of Washington the total
revenue was stated at 81, ,S35. $50 actually
au3 $l1o000o0 prospectively. On the basis
OF the former figure Washington's per cap
ita contribution of revenue was higher than
that Of any other of the cities save Pitts
burg. which was only IS cents higher. On
the basis of the prospective revenue Wash
irston's per capita contribution was shown
t. he far higher than that of any other city
OF this class,
Objection has been raised to that method
of statement, on the ground that the con-
tributiOn of the government was included.
and that therefore the per capita contribu-
tion should be cut, approximately, in half.
This point was taken into careful consider
alton by The Star before the computation
was made. and in view OF all the facts it
was thought TO be as fair to the community
and the government thus to state the case
as To regard only one side Of the national
capital partnership. For the governments 3
iii. TN.
ernment is the owner OF more than half OF
the property in the District. Its holdings
include the most valuable pieces of realty
and the finest improvements. They repre-
sent the enterprises In other cities which
contribute to the communitys industrial
life. Thus the government is to be con-
sidered in fact as a single taxpayer, not to
be ignored because individual as against
2Is.TlS people on the other side of the ac-
count. There is no parallel for this situd-
tinn anywhere in the United States. save
perhaps to some degree IN proprietary cities
Oile Pullman. Ill.), where corporation or
individual owns the greater part of the
property and pays taxes upon its share.
Government as a Taxpayer
Considering the government as single
taxpayer, even though the largest, there
is no other method of computation than to
divide the whole revenue by the population
If the revenue is cut in half and then d.
Sided an injustice will be done to the tax
payers of the city. small in relative num-
Der and favored with few opportunities for
commercial expansion. The total revenue
represents approximately the cost of MAIN
tanning the community, and the per capita
showing is intended to demonstrate the bur
den which the municipality throws for its
support upon each pair of shoulders.
1t would not be fair to ignore the gov
ernments share of the revenue, especially
4f a ga
OF resident Neutrality-suspicious. entering into
the population. count not, strictly
Speaking. citizens of the capital, having
c1r,e here to participate temporarily in the
government work and acquiring prop
erty while here. Although this number has
decreased comparatively during the past
few years, owing to the more certain tenure
of office and the disposition of the govern
n.ent clerk to regard himself as Washing
tondu and to buy home, yet there
main today thousands OF men and women
who are deCennially counted in the census
and who contribute nothing whatever d.
rectly TO the municipal income. If the gov
erEElrnt's share is to be excluded from the
total for the purpose of this computation
fheS,. servants of the government, paying
no taxes here and claiming legal residence
elsewhere. should likewise be eliminated
by reducing the divisor and thus in
creasIng the per capita contribution figure.
Washington's Federal Payments.
For another reason. too. the fairest meth
Cd Of statement is that which was given in
the tables under discussion. The people Of
Washington, in common with all other
American citizens, pay their share of the
governments own income in the form of
customs and internal revenue taxes. Thus
the average Washingtonian Is paying his
propOrtionate share Of the governments
half IN the national capital partnership
Jf the goyernement is to be eliminated from
this equation which determines the per
cppita contribution of municipal revenue
the Washingtonlans share of the 90 per
cent paid by the government for the sup
port of the District should be taken into ac-
count. II is obviously impossible to esti-
r:ate this figure accurately, owing to the
dist; button of the customs tax through
out the country and all lines of commerce
and trade. In the item of internal revenue
TAXATION the WashingtOnan's share is
known with practical accuracy. and in this
showing .he local contributor to the federal
revenues attains to a high relative rank
PAY ing d larger per capita contribution than
IL" great majority of the people
The Only Reliable Method.
In view OF all these difficulties in the way
OF lust estimation on the basis of the local
share Of the local revenue. there appears
10 he other reliable method than to ac-
cept the total revenue as the base of the
computation. without regard to It's source
and to divide 1t by the population. The re-
suit Of the division will represent. as ac-
curately in the case of Washington as In
That of any other city. the share which the
Individual bears of the whole burden of
maintenance The fact that one such in
divtdual pays half of the whole merely
marks Washington unusual among
cities. a fact which Is patent to every
American citizen and which cannot be
made too plain In all the calculations and
al the provisions for the maintenance and
Improvement of the capital
10 frnr
really printed extracts, yield still further
results to show the status of the capital
Gty IN this regard among the seventeen
cities which form class approximate to 1t
IN point Of size. Below will be found
table assembled in part directly from those
sh ch the department of labor has pub
lished. its items being taken in some meas
pre- from the columns OF those tables
Thile some other items have been supplied
rom the materials there given. For in
Stance. the column devoted to the property
TAX payment Is computed by The Star