Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-09
Merely Business.

| OF the sixteen men who compose the
| House District committee and the seventeen
| men who serve on the appropriations com
| mittee doubtless not one would undertake
| to engage in an extensive enterprise re-
quiring a large sum Of money, on strict
| ly cash basis If building a costly residence
| probably most of them would prefer to Dor
row the money in the financial market and
| arrange for the liquidation of the debt by
| gradual steps. If organizing manufacture
| ing corporation calling for hundreds of
| thousands of dollars, they would not ex-
peet to go to their bank accounts and con-
tribute the actual cash to provide the neces-
sary means for construction and equipment.
| They would sell some stock and issue bonds,
| providing in a business like way for the flu
| ture liquidation of the bonds terms
which would not strain the resources of
| the concern, but would permit the annual
declaration of dividends to the holders Of
| the stock.
| Indeed. these thirty-three men, represen-
| tative of the prevalent sentiment in BUSH
ness as well as politics. in their respective
| districts, would engage in private business
| on the usual plan of basng every large in
vestment in part upon prospective income.
Doubtless every one of them is a taxpayer
in his home city. Probably every one of
those cities has debt, the result of past
borrowings to raise money for schools, or
pavementS, or sewers, court houses, or
other permanent works. Presumably each
of those debts is funded so as to provide for
liquidation at some definite date in the flu
ture, with provision for the accumulation of
sinking funds out of surplus revenues. I'm
questionably the treasurers of those cities
or counties annually base their budgets upon
the prospective incomes of the communities,
with the bulk Of the funds going to current
maintenance and a small part going into
these sinking funds. And it is not to be
doubted that if any one of these thirty
three business men should arise in his
community and propose that his city cramp
itself for year or two in order to pay cash
for it's permanent works. he would be
greeted with chorus of derision.
Now these thirty-three men. working
more or less closely in conjunction. will
shortly be called upon to determine whether
the methods in vogue in their homes, their
business houses, and their communities, are
| not suitable for application to the District
of Columbia. They are asked by the Com
| missioners for appropriations for current
| maintenance and additions to the equipment
| which will Ill but absorb the revenues after
| deducuohS are thasle LOT the 1uholng OF the
| floating Indebtedness due to federal ad-
| va1ices for the creation of great permanent
| Improvements. The Commissioners ask that
| the advances. which have heretofore been
made loosely, as each years case demanded
| be now adjusted upon systematic basis
| with definite provision for a future settle
! ment, thus relieving the current revenues in
| large part from the constant drain now put
| upon, them to carry on both the current
maintenance and the permanent works.
| In short, the Commissioners ask these
| committeeman of the House so to write the
| legislation for this session, whether ex-
pressed in statutes or in appropria ton acts,
| that the Districts finances may be settled
| at last upon the same basis that these men
| and their colleagues of the House invaria-
| bly, adopt for their own large transactions.