Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-17
The District Finances.

According TO the District auditors an
nueI report. there was expended on the
local municipal account during the last
fiscal year sl203f, 4CO.65. To meet this ex-
pendtre the District contributed In the
form of tax revenues of all kinds, de-
posted to the credit of the local govern
meut in the treasury in the general and
special funds, s5,6T4.939. On the face of
the statement. and regarding one-half of
the total expenditure as chargeable to the
federal treasury under the organic act. this
would indicate that the District had failed
by $40 Tgi to meet its obligations. But the
face of the statement is somewhat misead-
ing OF the grand total of expenditures no
less an amount than 81 25O.s02 was spent
for large permanent works. There are four
items In this account, the elimination of
grade crossings, the construction of the
municipal building. the filtration plant and
the highway bridge. Deductng this sum
from the total of expenditures leaves bal
ance Of 81, 100 Sos as the net cost of the
maintenance OF the District government
during the fiscal year. Some of the items
IN that account are in the nature of per-
manent construction, but for the purposes
of this calculation the figure named may
be accepted as the cost of operating the
District for one year.
One-half of the sum named Is 81 500. 800,
which may be set down as the Districts
share of its own cost of maintenance. This
leaves a balance of S7S4 ,G1O in the Districts
favor as a contribution to the construction
of permanent works which. IL financed on
a long-term, business-like basis, would not
be burden to the local taxpayers. With
an annual balance Of more than three-quar-
ters of a million dollars it would be pos
ssihl,a Ia tn ut in
a long program of permanent improve
ments and provide sufficient sinking fund
to meet the Indebtedness at the lapse of a
reasonable period
But even as the case stands the District
forced to assume practically on a current
maintenance basis the burden of making
large permanent improvements, is coming
very near to a meeting of its obligations.
One-half of the grand total of So, OBJ, 46O
spent last year for all items is Sc 015-
$50, or only 1910, 791 more than the total
local revenues of a general and special char
acter. 1t may be questioned whether any
other community in the United States is
making such an excellent showing
But the fact that the District is coming
so close to paying for it's permanent i'm
prOvements out of current revenues Is no
argument why the process should be con-
thlueus II - not Idlr 10 the taxpayers or
today that they should bear the sole
burden OF financing these works which are
mainly for the comfort and safety and
profit of a future generation. The cit
liens of today are In need of a fuller meas
ure of current maintenance. They require
more schools. a larger police department
more flremen, better street cleaning and a
larger fund for sanitary works. On the
permanent improvement side of the account
they need such betterments as the high
pressure fire service which will be both a.
measure of economy and a guarantee of
protection. They need park improvements
sewers, bridges. And long as the Dis
trict is forced by Congress to maintain a
pay-as-you-go policy Of financing the big
works, these additional items of improve
ment and these needy branches of the
municipal government must wait
The process Of appropriating beyond the
actual tax revenues of the District in or
der to provide for the permanent improve
ments, and then making up the deficit out
OF the federal treasury on a short-term
basis. Is not only unfair in that It saddles
all the cost of these betterments on the
taxpayers of today. but II postpones the
undertaking of essential works without
which the District will never be a model
capital. The delay in adopting a new and
more equitable policy toward the District
Is without excuse in terms of good busi-
ness or fair play.