Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-25
The District Expenses.


Discussion of Representative Morrells re-
cent speech in the House relative to the
District finances and the cost of the local
government continues to grow in interest as
the statistics which he offered are mere
closely subjected to scrutiny and analysis.
In another part of The Star today appears
an article which sets forth the reasons why
comparisons between municipalities are un-
reliable indeed, showing that 1t is next to
impossible to form an estimate of the rela-
tive cost of the local administration in
terms of other communities. Washington
and the District are now financially CO.
terminous, despite the preservation in the
law of the absurd city limits" This fact
involves many difficulties in instituting
comparisons between the local municipality
and the city governments elsewhere
In every other community there is mix
ture of state and county jurisdictions in
volving contributions to the cost of main
tanning the municipal utilities Therefore,
the municipal cost, measured by the con-
tributions of the city treasures. is else
where proportionately low when measured,
in some cases, alongside of the municipal
cost here. In this District there are no
state and county funds from which the
The joint fund of local taxes and federal
money is alone available for the mainte-
nance of the capital administration. Thus in
a financial sense, the District is at once a
city. county and state, and 1t stands
therefore in a class by itself. Not even the
scientific statistic!ans of the census. whose
deductions are quoted In the article men
toned, are able 10 reach a clear and definite
to the lack of uniformity of fiscal methods.
If these men are confessedly unable to lay
down broad law of relative municipal ex-
penditures. the inadequacy of Mr.. Morrell' s
privately collected and incompIetely digest
ed statistics must be apparent at a glance
to any observer of the case.
The fact Is that the District of Columbia
is not an extravagant community. 1t pays
no more for it's services than does any other
community. For certain services 1T pays
less. Its school teachers, for example. suf-
fer in comparison as to salaries with those
of many other cities. where the educational
standards are no higher, If as high, as in
Washington. Its executive officers and
clerks do not enjoy sinecures They are a
working, faithful, intelligent and only
fairly paid class of public servants, and in
view of the absence of local political COM
plications it may be confidently stated that
they render a higher degree of service for
the same money than Is received by any
other American municipality
Washington IS a favorite target for the
criticisms of congressional statistlcians,
who manage at the first showing to indict
the District Of seemingly grave offenses
against the laws of economy. These criti-
cisms. however, are easily answered, as In
this case of the Morrell charge that the
District of Columbia Is eXtravagantly gov
erned. The hope Of the citizens of Wash
ington is that its good friends in Congress
will so inform and prepare themselves that
they viii be able upon occasion to meet
such attacks in debate without delay or
hesitation. and thus prevent the spread of
the notion that Washington Is an overpaid,
underworked, favored municipality.