Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-17
DISTRICT FINANCES
Comments Evoked by Repre-
sentative MorreII's Speech.
CAPITAL UNFAIRLY TREATED
Inadequate Basis of Comparison With
Other Cities.
EXECUTIVE EXPENDITURES
Peculiar Character of Local Govern
ment Not Taken Fully Into Ac-
EXECUTIVE EXPENDITURES

count in the Statements.
Since the publication in full in the Con-
gressional Record of the speech of Repre
sentative Edward De V. Morrel concerning
the finances and the financial scheme of
the District of Columbia, the public has
been more fully informed of the arguments
and statistics evolved b. the Pennsylvania
member, and discussion of the speech and
its possibilities has been widespread. Stu
dents OF the District, who have thought
long and deeply over the peculiar fiscal
and governmental plan under which the
municipality has its being. have expressed
much concern over what they character
ize the volume of erroneous conclusions
set forth by Mr.. Morrell. Conceding that
the speaker was animated by none but the
best motives, these men, who have acted
and are acting with none but the highest
interests of the capital city at heart. are
giving voice to regrets at the possibilities of
harm due to the PRONUNCIATION OF the ar
ray of fallacies rather than facts included
in that speech. and regrets that the Pennsyl-
vanian should have been so inadequately
Informed with reference 20 affairs in the
seventy square miles of territory which
constitutes this state, county and city"
rolled into one.
To Counterfeit the Speech.
Strenuous efforts are to be made to coun-
teract the influence of Mr. Morrell's state
ment of statistics upon the minds OF the
people all over the country, because 1t is
realized that the seeds Of INSTRUMENTATION
thus sown must not be allowed to germi-
nate. Difficulties, Of course, are In the way
OF any such task, becausefit will manifestly
be impossible to reach all of the mediums
RI 10h yx-ht nh tIo Il ~, lo,A
Monday before the House. has been dis
semnated. What is now being done under
stress of this emergency, however, carries
with 1t the prophecy that comprehensive
campaign is at hand to further stimulate
national pride in the national capital, and
to make that pride and knowledge of Wash
inSton the sureSt safeguard against unwar-
Ianted or ignorant attack in the future.
Mr.. Morrell has stated that he collected
his statistics by writing to the different
municipalities, and 1t is obviously brought
out by close scrutiny of his speech that he
made his own classification of items. He
did not give the detailed replies of the
municipalities, nor the elements entering
into the different categories, and from this
brief summary the impossibity is evident
OF showing what he classified under the
several heads, or why such selection of
items for classification was made. To one
familiar with the fountain head of District
affairs 1t will be realized that this applies
especially to what Mr. Morrell terms
office expenditures" and mot as ordinary
expenditures but it also applies TO other
tables.
coffee Expenditures.
In his explanatory note the speaker SAID
that office expenditures" as he used the
term, "comprehended the salaries of all
executive officers. mayor or Commits
sioneTs, auditors controllers, treasurers
Or disburSing officers. attorneys or law
officers, collectors, sealers etc. together
w he q bod nv Ia,r
What the ''etcetera may include in other
cities mentioned In the comparative table
can only be surn.tSed but an examination
of. the facts with accurate classification
of the items as to the expenditures of the
District of Columbia and those of the
cities with which they are compared In the
speech Will show that the deduction that
the expenditures for the same things here
are higher oC more extravagant than the
expenditures for the same things In the
cities compared, is incorrect. On the con-
trary, fair and accurate comparison VIII
show the opposite.
One striking mistake M. MorrelI made
was his statement that the entire cost,
for instance. Of the executive office In
Washington In 1894 was SI4, 403." The fact
IS. counting everybody who can possibly
be charged to the executive Office of the
District government. including the three
Commissioners twEose united salaries
amount to only S1092i so far as the Dis
trict appropriation bill is concerned. since
the Engineer Commissioner receives only
1924 the District account the score
tary, DR.. Tlndan, the secretaries of the
Commissioners, and all clerks, messengers,
laborers and drivers, the cost amounted TO
S23,S19 1t would appear that the author
OF the speech counted up all the items ap-
pearing in the District appropriation bill
under the heading executive office" i'll
Guiding those TO. the District veterinarian
and Veterinary Hospital, the building in
spectors office, tie janitor, engineer. fire.
men and other caretakers OF the District
building the ntODertN clerks Office n
spectors Of the plumbing inspectors office,
and the plumbing board. which have moth
ing to do with the executive office, but be-
long to other departments. All of these
were put under the heading executive
office by appropriation committees with
out regard to their relation to 1t, probably
for the sake of convenience.
Even the actual expenditures on account
of the executive office must, in fairness. be
compared not only with those of mayors
offices in other places, but. in addition, tse
expenditures of the city clerks Office and
account of the governor the county com
missioners and the councils. in far as
the functions of the executive office CORE
spond and it is the general correspondence.
record and public information bureau Of
the District government with respect TO its
three-fold function
Census Figures Available.
In speaking of this phase of the speech,
one citizen, who has made a study of such
matters, says:
Mr.. Morrell had only to turn to the lat
est annual report of the bureau of the
census, Department of Commerce and Labor,
statistics of cities, to get returns which,
If not entirely accurate in classified fon or
in comparison, are far more nearly SO than
statistics gathered and compared as his
were gathered and compared could possibly
be. The census bureau states that it long
since gave up depending upon the reports
of the different municipalities because they
differ so greatly in classification and in
contents. S. N. ID. North, director of the
census, in addressing the conference on
uniform municipal accounting in Washing
ton on Tuesday last, described this differ
ence as 1.-THE chaos of municipal statistics
The census bureau also found that it ceull
not rely upon its correspondence with the
municipalities. Therefore. 1t adopted the
practice of sending its agents to obtain
hooks of the