Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-20
An Advocate of Long Payments.

The policy that mas betn ddopttu -
Congress Of holding The District Of Co
lumbia 10 an approximate cash payment
basis interferes with the development OF
the city in many respects and holds back
numerous projects Of improvement mat
are urgently needed Senator Rurkett
has become deeply impressed with the Oh
lous need of new building for the col
ored high school, and when the District
appropriation hill was under considera-
ton he undertook to secure the adoption
Of an amendment appropriating S2tD.co
for a site and a structure for that pur-
pose Senator Gailinger in charge of the
bill. pointed out the impoSsibiHty OF
granting that amount In view of the
policy 10 devote as large an amount as
possible Of the District revenues to the
refundinS Of the floating Indebtedness
caused by advances from the federal
Treasury. Whereupon Senator Burkett.
heretofore a firm advocate of that pol
ICY announced his change of heart IN
the following words, after noting the
serious need of public school increases in
the District.
Now we are rot to blame for that
Just now. 1t is owing 10 the policy OF
Congress in the past. and | must share
tees and other members of Congress. /
was on the appropriation committee in the
other house. 1t has been the policy of
the CongreSs-and j am not certain now
ihat possibly il has been altogether correct
not to permit the District To borrow
money by bonding the District for per-
manent improvements. The policy has
been to keep the District out of debt
and whatever the current revenues would
not do should not he done. During the
ten years / have been in Congress We
have done an extraordinary amount of
permanent Improvement TO this District
Yet we have always insisted on
doing II out of the current revenues. We
have probably expended twenty or TWEEN
ty-five millions of dollars in these per-
manent improvements during the last ten
years They are for the people of all
time to come. yet We have made the tax
payers of this generation pay for them
all. | undertake to say there is not an
other city in the world that has been so
conducted. But when did those great
projects. running into millions of dollars,
il reduced our revenues to such an extent
that we have not had the money, by
keeping within the limits of the current
revenues. to keep the school buildings
growing in size and increasing in num-
her. adequate to the increase in number
of the school children of the District.
Accordingly we are behind. Other
cities borrow money to build school
houses and | do not know why we should
not
Senator Burketts advocacy Of the long
term debt principle for the District IS
the more encouraging and helpful to-
ward the adoption of the policy which
the Commissioners and the citizens of the
District have advocated, because of his
experience in the work OF financing the
District during his years of service in the
House. when he was a lieutenant of the
appropriations chairman now the Speak
er and mis- succeeding years in the Sen
ate as a member of the committee on the
District. He states in strong terms the
present demand of the people of Wash
inrton for more equitable system of
appropriations. As lie says, other cities
borrow money to build schooIhouseS. They
borrow also to install filtration plants and
10 build sewa ge-dispoSal systems and to
eliminate grade crossings and to extend
streets. 1t is true. the senator now
says, that Washir Gton is singular in this
regard, and il * 70 he hoped that his &C
cession to the ranks of the long-term
payment advocates will hasten the day
of release from the burden of immediate
liquidation Of debts incurred for the bene-
tit of poSterity.