Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-12
The Charge of Mendicancy.

In tho course OF the debate in the House
of Representatives the other day on the
District appropriation conference report
the usual aspersions were cast upon the
people OF Washington as unworthy bene-
ficiaries of the federal government. In
the speech just printed In the Con-
gressional Record. of Representative OIL
coyt, who ably defended the District from
this unjust accusation, occurs the fol-
lowing colloquy:
Mr.. Olcott 1t appears strange to me
that whenever anything is before the
House affecting an appropriation bill for
the District of Columbia the members or
the appropriation committee continually
talk about the residents here who they
say pay insufficient taxes. 1t is as III
they wished to create the impression
that the citizens of Washington stood
with their hats i'm hand and became
common mendicants asking money from
the Treasury Of the United States.
Mr.. Tawney. That comes pretty near
being the case. 0aughter)
Mr.. Olcott. That is what the gentle
man thinks. AS a matter of fact il we
refer to the time of the formation of the
District of Columbia We will find the gov
eminent of the United States Is not
now doing anything more than 1t agreed
10 do. The organic law of the District
provided that the United States should
pay one-half and the District OF
Columbia the other half of the total ex
Mr Payne VIII the District pay half
Mr.. Olcott. The District pays its share,
Mr.. PAYNE. How much are they Dor
rowing from the Treasury now?
Mr.. Olcott. They are not borrowing
any more money from the Treasury or
The United State.
Mr. Payne. As understand, that debt
has run for number of years
Mr. Olcott. The District borrowed
money from the government of the Unit
are gradually paving that up by the sink
ing fund now provided for.
Mr.. Payne. / am glad to hear that
they are paying it off, because I believe
the District committee ought to provide
a system by which it may be paid. The
taxes are low; / do not know of any city
of its size that comes anywhere near that.
I think 1t is simply just to the people of
the United States that the District ought
to be assessed enough to pay it's debts.
Fortunately Mr.. Olcott was in posses
sion of statistics to show that the District
people, instead of being underassessed
and undertaxed mendicants as charged.
were, according to the census figures of
1905. the most heavily taxed residents of
any of the cities in the United States of
comparatively the same size. 1t is easy
taxes because the tax rate is low. But
it is just as easy to ascertain from the
governments own figures that in point
OF fact when this tax rate Is applied to
the actual property assessment the re-
sultant OF per capita tax money is larger
in Washington than in the cities of its
relative size
Tho taxed portion of Washington bears
a heavy burden, heavier indeed than the
taxed whole OF such cities as Cincinnati,
Detroit. Milwaukee, New Orleans, New
ark. Minneapolis, Jersey City. Louisville
and Indianapolis. This taxed half" is
no longer actually half, and Is steadily
growing less as the government takes
more and more land for Its own uses-in-
cidentally assessing half of the cost of
condemnation upon the Districts treas
ury.
The whole matter is in the hands OF
Congress. That body fixes the tax rate
and it determines the manner in which
the revenues shall be apportioned. The
debt which the District owes the federal
government is not the making of the Dis
trict but of Congress. 1t was voted by
the two houses that certain works should
be executed here in Washington, Of which
half the cost should be paid from the
local treasury, works of a nature usually
financed in other cities by means of long
term loans, but in this case undertaken
on a cash payment basis 1t was Con-
gress' own proposition that the money
absolutely essential to carry on these
works. beyond that required to maintain
the District inadequately. should be ad-
yanced from the federal Treasury. 1t
was offered by the United States. not Dor
rowed by the District. and this loan
should not be held up now as a reproach
against the taxpayers of Washington,
nor should the failure of Congress to pro-
vide adequately for its businesslike re-
funding be cited as an evidence Of the
mendicancy of the already heavily bur
dened people of the District.
Representative OIcotu has rendered
valuable service to the District Of Column
bia in presenting in the course of his
speech the statistics regarding the local
taxation which effectually disprove the
charges SO lightly brought without under
standing whenever the Districts finances
are under discussion in the House of Rep
resentatives.