Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-02
WANT NATTER TAKEN
DIRECTLY TO CONGRESS
Association Issues an Appeal for
General Support.
FOR $4,000 APPROPRIATION
Prominent Citizens Believe Amount
Should Be Allowed and Charged
Against United States and
District. =

Since the announcement was mads
yesterday OF the total OF the District
appropriation bill for the next fiscal
year. showing the decreases in many
material items and the elimination al
together of several important appro-
priations. the citizens Of the District
and the members of the local govern
ment have. figuratively risen in protest.
VI the items eliminated from the
measure, which defines exactly what
amounts may be expended for definite
purposes. probably no one is greater in
Its effect on the whole BODY no,;,,o
tnan the playground appropriation. The
objection Of the community to this
summary dismissal of one Of It's mos.
popular and beneficial works is TAX
ing the form not only of verbal nr,&a.
'ation' but Of determination to Carp
the ngnt directly back to Congress IA
nave rejected the conference report On
tne District appropriation bill. nn,e..
|it include the item for the n,.~
grounds.
Inc Piaygrounds' Association an5 .u %
It's irlenos are in the field TODAY ax,,.ss
ing their approval Of the propose6 an,r,
prlation as carried in the renort - ~.
senate committee, namely. OF sI7 ooo -
DC charged. share and share alike a1a,a..
.ue revenues OF the District and aeo;n,.
the United States.
Appeal for Support
n appeal Tor general support for this
attempt to throw the whole confa.a~
report back into committee. WITH ,rr.~,..
IONS 20 provide for the playgrounds NC.
ISSUED this morning by the PIavpro,nd.
association over the signature NJ it, 60
Ieudry' James E. West. Memhers :, ~.
business community, who are esnec,.,,,.
interested in the Fairgrounds. are ho,d,nS
q meeting at the Chamber OF Comm.roe
TINS afternoon to decide Just wbat action
lhey VIII take. Other men prominen. -
lne city and in its civic projects and c,v,,
organizations had no hesitancy TODAY IN
expressing their approval of the. war for
an appropriation for Fairgrounds and for
having the allowance when made charead
Jointly against the United States and tba
Dlstrict. according to the terms OF the Or
ganic act.
zen George HI. Harries, president op
.ne 6oaro OF Trade, reiterated his pre-
eIousiy expressed stand in favor of play
grounds. and he said there was no rea-
son apparent why the members of the
house committee should make an issue
over compelling the District to paw the
grounds pay
The principle involved is the same an
In any other local financial measure"
ne added. and l think it has been pretty
grounds form one of the most bene
nclal projects that ever have been devised
for Young America
He declared that the younger folks in
the community are just as much entitled
to have Congress pay its share towari
the operation of the one feature ouf of
which they draw benefits as are the older
foIks who have reached the are where
they become taxpayers.
Mr. Guide Emphatic.
You cannot make it too strong in ex-
pressing my sentiments on the play
grounds measure said William f. GUIDE.
president of the Chamber OF Commerce. RI
lived in Kalamazoo or Hawaii and had
the same knowledge of the terms OF the
organic act concerning the government
of the District of Columbia, would have
the same opinion which / hold as a Cit
izen of the District. Congress. having
agreed to pay one-half the expenses Of
the District. because this Is q national
city and because the government haa
seen mt to remove great sections from
the taxable area of the Community
should not attempt to sidestep its re-
sponsibility. | think the arbitrary stand
of the members of Congress who wound
eliminate Fairgrounds appropriation al
together because they cannot success
fully saddle the whole cost on the Cit
izens of Washington is entirely unIusti-
fed. The trivial size of the item In the
Dill, $1,000. does not weigh at all in the
premises. because it is the principle
which is at stake"
Favor Determined Fight.
John B. Larner, one Of the most ardent
friends of the Fairgrounds in the Board Of
Trade. came out strongly today in advo-
cacy of the retention in the appropriation
bill of the item for Fairgrounds He ex-
pressed the opinion that the friends Of the
District in Congress should be called upon
TO make determined stand to have the
organic act operate In this as il does in
the general features of the measure by
which the finances Of the municipality are
arranged.
Il do not see the slightest difference in
principle between this item for play
grounds and the item for the maintenance
of the public schools" he SAID. Both are
Tor the use ana DenenI OF the sons ana
daughters of the citizens of Washington.
and. to my mind. there is very little diff
ference between properly developing the
minds of the children and in developing
their bodies In the healthy ways made
possible by the operation of the public
Fairgrounds. If l were given the privi-
lege Of voting on this matter. my ballot
would be cast not only for the insertion
of the $4,000 item for Fairgrounds In the
District appropriation bill. but I would
make the appropriation even larger and
would insist that the national government
bear its legal one-half of the cost Of this
project In this national city,"
Views of Mr.. Edison.
"It is q great disappointment that Con-
gress has failed to make appropriation