Evening star., 1911-06-07
POWER OF THE committee
Inquiry Into Methods Of Assess
ments and Collections.
PUBLIC UTILITIES INCLUDED
Resolution Adopted by the House
Following Debate by Chairman
johnson and Others.

Gentucky Is chairman. to investigate
all departments Of the local government
and also the public service corporations OF
the National Capital. was passed by the
House late yesterday afternoon. The res
olution OF inquiry. which was agreed to
without change. reads as follows:
Resolved, That the committee on the
District Of Columbia. or any subcommit-
tee thereof appointed by the chairman OF
such committee. be authorized to send
for and compel the production Of such
books aud papers and the presence of
such persons as they may deem neces-
sary for the purpose Of inauiring into the
operations and methods Of the depart
ments Of assessment and collection OF
taxes OF the District of Columbia. ano
such other departments thereof as may
be determined by them. as well as the
organization, capitalization. bonded ano
other indebtedness and the MANAGEMENT
and conduct of any and all OF the pup
lie utility corporations doing business In
the District"
Early Beginning Assured.
The inquiry will be begun IN the neal
future Fear was expressed by Minority
Leader Mann and some other republicans
that the District committee might i'm
prove the opportunity afforded by the In
quiry to go 1unketing to other cities FOL
the ostensible purpose of inquiring int
the manner of governing other mun1clpal
titles. But Chairman Johnson put the
quietus to this kind of talk by declaring
that IL the committee left town on any
such mission he would resign. me n ex
pense of the inquiry was limited to 5000
although Mr.. Johnson does not believe II
will cost more than half of this sum.
Chairman Johnson, in urging the adop'
ton Of the resolution. said:
This House and. in fact, the entire
country, has been hearing for years and
years that there are irregularities In the
affairs Of the District of Columbia. Whe-
ther there are or not can not be ascer'
tanned without an Investigation. If there
has been any sort OF mismanagement OF
extravaganza i'm the affairs of the Dis
trict of Columbia the Congress Is entitled
to know 1t. that it may be remedied- II
there have not been any irregularities, II
through these thirty odd years there has
been no misappropriation of funds. nc
wastefulness OF the public money. then
the country ought to be uuieted with the
report of a competent committee that
such is the fact. This unrest among the
people and among the members of Con
gress should he stopped or they should be
given something to complain about.
Knows of No Fraud.
"As for myself. I have said from the
beginning that knew of nothing fraudu-
lent. but that l was informed. from what
1 deemed reliable sources. that through
error or through a system, of auditing
the federal government had paid more
than It's share of the 90 per cent basis
on which we are operating, that 30 pei
cent basis being that the government OF
the United States should pay one-half the
current expenses of the District of Co.
lumbia and the District of Columbia pay
the other half of the current expenses.
While this matter was up before the COM
mittee on rules had occasion to say that
had been informed reliably, as / be-
lieved. that the federal government had
paid more than half. and I cited one in
stance of the interest on the 2.65 per cent
bonds, and on the bonds themselves, con-
tending that the government was not
bound to pay any interest whatever on
those bonds, but that the government
the District of Columbia which would
produce sufficient revenue that the Dis
trict might pay interest on those bonds.
1T developed that the interest on those
bonds fell due each year just at time
when the District was without funds
Then the act was amended and the gov
ernment was directed to advance a sum
of money sufficient to enable the District
to pay this interest when it was due and
not walt until after taxes coming to the
District Of Columbia had been collected
Supports His Contention.
Now. my contention that the govern.
ment is bound only as a guarantor oi
this interest, and is not in any sense
bound to pay this interest. can be found
in an act passed in 1877. which reads al
follows.
That the Secretary Of the Treasur,
shall reserve of any of the revenues OF
the District of Columbia not required fol
the actual current expenses Of schools
the police and the fire department, sun
on the three-sixty-hve bonds Of the Dis
trict during the fiscal year beginning
Iuly 1. 1877, and apply the same to
that purpose and in case there shall no,
the Treasury of the United States a,
such time as said interest may be due
then the Secretary of the Treasury Is
authorized and directed to advance from
any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated. a sum sufficient to pay said
interest. and the same shall be reim-
bursed to the Treasury of the United
States from time to time said revenues
may be paid into said Treasury until the
full amount shall have been refunded
Now. as said. l am advised that this
refunding from time to time which was
contemplated by this act has not been
made. l am not a bookkeeper. / am not
an accountant. and 1t is my opinion that
no member of the District committee is
such. therefore We have deemed ii ad-
visable to ask this House to give us an
accountant, that he may GO and see
whether or not the United states govern
ment has been reimbursed to the extent
which IL should have been through these
long years. In other words. this partner
ship has existed for nearly a third Of a
century without this question having been
inquired into. as far as i can find. I be-
lieve that an accountant can be obtained
for less than 5000 who will go through
this. All 1t requires is the appropriation
acts of each session and them compare
them TO the auditors report, and as to
the rest of the work the members of
that committee are more than willing.
they assure me. and | assure you that
myself am just as willing, to go into
whatever part of ii that we can without
a cent OF expense to the government"
Query by Mr.. Sims.
Representative Sims of Tennessee sug
eested that when Congress adjourned the