Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-22
The Insane Hospital Item.

The House of Representatives yester-
day voted in It's capacity as the legisla-
ture for the District Of Columbia to mulct
the District in the sum OF $3.50 ,536O9 in
payment for the care OF 1ts insane pa
tients at the government hospital. The
vote was three to one. in proportion, but
the total vote cast on this question was
only ~, or less than IL per cent of
the total membership. 1t was an i'm
pressive spectacle Of how the Districts
affairs are attended to by the lower
branch of Congress- accorded exclusive
jurisdiction over the capital municipality
by the Constitution.
Representative Mann one Of the eleven
members who saw this item from the
equitable point Of view, declared that he
would not hang a dog on the evidence
that had been adduced to show that the
District actually owed the government the
amount named by the appropriations COM
mittee. Indeed, IL this case were pre-
scented in court as a claim against an
individual or a corporation 1t would be
dismissed without submission to the jury
for Lack Of proof.
The appropriations committee has acted
in this matter in a mysterious manner
which calls for more lucid explanation
than has been vouchsafed in the open.
Somebody In the course Of one of the
hearings before that body declared that
the District has not been paying its full
debt on the insane hospital account. Ger
tain books were examined In the privacy
Of the committee room. or else somebody 8
word for the figures borne by the books
was taken, and the sum of $769, $50. 90 was
struck as the amount OF the alleged debt
and the item was written. The chair
man Of the committee, in answer to point
| ed questions by Mr.. Mann, said yester-
day that the auditor for the District
CHANGED to see something In print about
| this matter and called attention to it. and
he was told that he might submit some
thing In writing on the subject IL he cared
to do so. but nothing appears In tho
Congressional Record to show that such a
statement was received or that the COM
mtttee took any pains whatever to obtain
tho views and figures Of the District au-
thor1ties. So 1t brought forward the
paragraph in the bill and considered that
its full duty was done.
This Is an astonishing method of pro-
cedure. At the least the District Com
missioners should have been called upon
to make q showing In the case, and given
an opportunity to meet the charge that
the District had defaulted in it's obliga-
tons to the extent OF over three quarters
Of q million dollars. Never before has q
matter Of such magnitude been handled SO
arbitrarily. without giving the District a
chance to examine the claims set up
against II or to present any showing Of
credit or lack of responsibility on its
part. 1t was acknowledged by the SUI
perintendent Of the government hospital
In the course OF his statement before the
committee that the matter was extremely
complicated and that the amount named
as the Districts obligation was virtually
| an approximation. No special urgency ap-
peared in the premises to justify 50 radt-
| cal a move as the writing OF this para
graph without giving the District a
| chance to defend itself II this money is
owing to the government it can surely
wait another year for its reimbursement
pending an actuarial examination Of the
accounts.
There still remains the chance that the
House. reviewing the work Of the COM
| mittee Of the whole may remedy this
grievous injustice and strike out the item
or substitute a paragraph calling for an
adequate inquiry into the matter. For the
sake OF common fairness as a business
proposition II 10 to be hoped that this
| will be done. otherwise the District must
place its trust in the Senate to prevent
the impression Of this indefensibls piece
| Of legislative brigandage-