The Washington times., 1912-08-25
Harold E. Doyle.)

aor,Iand .'.................. 100 5000
hocnahpcau .............. 4c0 1000
Lots 7, 3. ., square 25l2.. 800 1000
GENERAL NOTES ON TESTIMONY.
Lowering the High Cost of Living.
Thus 1t is seen from the foregoing
sections that II real estate were taxed
at the same rate Of per cent on its
true value, the 1900 small homes Of
the District would pay less taxes than
they are now paying on what is sup
posedly two-thirds value, while the mil
dle-class homes would paw no more. the
business and fine-residence areas would
pay appreciably more. and the subur-
ban area would pay very considerably
more. The burden would be lessened on
improvements and Increased on ground
values. This would be merely harmon
izing the spirit and letter of the law
and at the same time would bring
heavy Increase of revenue into the Dis
trict treasury.
Tom L. johnson Prophecy In Isea.
Twenty years ago a select committee
of the House, appointed to inquire into
the assessment and taXation Of real
estate in the District of Columbia and
known as the johnson Committee. said
in its report Up. 8, II. Kept. No. 1863. SD
Cong, lst sess.):
Already the effect OF the growth and
Improvement of the Federal District
has been, by the increase f land values,
!! to give hundreds Of millions to the
fortunate few, but to increase the cost
Of living to such degree as to make
II a serious question with many OF the
officers and employees Of the National
Government who are called on to live
here. and II this tendency continues
not only will the salaries paid to en-
ployes Of the United states soon become
entirely Inadequate to the scale OF nv
ing for which they were intended, but
the Capital of the American Republic
must ere long present such contrast
between luxurious idleness and poverty
stricken workers as can be exceeded IN
no capital Of confessedly aristocratic
countries.
Cancer Spots In Washington.
II this could properly be stated or
conditions in the District of Columbia
| 20 years ago. how much more strongly
could the case be presented today.
President Gompers said before your
committee
There are women and children in the
District of Columbia to whom s3 or 70
or SO means In many cases the
meat at a meal once or twice week. or
not having 1t. In many cases 1t means
shoes for one or two Of the youngsters
| for n year %. 3SS).
spirited Monday Evening Club of Wash
! ircton says In one of Its recent re-
. pi rts:
! There are in Washington 2Ss blocks
, which have inhabited alleys. These al
| leys contain BIAS dwelling houses, and
| approximately 1900 inhabitants
| The two startling facts, which should
| years ago have swept these alleys out
| of existence, are, first that one out OF
| every three children born in these by
ways dies within the first year of life
and, second, that these houses with their
| disease and crime fill the center of many
| blocks trimmed with splendid houses and
| hotels tp 4I).
No profound study of the laws gov
erning the incidence of taxation is re-
| quired to see how equalZing assess
| ments on real estate will lessen the dire
poverty and congestion of the alley
| slums while reducing the high cost OF
living to the greater part Of the popu.
| lation.
As assessor Richards opp; %, 2ls.gl0. ~ MI
| others have attested before your COM
mittee. lessening taxation on improve
| ments tends to encourage improvements
while increasing taxation on ground val.
ues tends to force idle land into use
and thus lower the price. with build
ings cheaper and land cheaper, and the
| consequent lowering of rents, the great
mass Of the population OF this Distric,
| would indeed be benefited, without les
Concentrated Holdings.
Assessor Richards in his testimony as
serted that there was a much larger
proportion OF owners to pieces of prop
erty in the District of Columbia than
elsewhere (p. 4D. But the table of ex-
hibits he furnished Contradlcts his con-
tention. Washington has 3.6 parcels to
each taxpayer. Philadelphia 1.3 parcels
to each taxpayer. Boston IA parcels to
each taxpayer, Rochester, n. Y, 1.09
parcels to each Taxpayer AS matter
| OF fact, Washington makes the worst
showing among the cities presented in
| the assessors table, the one most nearly
approaching It being New Orleans,
where the proportion is 3.06 parcels to
| each taxpayer.
The concentration of holdings of land
In the District of Columbia has main
tanned pace with the growth of the city,
Notwithstanding tine splendid assistance
toward home owning resulting from the
beneficial activities of several large and
we'll managed building and loan asso-
| cations. The gross Embarrassment of
the great suburban unimproved area has
encouraged the maintenance of large
! unbroken holdings and the asking OF
such prices for land as to discourage
home building and owning. What ac-
| tivity has occurred in this latter re-
| gard has been In spite of land specu-
| lation, not because of any alleged help
from 1t. The speculative builder is a
| builder rather than a land speculator; a
producer rather than an Appropriation.
His active producing powers are asso-
ciated with tie speculative price of land.
| But the land speculator per Sc is not a
| producer at all. He merely appropriates
| what others produce. He is not active;
he is passive. He merely waits until
| the necessities of others la the com
munity compel them to pay the owner 5
price for permission to use a natural
element which neither he nor any other
man produced, but which was created
by the Creator of the Universe.
Checked Building Activity.
The, gross Overassessment and burden
upon improvements have proved a seri-
Gus handicap to the home owner and
rent payer and to the building industry
and the vast ramiication OF activities
that wait upon them. Already the blow
has fallen (p 4S9). Building activity. as
| evidenced by permits issued by the Dis
trict building inspectors office. main
tanned a high and increasing level 10
! the month of May. From then on II
has been tending downward, not only
each month successfully. but In com
parison with the corresponding months
| OF last year. This is the poorest sum-
mer the building industry Of washing