Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-07-26
An Improbable Research.

If the House District committee
wishes TO reach a dependable conclusion
as 10 the finances of the National Cap
ital II will do well to abandon it's pres
ent line Of inquisition in an attempt
to show small Inconsistencies and pos
sibly Determinations in the actual as
sessment of properties for taxation pur-
poses and undertake to ascertain how
Washington stands in this matter OF
assessment and tax-raising as COM
pared with other cities. The important
question is not whether the law re-
auIres a two thirds assessment or
merely permits il or whether in apply
ing this rule of assessment there have
been some isolated instances of fayorit-
ism III is whether the District is rals-
ing an equitable amount of tax reve-
nues from the real and personal prop
erty subject to taxation, to match the
federal money appropriated under the
organic act for the support Of the fed
eral city.
Any such research. conscientiously con-
Quoted, not in a spirit of avowed hostil-
ity or in championship of some other
method Of levying taxes than that now in
vogue. will quickly lead the committee
10 the conclusion that the District is bear
ing today its equitable burden of taxa
ton, Far better could the time and funds
AT the disposal of the committee be en-
poyed ia obtaining tax figures of other
cities of comparable size than in probing
FOR inconsequential details of the assess
neUt system.
II it is the purpose of the committee to
change the present system by the adop-
ton OF the. single tax principle, 1t need
not delay In making its recommendation
10 that effect. If the minds of its MEM
bers are already made up on this point,
why 90 through weeks of cross-examina-
tons TO show the shortcomings OF the
present nfthod? What is needed is con-
structive work. not merely the searching
for a scandal that very probably does not
exist.
There seems TO be a disposition in this
so-called investigation TO get something
on the District. TO unearth evils, to
show corruption. The committee may as
well make up its mind at the outset
that there are no evils calling for so
elaborate and expensive a research as
that contemplated. If. as Representative
Campbell said yesterday in the House,
the District owes a large sum of money
10 the government in the form of interest
on certain bonds wrongfully paid out of
federal funds in the face of the law re-
curing ii to be paid out of District reve-
nues. the fact can surely be ascertained
BY the accounting officers OF the Treas
ury Department. As for conditions in
the assessors Office. could not the House
depend upon the Commissioners them
selves. newly appointed. and i'm no way
dentific.. with preceding administrations,
10 return a trustworthy report in re-
spouse TO a resolution of inquiry?
Already the investigation, conducted by
the House committee have cost a large
sum Of money, and now another consider
able amount Is 10 be spent in a proceed
ing that cannot possibly return results in
proportion 10 the expense. The citing
of instances of so-called recovery of fed
eral money misleading. The govern
mcnt has wen organized auditing sys-
TEN from which the truth can be ascer-
tanned again The Star suggests that the
committee undertake a practical line of
investigation and acquire information as
to how the District stands in the matter
Of tax raising as compared with other
municipalities Of correspondingly the
same size.