Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-02-20
DISTRICT BILL RIDERS
important Legislation Added
to Appropriation Measure.
GOES THROUGH SENATE
About $11 ,00O, 900 Provided for Use
of National Capital.
EXCISE BILL Tackled ON
Public Utilities Commission Provid-
ed-Half-and-Half Principle Up
held by Upper House.

inc HuHuTeuS OF ulnerenceS between the
two houses over amounts Of appropria-
tions and other provisions of the bill.
In It's effect upon the District the measure
as 1t passed the Senate Is probably the
most important single bit OF legislation
enacted by Congress since the passage OF
the organic act. AS it was given approval
by the Senate, the bill contains the fol-
lowing important features:
The Gallinger bill, giving the District
Commissioners the authority of a public
utilities commission, as passed by the
Senate about a year ago.
The Jones-Works excise bill, aimed tC
create a new excise board, to be appointed
by the President and to make material
cuts In the number of saloons in the Dis
trict.
Strikes at Mergers.
The La Toilette bill, aimed to prevent
the merger of the local public utilities by
the prohibition against an outside cor
poration owing more than 20 per cent of
the stock of a District corporation.
The House provision questioning the ap-
plication of the half-and-haf principle to
the payment Of the Districts debt. is
entirely eliminated.
The superintendent of public buildings
and grounds and the Engineer Commits
s1oner are directed TO prepare PLAN for
a park system III the outlying sections
of the District.
The Commissioners are given authority
to extend streets and to have the cost of
acquiring the necessary land assessed
against nearby property as benefits.
The provisions Of the bill. as it passed
the House, for civic improvements are
generally retained and the recommends
tons of the Senate committee on appro-
priatiOns for similar porjects have been
approved by the Senate, with the excep-
ton of the proposals for the Klingle Val
ley Park and the enlargement of the
Piney Branch Park.
Chief Fight on Measure.
The chief fight over the bill after The
Stars report of yesterday closed related
to the half-and-half principle. The Sen
ate committee on appropriations had rec
commended that the provision Of 1915. 4OS
for interest and sinking fund on the
funded debt should not be qualified. as
provided in the House bill, by the words
which sum shall be paid out of funds
and accounted for in accordance with the
acts of Congress in relation thereto
This qualification was regarded as an
attack on the half-and-half principle of
the District. and In defense of that prin-
ciple the Senate committee on appropri-
atoms had knocked it out.
Senator HOke Smith of Georgia made
the fight against the elimination of the
qualification
100000. for which. in my opinion, the
national government is in no sense liza
BILE. but for which the District Is table,;
said Mr.. Smith. 1T is proposed to tran1-
fer that liability from the District to the
national government.
a
1856 bonds. 1t is with reference to those
bonds that this provision applies. The
House appropriated the money to meet
the interest, but left the question of final
liability between the District and the ma
tional government to be determined by
the law as it stands The Senate COM
mittee undertake to determine that these
bonds are to be paid for, half and half,
by the national government and the Dis
trict. The bonds and the interest will
amount to over $25,O0OOOO.
Proposal of House.
Mark it, the House proposes to leave
the question to be determined hereafter
as to whether the law puts the liability
of the Senate committee amendment is
not to leave it where the law leaves it,
but to undertake to determine that half
of the liability rests on the national gov
eminent.
"These bonds were issued under an act
passed in 1874. They were to take up
indebtedness Of the government of the
District of Columbia, of the city of Wash
Hngtop and of Georgetown. reaching
back a number Of years prior to that
time. The Indebtedness for which these
bonds We're Issued was an Indebtedness
with which the national government had
nothing to do, for which it was in no
sense liable. but the act of 1874 provided
that the District might settle this in
debtedness with bonds bearing interest
at the rate Of 800, and that the national
government guaranteed the payment of
the bonds: but all money for the pay
ment of the bonds was to be raised by
taxes placed upon the property of the
District. 1t was not a liability of the ma
tfonal government The act Of 1874 did
not make it liability of the national
government. 1t simply guaranteed the
bonds that the District wished to issue
and provided that money should be raised
by taxes upon the property of the District
to pay the interest on the bonds and the
principal.
The Act of 1874.
THE act of 1874, as I said, provided that
the bonds were to be paid from taxes
levied on the property Of the District.
The national government, to help the
District dispose or the bonds in settle
ment of it's debts contracted prior to that
time, guaranteed the bonds and directed
that taxes should be levied on the prop
erty Of the District to pay the interest
on the bonds and the principal on the
bonds. That is the substance of the act
of 1874.
THAT was four years before we passed
the act of 1878. called the organic law of
the District, under which for the first
time the national government agreed to,
pay half-and-half of certain class of
the expenses of the District The act of
1876. following the act of 1874, provides
as follows:
And in case there shall not be suffi-
cient sum of said revenues
referring to the revenues collected by
taxes on the property in the District
IN the Treasury of the United States.
at such time as said interest NAV be due
then the Secretary of the Treasury is au-
thorized and directed to advance from
any money I'm the Treasury not other
wise appropriated sum sufficient to pay
said interest. and the same shall be re-
imbursed to the Treasury of the United
States from time to time as said revenue
may be paid into said Treasury until the
full amount shall have been refunded
Interest Provided For.
After the passage of the act of 1874
the District failed to meet from it's rev.
,nues the interest on these bonds. and the
act of 1876 was passed providing that the
national government would meet the in