The Washington herald., 1913-12-17

| property owners therein pay to theiI
State and county and only quote the city
rate. In Washington only one tax d
paid, the city tax, as no State and county
taxes are required, SO the only fair way
to compare the burden OF taxation borne
| by property owners here and elsewhere
Is to compare the t~.al taxes paid by each
on the property owned by them"
Representative Prouty's Plan
Admitting that sich tabulation would
be at best inaccurate, Representative
Prouty offered the fallacious theory that
the total contribution toward District
revenues made annually by the Federal
government could be divided up between
the various States.
"Of course" he said, everyone will
have to admit that you cannot get at II
to a cent, because the taxes OF the gov
ernu1ent are assessed by an indirect
method, but perhaps the nearest right
We can get is to figure II upon the basis
of per capita" Mr.. Prouty then SUBJ
mitted for the record a tabrlation similar
to that prepared by Representative John
son, OF Kentucky, and printed in The
Herald, on December &
The amusing, and really the only new
feature OF Judge Prouty's speech. he
read from a prepared manuscript II
fact that Judge Prouty himself has been
treated by press and public alike with
the greatest consideration, despite his
long since announced intention to bring
about a change in the form OF govern
ment.
'It Is no secret" he said, "that the
people CT this town look with suspicion
and disrespect upon Congress. The peo-
pie feel that they are governed by a
foreign, and to them, alien people Every
man who will assist Washington In get
ting an additional appropriation is a
patriot, a statesman, and the personifca-
ton of national pride. He is fiattered.
cajoled, and petted by the social set. He
is praised, puffed, and heralded by the
press. But IL any member of Congress
undertakes to hold the even hand of
justice between the interests OF this
people and the interests of his own peo-
pie, he is made to feel the resentment
and ostracism of the social forces, and
is attacked by the local press with such
endearing epithets as pin-head, tight
wad, reuben, or hill billy.
Gives Position of Congress
$50 long as Congress, composed of
men gathered from all over the United
States, undertakes to run this local city
without knowledge of its needs, or with
out real sympathy for some Of its -pur-
poses, so long will there be friction and
resentment between the ruling forces Of
this city and Congress. So long as Con-
gress undertakes to perform the functions
Of alderman, 1t will be treated as a ward
alderman. It will be subject to all the
contempt and disrespect that usually per-
tain to aldermen of larges cities without
trust, securing the. emolument that is
commonly considered as furnishing a
balm for this humiliating service.
$50 long as there are members of Con-
gress who will dare to stand on this
floor and block The gateway to the Fed
eral Treasury. SO long will members of
Congress be attacked in public and in
feel the crushing, irritating, dominating
force of local sentiment; and this condi-
tion will never be removed until there is
complete divorcement of its purely To-
cal administration and expense of the
city of Washington and the Federal
Treasury.
Il know that when any suggestion of
this kind is made here by any member
OF Congress. the old settlers throw up
their hands in horror and point with
awful warning to the time when thev
had local self-government and the city
was run by Boss Shepherd and local
rinssters. But these people should know
that civilization has improved in the
last thirty-fve years. that higher ideals
have prevailed, and that many other
cities that thirty-five years ago were
suffering from boss-rule have driven out
the bosses and clarified their political
atmosphere"
Makes Discredited Statements
In the serious part of his speech.
Judge Prouty reiterated a number of
statements which have been made before
and. to a large extent, discredited
The very first argument that is
brought in support OF this proposition"
he said. ''is that the city of Washing.
ton Is the national city. Now that Is
a misconceptIon. The District OF CO.
lumbia under the Constitution, was made
subject to the Jurisdiction of the United
States, bur the Federal goverfi-
ment has no different or higher
control over the territory of the
District Of Columbia than the State OF
Iowa has over the territory within Its
borders. The State of Iowa can pass
laws for the Incorporation and govern
ment of cities So can>the Federal gov
ernment pass laws for the control of