The Washington times., 1913-02-07
THE DISTRICT DEBT.

The Times has never seen much reason for hys
terra about the effort to break the fiscal back OF tn
District of Columbia by the preposterous program o
imposing on $4,000 people resident here the entir
burden Of maintaining the great governmental plan
of the nation. II was quite outside the range 0
common sense. Particularly, if was unbelievable
that Congress would accept such a proposal at tn
hands of the Honorable Ben Johnson, in view of hi
complete demonstration of incapaciy to grasp tn
problems of this city.
| If Mr.. Johnson and his sympathizers had beei
dealing for the last two years, in liberal, intelli
gent, enlightened, and progressive fashion with tn
problems Of District government they might hav
commanded the confidence of q majority Of th
House for the plan of dumping upon the District
debt that has for than thirty years been recog
nized as joint liability of District and nation.
generally intelligent attitude toward the affairs o
Washington might have established sufficient pre-
sumption in favor of even bad proposition to carr
it into the law without full understanding of it
effect - -.
Fortunately for Washington as The Times ha
already pointed out, the presumption has been hrml,
fixed that the things which Mr. Johnson favors ar,
entitled to no confidence merely because he favor'
them; rather, that they need especial examination
Congress is not in the last analysis, hostile to th
town. II is good deal more disguised with the wa,
Washington affairs have been bungled by such mer
as Johnson Smith, and Babcock, successive chairmer
of the District Committee than it is disaected witt
the town Of Washington.
Therefore, when it had time to think the matter
over and take deliberate action, the House reversed
the District revenues exclusively and left the whole
matter to be determined in accordance with law BY
the auditing and law authorities.
That is to say the same authorities that have fol
a generation been paying the interest and principal
Of this debt in equal parts from local and Federal
revenues, and that have found ample legal ground
for doing so are left to continue as in the past Il
is hardly tinkable that they will reverse themselve.
now.
Thus the general principle Of national partner
ship in the fiscal affairs of the District is afrmatvel
sustained at the end Of the most bitter attack that
has ever been made upon it in Congress. The out
come is gratifying evidence that Congress can rea
sonably be relied upon to stand in the way Of efforts
to run amuck with the affairs of the National Capital
That the House itself should have decided finally upon
this course is the more gratifying, because it dem.
onstrates that the Capital is not yet dependent
the good judgment Of the Senate to save it from i'm.
possible burdens.
While the Districts enemies have not been able
to carry cut their plan Of overthrowing the entire
fiscal system, they have succeeded, so far as the
House is concerned, in overturning two proposals
which looked to the establishment of business man.
agement here. The appropriation to buy site for
municipal asphalt plant was stricken out on point
of ordeI So was the appropriation for complete
investigation preparatory to establishing municipal
garbage reduction plant.
These two items by all means ousht to nave re-
maned in the bill. They represented concessions
to the business-like modern, efficient system Of
aging city. These services ought to be performed
by the city administration, with its own facilities
They would not to be jobbed out to contractors in
order that private profits mi ght accrue from doing
vices which the public would do both cheaper and
better for itself.
Herein lies the real unfarness Of the policy
Johnson would impose on the town. He refuses to
give the town chance to run its own affairs in an
economical business fashion. On one side he in.
ssts that Congress shall make government here jus,
as extravagant possible then on the other he pro-
poses that the town, its hands tied and its mouth
gagged shall be compelled to pay all the bills for
this extravagant administration
That is the sort of lop-sided management Wash.
ington has been suffering for many years. Congress
has made Washington an expensive town, because
Congress has permitted such men as Babcock, Smith
and Johnson to weigh far too much in the manage
ment of the city; but when, by reason of this mis-,
management, Congress discovers that the bills are
considerable it would evade its share of respon.
sbility for them!
In the long run, there is no great danger that men
of the Johnson caliber will be permitted to put hob.
bIes on the Capital. We nave faith to believe that
the mudde of the last two years will at last prove
to have been good thing for the city, in that it will
compel attention to the necessity for an adequate
consideration of the real problems Of the city.