Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-02-01
ORGANIC ACT TARGET
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, from him who hath not shall be taken
away" Mr.. Cannon remarked.
Speaking of the possibility or unequal
burdens under the Borland amendment,
he said:
Remember that the man with a little
one-story store pays as much tax under
the proposition does the man VINO
owns the great hotel or apartment
My experience is that men are not
prepared to vote on a change or the tax
system unprepared. right off the pat' I'M
der the five-minute rule"
Speaking of Mr.. Borland's home town,
Mr. Cannon said: THE District or Co
! lumbia is not on all tours with Kansas
City. The aggregate WashinStonian is a
clerk. a messenger. The town is made
up of poor men,
He defended the half-and-half system
of appropriation.
Mr.. Cannon alluded to the coming dem
ocratic Congress and reminded the demo-
Gratis that power means responsibility
and said that there is not time enough
now to pass the Borland amendment.
Response by Chairman Johnson.
Chairman Johnson of the District COM
mittee answered Uncle joe. He said
that the half-andhalf plan was originally
meant to take care Of the original city of
Washington. Under the organic act,
he declared. "primeval forests had been
opened up and the federal government
made to pay one-half of the expense.
He said that acres of marsh and swamp
lands had been opened up and streets
paved with asphalt and half of the cost
charged to the federal government.
Go over there now and You will md
rural delivery mail boxes. and that is
what has been done under the half-and-
half plan"
Mr. johnson said that before the pres
ent tax was made a law taxation here
was uniform: that taxation was then on
the real value and not two-thirds of real
value. He thought the tax is now not
uniform, because OF the difference be-
tween real and personal tax.
Let me show he said. that when
Mr. Cannon in 1902 placed the present
tax rider on the appropriation bill it was
not passed until the last minutes OF the
session. There is time to give this pro-
posed street tax plenty of study and the
gentleman from Illinois should be the
last to object to measure of the sort
Mr.. Barlow proposes.
Il have no doubt Mr.. Cannon has had
plenty of opportunity to be a property
owner here. and ! congratulate him in
that he hasn't.
Great Men as Spectators.
Mr.. Johnson said great men have be-
come rich by real estate here. He said
Vice President had specialized in real
estate here in his secretary's name.
shall the government continue to pay
half the expenses of running streets into
the wilderness?' he asked
Washington is the haven of the tax
dOdger. Rich men can live and die here
cheaper than they can anywhere else. We
have no inheritance tax here. I have
been trying to get one out of the District
or Columbia committee. and it is a sad
commentary that at the other end of this
Capitol is a death trap for all such
measures.
Rich Mans Policy.
a District Commissioner told me that
a rich man had told him it had been his
policy TO get congressman to become in
terested in real estate here so they would
be influenced to give better legislation
and lower taxes"
Mr. Shines asked if the commissioner
had changed his mind.
'He changes it often that I don't
know how he stands today said Mr..
Johnson. He read morning paper edi-
torial and called it "a liber'-saying that
many congressman are honest the
Almighty"
Representative Hamilton of Michigan
thought that little strong
Victor Murdoch asked who compose
the middle classes in Washington.
Mr. Johnson went on to describe the
rich as those who steer the ship of state
from behind The poor, he said. have
to pay a tax here homes while the
rich people lock up their treasures safe
from taxation.
Mr.. Johnson said the House debated
over whether the government should pay
$40 month to the widow of a great
general; 'yet we pay policeman's widow
so month and never say a word about
it-and the money comes partly from the
federal Treasury"
Mr.. Johnson read a long table of figures
showing the ''share of each state in the
Districts expenses, based on population
Federal Governments Holdings.
THE statement has been made that
the federal government owns one-half of
all the property in the District Of Co.
lumbia'' said Mr.. johnson, who added
that the statement is wrong and that
Gov. Shepherd was responsible for the
original statement that "one-half the
property in the city of Washington be-
longs to the government" This. said
Mr.. Johnson, was in the old city and was
based on values rather than bulk of prop
erty. He also said the parks owned by
the federal government are owned for
the use Of the District Of Columbia
Can any one tell me whether that is a
oc;c Of foy in,1r ho Cd