Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-12
HOUSE UPHO[DS
THE ORGANIC ACT
BY VOTE
Continued from First Page.)

is taxed too high or too low-all de-
pending on the side which employed
him. He said;
"Mr. Browne starts out to prove a
case If he had been endeavoring to
| prove that the valuation of real estate
| in Washington was too large he would
have proved 1t with the same figures,
the same information that he had before
him. Yet this distinguished committee
accepts as genuine and as a certain fact
the opinion of professional expert, as
| to the real value Of real estate in the
city of Washington in the face Of the
sworn performance of duty by the Dis
| trict assessors.
Il know enough about real estate valu-
alton in the city of Washington and else
where to feel quite competent to put my
Judgment up against Mr. Brownies,
and l believe that. on the present valu-
alton by the District assessors in the
| District of Columbia, District real estate
is valued higher in proportion to its &C
tual value than real estate is valued In
any other city in this country
City Should Be Beautifed.
Mr.. Mann expressed the opinion. COM
mon with many legislators. that the Ma
| tional Capital should be city world
famed for beauty. He continued:
Now. l do not pay any taxes in the
District of Columbia: do not own any
property here. suppose I am permitted
to express an opinoin. | notice some
figures posted up down here. and this is
about the way this information is OBJ
tanned: Present District appropriation
bill. House. Sl1.436.OO0: Senate. S13.1oi.-
Oo: average, Est. 900; one-half of this,
sI.143.hm. Then it goes on and makes a
computation of the amount of money
necessary to be raised to pay this. as
though that was the entire appropriation
| for the District of Columbia. The dis
tinguished gentleman, whoever he is
and 1 do not know who presented this
chart-does not even know. with all of his
study of the subject, that all of the ap-
preparations for the District of Columbia
are not contained in the District of CO.
lumbia appropriation bill.
You will have supposed that the gen.
tleman, whoever he was. knew before he
| prepared these figures that a portion of
| the appropriations for carrying on the
District. payable partly by the District
and partly by the United States, are car
| ried in the general deficiency and the
sundry civil bills We even make the Dis
| trict pay half of the care of the Washing
| ton Monument grounds. l suppose that
! some gentlemen think the Washington
Monument grounds are purely a local
affair. and hence ought to be paid wholly
| by the District of Columbia. That is one
| of the items that we make the District
pay half of. We make the District pay
| half the cost of the construction of side
walks on Executive avenue and on the
south side of the Treasury building in the
recent appropriation law, not carried in
| the District appropriation bill. We put a
good many burdens on the District of Co
| lumbia We make them pay half the ex-
pense of buying the fancy animals that
we maintain at the Zoo. which would not
| be maintained in Washington except that
| it is one of the arms Of the national gov
| eminent for the purpose of education and
| instruction.
Purely Local Benefit
But some gentlemen would say that it
| is maintained wholly for the benefit of the
| local people, and that they ought to pay
| for it. We put a good many burdens on
the District. We keep down salaries-and
properly so. in my judgment-of people
| who work for the government. We keep
out of the manufacturing business if we
can; we prevent the District becoming q
| wholesale center as far as We have the
power. We want to maintain beautiful
city, so that we may show 1t to our con-
stituents and fell proud Of it.
who is there here who has not gone
around the city of Washington with his
| constituents and bragged-yes, Dragged
| upon the beauty of Washington? If there
be one SO little that he has not done that.
| he is too little for me to address.
II am proud of the capital Of the coun-
| try, proud of the way it is maintained,
| proud of the government here, proud of
the government buildings and government
| business here, proud of our streets and
parks and avenues, proud of all that is
! carried on in the District of Columbia.
and quite willing that we should continue
| to contribute toward its support, in spite
of the professional figures of Mr.. Browne,
whoever he may be-
Lacks Wisdom.
The lack of wisdom in attempting to
tax real estate, personal property and in
tangible property all at the same rate was
discussed by Representative Mclaughlin
| OF Michigan. who said, in part:
1T is easy for us to say that the own
ers OF large wealth, personal property
| consisting of money, mortgages, bonds
and other kinds of credits. should con-
tribute in taxes to the support of the COM
easy to work up feeling when discuss
ing that phase of the question, but my
experience leads me to the opinion that
every time an effort Is made to assess
money, mortgages. and credits of what
| ever kind by the same plan that real es-
tate and tangible property is assessed and
impose the same rate upon both there
| Is failure of justice, an inequality and
a hardship is imposed not only upon the
owners Of the intangible property. but
1
benefit of 1t by borrowing that is, the
debtor class.
Every effort to assess money and
credits drives that kind of property out OF
the district where the attempt is made
Rates of interest are increased. and the
burden falls upon the borrowers
| Opposition to the ANTICIPATED intan-
gible property tax was expressed by
Representative Platt of New York
who said:
mr.. Chairman, If the Congress OF
the United States passes this bill pro
viding for the taxation of intangible
personal property at the same rate az
real estate 1t will take a step back
ward a step away from the policy OF
the most enlightened states. a step il
thought of the world The local taxa.
ton OF intangible personal property
as part of the old general property
tax has everywhere broken down
and has broken down because it ough
to break. down. The most enlightened
states have taken steps to abolish it,
Mr.. German Opposes Substitute.
Representative German of Illinois
member of the District committee. op
posed the Johnson substitute. H,
said:
THE amendment that was submitted
here today by the gentleman from Ken
lucky (Mr. Johnston) Is submitted 'at tn,
last minute. during the closing hours o
this debate. without the members Of tn,
House having had any opportunity t.
than either the original George bill o
| the George hill with tha PrOnty amend