Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-12-17
The Four Fallacies.

The attack or the half-and-half pr1n-
chile of the organic act. eliminating III
the adoption by the House last Monday
OF tile Johnson amendment. Whlch suo-
stitutes a sliding scale OF federal par
ticipation for the equal-share par
patton in District maintenance, mas tiiis
time been based broadly upon Tour
propositions which, though faiiaclous'
have nevertheless satisfied ma1orltV
of the Representatives voting upon the
issue in the House. These -FOUR
PROPOSITIONS are al follows: ti That the
District Of Columbia is underassessed ior
purposes of taxation; ca that the lis
trict is the liShtest taxed of all Ameri-
can cCnmun ties. t3) the District IS the
richest per capita. of all American conf
plunities and 90 that it is able TO pear
a tax levy Of $l5.0o".oo 900 annually. and by
means of this local revenue 70 stand
alone, without federal assistance IN
maintaining the National Capital mu-
nicipaIity ON the expensive scale which
Congress has adopted heretofore
The House must have believed all OF
these propositions or it would not nave
voted as it did. 1t is commonly ac-
repted that the Senate does not pehe'e
tlem Heretofore the Senate has re-
led proposals to violate or infringe
,,,,on the orga,. ic act in respect to the
eaaz! federal contribution. and 1t is
now relied upon confidently to do the
AZ ne with respect to tire johnson
ae.endment, which is the mos, direct
o. II the assaults yet launched upon
n principle
Il is important that the truth in re-
S..sct to the four cortentions advanced
j,y opponents of the f-and-half prin-
c.pIe in the House shosll be fully de-
veloped in the course of the consi ERA
lion of this question By he SeIa ate, SO
that its action may be ba ed not mereiY
upon a genera. disoos it N 10 do the
fair thing by the Dis .'ict.' bit upoa
positive conviction TT tie action al
ready taken by the House j. UNI st be
cause grounded in ui.tI tn There
should be no slurring o. er o tie issue
The Senate should haze all tn facts,
not merely for its own justin alton in
acting as it is expected 1t will act. but
to strengthen it's hands when the bill
goes into conference and the real iisHt
for the preservation of the o,G NC act
ensues.
The Star has during the -ast fe diys
been printing series of articles on the
subject of the Districts ~ssess nents
and its ability to meet the full cost o.
its maintenance without equal federal
participation. All of these publications
bear squarely upon the four fall cies
on which the House action is based.
The star has shown that the District Is
not underassessed. but that, on the
contrary, its assessment at statutory
two-thirds is nearer fun v-lue than as
sessments In. other cities which are in
theory at full valuation. 1t has shown
that the assessment work in Washing
ton is more conscientiousiy and thor
oughly done than elsewhere. ana with
less favorltism. II has SHOWN that. in
stead of being the Iigntest taxed OF
American communities. Washington is
one of the most heavily taxed in pro-
portion to population. 1t has shown
that the District is not the richest per
capita, of American communities; that,
on the contrary, il is a city comprising
d population Of exceptionally moderate
means, with no large industries. no
great concentration of veal III. :. city OF
lI-salaried inhabitants and few COM
mercial opportunities.
Today, To complete the present refu-
tation OF these falIaclous premises upon
which the Johnson amendment was
adopted. The Star Publishes elsewhere
irresutable figures 10 show that the
District is utterly unable to raise S1j,-
OcG.ooO a year in taxes. or anything APP
proximating that figure. and that il
cannot possibly stand alone in the
maintenance of an adequate National
Capital.
The showing is conclusive tina, in tax
-aisins capacity the District IS q seven
;a4iiicn and not l. fourteen million city:
mat the half-and half arrangement is for
ne present equitable; and that the John
son amendment should be defeated