Evening star., 1914-05-06
PERIL TOD|STR|CT
NOT YET AVERTED
Officers of Committee of 100
Direct Attention to Hos
tile Legislation.
URGE RENEWED ACTIVITY
UPON PART OF MEMBERS
Seven Pending Measures. It Is De-
clared, Menace Progress of the
National Capital.

National Capital.
Appeal TO members of the committee of
ore hundred not to lag in their efforts to
petition members of Congress against any
effort to change the present method OF
paying the expenses of the National Capt.
tai is made in circular letter today. sent
out by DR.. Harvey W. Wiley. chairman
of the committee, and by Ii. b. +. Mac
farland. chairman of the executive COM
mittee
They emphasize the fact that while the
campaigns of letter writing and support
solicited from national organizations with
membership of more than 2.oO01p have
halted temporarily the danger of hostile
Hesitation. they have by no means avert
ed it, The fact that there are seven such
hostile bills now pending i'll Congress is
cited. and these efforts to take away
national support from the District are eX-
planned.
Text of the Appeal.
The appeal is as follows:
We hope that you will continue to ex-
ercise the right of petition to Congress bs
speaking or writing to senators and rep
resentatives asking them to study tho
facts and to oppose all measures threat
ening the half-and-half' arrangement.
doubling taxation. and menac;nc the
progress of the National Capital Please
ask your friends here and elsewhere to do
the same. Seven such measures are now
actively pending. The danger Of such
Hesitation has been halted but not avert
ed. Prompt action is necessary on the
part of all friends of the National capi-
tai Two of the hostile measures. passed
By the House on the District appropr.a
ton bill and rejected by the Senate. are
now in conference committee. Another,
the so-called PTouty
bill, may be voted upon in the House on
the 11th.
Your executive committee has, through
national organizations of high character
with a total membership of over two mil
lion. and the press, brought the peril Of
the national capital to the attention of
our countrymen who desire with US that
IL may be made model city, and are
glad to pay at least one-half of the
expenses Many favorable responses
have come.
Committee Reports Progress.
Your executive committee instructed
by you to direct the execution of the
plan adopted for presenting the facts to
Congress and the country is glad to
report progress. but feels the need OF
st.ll greater cooperation on the part
of all the committee.
'.Inclosed find two additional copies OF
the report OF the executive committee of
March a. 1914. including the plan of
work authorized by the committee OF
one hundred and outline of the facts OF
the relation between the nation and IT'S
capital This report will be furnished
any one upon application.
cfar lone nf
committee made the following statement
today:
.Inouiries coming from members OF
the committee Of one hundred indicate
that even some members OF that com,
mittee do not know the character ana
status of the hostile measures before
Congress | have been asked 10 make
4 public statement as to these measures.
THE so-called George-Johnson-Pr
biz. being the most talked about. seems
~ be therefore the best known Of these
measures, and it has accordingly ooscufed
others much further advanced toWdfu
enactment The George-Johnson-P Proutv
bill, in brief. more than doubles taxa
ZION in the District of Columbia. with
the avowed purpose OF making y uii-
necessary for the rest of the country 70
contribute one dollar to the expense oi
the common capital
Additions to Original Measure.
Originally providing Tor a lp per eeii'
assessment Of real estate and shdiiG
rate TO be fixed by the District oommls'
sioners. with annual instead OF tiennia
estimates ,the latter feature recommend
ed as long ago as when was toiii
missioner il has been metamorphosec
by providing for i liked rate on botf
real and personal property of Si.JO .
hundred and the inclusion OF all lntansl
BILE personal property, so that now the
author Of the original bill. MI Georee
is opposing the amended Dill. Inc au
thors of the amendment estimate tha
-he bill. IL passed, would raise si'Vp'"o
or more than twice the total revenues o.
the District OF Columbia The no"
heavy burden would fall. OF course, upof
those least able TO pear ~ aild "ouie
compel thousands Of the small home own
eYs to give UP their homes and lose theil
equities This is the measure tnat VIII
come up in the House again next Mon
day, IL that day should be gwen u
Tistrict legislation. IL would directly al
feet every resident in the District OF co
luulbla. The proposed taxation would b'
confiscatory as TO most of them
Five other measures. however haN'
already passed the House and gone to th'
Senare While the George johnson
Prouty bill has not vet left the hoin'
plate the other five measures have gottei
TO second base.
Two of them are on the District o
4
has refused 10 agree 10 them and they arr
therefore under consideration with th
rest Of the bill in conference committee
OF the two houses. The conferees on boil
sides will not agree apparently and ties
votes may therefore be mad in the Senat
and the House
Diverts Revenues to q. S. Treasury.
"One of these two measures is section
at the end of the District appropriation
bill as It passed the House II provide
that any unappropriated District revenue
in the next fiscal year beginning July
Treasury as miscellaneous receipts Tn
House committee avowedly Inserted thi
section in order TO take District revenue
for national purposes and TO that exteu
upset the half aud half srrang. ment q
appropriations. They cut the Commits
sioners' estimates. leaving out all tn
moral progress Items in order TO keel
from appropriating a million and half .
District revenues so that that amour
might be turned over TO the United Stat.
Treasury.
'As the bill passed the House il appro
uriated about eleven million of dollars
ostensibIv II was under the half and hal
7rraugemeit tho approprlating 1anguag
AZ the beginning of the bill being III
same as that used for the past thirty
FIVE wears But section :, i'll six lina
tackled on at the end. destroys the hal
and half arrangement and If II became
isw as passed by the House the net T.
suit under the operation OF section
Continued on Eleventh Pase.J