The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-05-07
URGE WAR ON
DISTRICT BILLS
DR.. Kiley and H. B. F. Mac
farland Spur Citizens to
New Attack.
PLEAD FOR COOPERATION
Committee of 100 Leaders Direct At
tention to Seven Pending Measures
Which Threaten ''Half-and-Half."

them to renew their petitions to mem
bers of Congress to prevent the PASSAGE
of all ill-advised legislation affecting the
District. was sent to each member 'f
the committee yesterday. 1t was signed
by DIR. Harvey W. Wiley. chairman OF
the committee. and Henry b. F. Mac
farland,> chairman of the executive CON-
mittee
Attention is directed to the fact that
the legislation in question has been halt
ed by the civic uprisingA but that there
is danger in Lying down on the Job at
this time.
We hope you will continue to exer-
else the right of petition to Congress.
reads the statement. ''by speaking or
writing to Senators and Representatives,
asking them to study the facts and to
oppose all measures threatening the
| half and half arrangement, doubling tax
alton, and so menacing the progress of
the National Capital. Please ask your
friends here and elsewhere to do the
| same. Seven such measures are now
! pending. Prompt action is necessary.
| Two OF the hostile measures passed by
! the House on the District appropriation
! bill and rejected by the Senate are now
! in conference committee. Another, the
!
be voted upon in the House on May II.
More Cooperation Needed.
| Your executive committee has brought
the peril of the National Capital to the
attention of our countrymen, who are
! glad to pay at least one-half of the ex-
penses. Many favorable responses have
come. Your committee feels the need OF
still greater cooperation on the part OF
all the committees.
Chairman Mcfarland further stated
yesterday:
INQUIRIES from some members OF the
Committee of One Hundred indicate that
they do not know the character and
status OF the hostile measures before
Congress, and have been asked to make
a public statement in that regard. The
so-called George-Johnson-Prouty bill. be-
ing the most talked about, has obscured
others much further advanced toward
enactment This bill more than doubles
taxation in the District of Columbia
with the avowed purpose of making II
unnecessary for the rest of the country
TO contribute 81 to the expense OF the
common Capital. Under 1t the now heavy
burden would fall. of course, upon those
least able to bear it, and compel thou
sands of small home owners to give up
their homes and lose their equities. This
Z
the House again next Monday. Ii would
directly affect every resident in the Dis
trict of Columbia. The proposed taxation
would be confiscatory as to most of
them. Such a measure would not even
be proposed seriously in any other COM
munity.
Five other measures, however, have
already passed the House and gone to-
the Senate. Two of them are on the
irt of
The Senate has refused to agree to them,
and they are. therefore, under consider
alton with the rest of the bill in con-
ference committee of the two Houses.
The conferees on both sides apparently
will not agree. and test votes may be
resorted % in both Houses.
Loci, Out for Section 3.
One of these two measures is section
eight at the end of the District appro
priation bill as ii passed the House. 1t
provides that any unappropriated Dis
trict revenues in the next fiscal year, be-
ginning July /. shall be turned into the
United States Treasury as miscellaneous
receipts The House Committee avowed- |
ly inserted this section in order to take |
District revenues for national purposes
and to that extent upset the ''half-and- |
half arrangement of appropriations.
but the other measure in the District |
appropriation bill, the so-called Borland |
amendment, II enacted, would cut
down the governments contribution still |
further. for it prevents any expenditure i
frbm the national treasury upon any i'm |
provements or repairs OF the streets, !
avenues and highways of the National |
Capital. The Borland amendment places |
the whole cost OF such improvements on |
the abutting property owners where the |
roadway is less than forty feet wide and |
the abutting property owners and the |
District of Columbia where the roadway |
is wider than forty feet. deducting in /
each case the amount required to be
paved by the street railways. This would
mean, OF course. that the people living
on the smaller streets would pay the |
larger amounts.
Friends of the Capital do not seem
to know generally that Section No. S
and the Borland amendment have actually
passed the House and are still very much
alive in the conference committee, al
though the Senate has voted against
them.
THE three other measures which have
passed the House and are pending IN
the Senate Committee oHsthe District
provide. first, for banding over s1.O0OOo0
Of District revenues to the United States
treasury in compensation for an alleged
advance made by the United States to
The District on tie bonded indebtedness
prior to the settlement Of 1878, when
that and all other items on both sides
Of the books were considered and dis
posed of so that since that time no secre-
tary, comptroller or auditor of the treas
ury has recognized the alleged advance
as an obligation of the District, and
no committee of Congress until the pres
ent time has ever undertaken to re-
open the matter
Another Of the measures would pre-
vent for all time to come the appropria-
ton of an equal amount from the ma
tional treasury to meet the amount con-
tributed by the District to the National
Capital The third measure places the
entire cost Of improving sidewalks upon
the abutting PROPERTY instead of requir-
ing it to pay only half. This, of course.
would affect mostly the owners of small
properties.
Besides all these, the Crisp bill.
frankly providing for repeal of the half
and half arrangement Of 1878 and max
ng no provision for any substitute is
still pending in the House"
IrpKEEp M MA TYoN,c N nrrar