Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-21
THE CONSPIRACY
AND CRIME OF 1902
The Johnson-Prouty Discovery
of a Plot to SWindIe
Uncle Sam.
TAX-REDUCTION PLOT
SMELLS TAX-BURDENS
Peculiar and Paradoxical Tax-Dodg.
ing Which Increases Assessment
on Realty $32, 100000 and
on Personality so Per Cent.
BY THEODORE w. MOVES.

The Johnson-Prouty report upon the
mutiIated George bill condenses in n
nutshell the fundamental errors of fact
and figure ON which the present vicious
campaign against Washington is based:
1. That the full assessment valuation
of Washington realty in 1912 was over
S.44.O0O.O00, in accordance, with H. j.
Brownies single tax confiscatory esti-
mate.
g. That full credit should he given to
the confessedly inaccurate cenSus-re-
ported relations of assessed to true
value, with the result of making the
average tax rate In United states eight
cen mills and reducing the Washing
ton rate to the lowest among American
cities.
). That Washington. on its imaginary
realty and personality taxable values,
can raise without hardship n tax levy
of S14.S47,291.55 and consequently no
contribution from the United states is
needed for capital maintenance and
upbuilding.
4. That the tax legislation of 1892 was
the result of a corrupt conspiracy be-
tween the tax-dodEers and bribinE
malefactors of Washington and Con-
aress of criminal prOclfvities to reduce
the local tax revenues in order to
swindle Uncke sam into unnecessarily
continuing the half-and-half arrange
ment.
The first three of these allegations
have been cOntradicted and discussed
in detail In recent editorial cOrrespOnd-
ence. Brief consideration may be given
to the fourth accusation count In
the Indictment of Washington and of
Congress-.
Said Mr.. johnson of Kentucky, accord
ing to the Congressional Record Of
March 9;
The organic act of 1878 was not ma
terially interfered with until 1883. That
act broke into the organic act of 1878
in the way of annual assessments and
made triennia! assessments. The next
breaking into the oTganic act was in 1902,
by which intangible personal property,
stocks and bonds and securities were re-
lieved from all taxation. At the same
tune uniformity of rate of taxation
was destroyed by leaving tangible per-
sonal property taxed at S1.50 hundred
and by taxing real estate at 81 a hundred.
NOBODY heard a cry from the people who
are now raising all this noise for fear the
organic act may be interfered with. They
sat quietly by and acauiesced in the
partial destruction of a fair assess
ment by saying that they were
willing to accept two-thirds valuation
on real estate and three-thirds valuation
on tangible personal property.
stroyed by the act of 1SS; and by the
act OF June l, 1902. and not one of those
people who are now raising such a fuss
lifted voice in protest against it. Let
me tell you how and the circumstances
under which the change as to the taxa
ton of real estate was made from s1.5O
a hundred to only 81 a hundred.
This House went on record emphatical-
ly in 1902 in favor OF taxing all kinds OF
personal property. The bill passed the
House in that shape. 1t went over to
the Senate. The Senate put on some
amendments. and then the bill came back
from the Senate amended, and it went to
conference. and while the subject had
not been brought up either in the House
or in the Senate, tie conferees brought
back to this House a p: opposition. which
was adopted without debate and without a
roll call, :educing the rate on real estate
one-third.