The Madisonian. (Richmond, Ky.) 1913-1914, 1914-04-14
FIGHT HOUSE Plan
WASHINGTON CITIZENS OBJECT
TO PAYING ALL COSTS OF
cITYS UPkEEP.
SEEK HELP OF THE NATION
To Abandon "HaIf and Half" System,
They Assert, Will Means the Ma
tons Beautiful Capital viii
Fall Into Decay.
ax GEORGE CLINTON

Washington.-Ther has just been
formed in Washington committee of
business men and influential citizens
whose duty will be to arouse through
out the entire United States an inter
est in the well being of the capital
of the country" This committee owes
its origin to the recent attempt in
congress to change the whole system
of taxation of the district by making
the residents of Washington pay all
the taxes, the government to pay abb
solutely nothing for the upkeep of the
streets, the sewers, the police and the
fire department and other necessities
of a city government
AS things are at present, the taxes
are divided half and half, that is, the
residents of Washington pay half the
amount necessary to run things and
congress appropriates for the other
half. OF course it was not intended
by congress that the city of Wash
ington should pay for the erection of
public buildings or for their main
tenance, or for anything which was
used or intended to be used for purely
governmental functions. 1t is main
tanned, however, that it is now the in
tention to make the residents of the
district pay Cor the paving and for the
maintenance of the streets and alleys
upon which government property
abuts.
The senate has positively declined
10 droc CT 10 oh IF q
system of taxation proposed by the
house of representatives. The resi-
dents Of Washington say that this city
being the capital, congress should do
it's share In keeping the place beauti-
full and in making it credit to the
people of the United States. They
say that if they have to pay all the
taxes it will impoverish them, that
real estate will decrease in value, that
people will sell out and leave Wash
ington and that without government
aid the city will go to decay.
Controversy Has Been Bitter.
Washington never before witnessed
such fight as there has been at this
session between the business and resi-
dent interests of the city and the
membership in the lower house. The
! chairman of the house committee of
the District of Columbia has been
openly accused of following a course
which would injure the city beyond
repair. He of course has made his
defense and it is to the effect that the
residents of Washington expect to be
supported by the people of the coun
-ry, and that simply becau@e they live
in the capital city they should not
expect to have their legitimate taxes
paid for them by the public.
The answers to this answer OF
course have been forthcoming and
they have been sharp and pointed. II
was perhaps the seeming willingness
of the house to make the Washing
ton residents pay for street improve
ments and other things which would
benefit the buildings which actually
belong to the government, that gave
the greatest strength to the opposi
ton of the residents.
There seems to be no chance that
for some time at any rate the senate
of the United States will agree to the
house demand that the old system Of
half and half taxation shall be done
away with and that the residents OF
Washington shall pay the whole bill
/ but now that the matter has once
been before congress, it is likely to
come up again at different times an6
so it is that the people who live here
want the country to come to Their
rescue through representations tc
senators and Representatives that the
capital of the country should be KEEP
beautiful and that it is only righ
the government should pay a part Of
the reckoning. l,s
6eautifying Is Systematic.
AS the country pretty generally
knoves by this time. the haphazart
method of identifying Washington
has been stopped There is now {
fine arts commission which passe:
judgment on all proposed improve
ments and no building can be erected
no statute emplaced and no park lait
out without getting the sanction O.
the members of this commission of ex
perts
People coming into Washington AND
riding up Pennsylvania avenue from
the train see the post Office depart
ment building looming up ahead o
them and they probably wonder |
other government buildings are 81
shockingly ugly. The post office de
partment building was erected onl.
about twenty years ago, and how thu
plans succeeded in securing the sane
ton of the authorities is sometime
most difficult to understand. If ther'
had been a fine arts commission ii
this city at that time the post of1c,
building today would not stand as |
blot on the architectural beauty OF thu
city of Washington.
The country can be assured tina
from now on, so far as human judg
ment can make things assured. Their,
will be no buildings put up in thi
town by the authority Of congress o
otherwise that cannot stand the ties
which experts apply to determine sym
metry, beauty and Appropriateness