Evening star., 1914-07-07
SAYSCR|T|CSHAV
FAULTY MEMORIES
Mr.. Fitzgerald Denies U. S.
will Pay All District Ex-
penSeS for Two Weeks.


today about the suggestion that the
United States would have to pay all the
District of Columbia's expenses for the
first two weeks of July because of the
wording of the resolution continuing ex-
of correspondence for several seconds
and then remarked
Whoever says so is talking through
his hat The trouble is some people can
not remember two years back. Go out
and see Courts
With this Iaconic remark. the chairman
of the House appropriations committee
dismissed the published statement that
the District would henetit TO the extent
of S1S4,tsD during the first half of July
because of the wording of the resolution
which continues appropriations from the
past fiscal year into this fiscal year in
the case of all appropriation bills which
are not enacted.
Every Precedent Studied Carefully.
The District appropriation bill. hung up
between Senate and House principally
because the conferees cannot get to-
gether on the AGO claim of Thomas W.
Keller, is one of the measures which
makes it necessary to continue" the act
of the past year:
James NJ Courts. the clerk of the ap-
preparations committee. TO whom Repre-
sentative F'itZgerald refers all corners on
hard questions. said that the committee
had carefully studied every precedent
since the first continuing resolution had
been adopted by Congress. and had gone
over controllers reports and decisions.
and knew exactly what it was doing and
what was involved in the District appro-
priation bill and other bills when Repre-
sentative Fitzgerald presented resolution
No. 2S6 in the House.
Implication of Haste Resented.
1.-The resolution continues the appropri-
ations of last year and revives the effect
of the acts for the next two weeks. Now
the effect of the District appropriation
act for last year was to pay certain
sums. one-half from the Treasury and
S,ne-half from the District of Columbia," "
said Mr.. Courts.
mittee were inclined to resent the impli-
cation that the resolution which involves
so many millions of dollars should have
been hastily drawn As a matter of fact
work was started on it several weeks be-
fore the measure was presented in the
House. which was several weeks before
the necessity arose.
Clerk Courts had the history of appro-
pTldtiOliS DIT lIlSe4c elus, anu tiic
volumes of law in the appropriations Of
fee have places marked in pencil which
will serve as a precedent
Further. says Mr.. Courts, the controller
of the Treasury has at various times
been called into consultation on these
continuing appropriations. and the effect
of them on District appropriation bills
has been considered.
Resolutions Wording Precise.
The wording is precise the eN-
perience of thirty-eight years can afford,
according to Chairman Fitzgerald and
Clerk Courts.
Joint resolutions of similar character to
the present resolution We're adopted in
1876, 1852. 1854. 1856. 1885, 1890. 1892,
1904 and 1912.
been criticised by District officials, the
appropriations committee studied the
resolutions OF each of those years. af-
fecting seventy-eight big supply bills.
The report to the House on the present
resolution gives specific references to
each case since the first one in 1876.
The last continuing resolution affecting
the District of Columbia appropriation
bill was in force from June 80 1893. to
August : of the same year. and it is
understood by the House appropriations
committee that the resolution, in the
same manner as the present one, was
studied carefully by the controller TO
guard against just such a criticism as
was made yesterday