Evening star., 1915-01-09
DEBATE IS HALTED
ON DISTRICT BILL
Continued from First Page.)

come to Washington to live. I should gain
nothing whatever by way Of escape from
taxation"
Speaking of the rate of assessment
here, Senator Root said:
"It is about the usual rate of assess
ment, I think, throughout the country.
1t is two-thirds upon the kind of val
uation that is created by mems own
hopes for their property and the spec
uIative element in value.
I'm the city of Washington today
know of many pieces of property that
have gone begging for purchasers for
years for values not above that two
thirds valuation. That Is peculiarly the
man builds a fine house according to
his own ideas, to suit himself. II he is a
prudent and experienced business man
he will write off more than one-third
of it's cost, because he will know that
it's value for sale will exclude any
value which it has for him in conform
ing to his own special and peculiar
ideas. The senator from Utah (Mr.
Smoot has just called attention to one
of the fine houses up on Massachusetts
avenue, the owner of which was not
able to get one-half the cost of it.
This business of levying taxes, Mr..
President, of assessing values for the
purposes Of taxation, and of selecting
objects of taxation, is a complicated
and difficult one, and it calls for the
application of the lessons of expert
ence in a very high degree. 1t is not
wise, it is not sensible. to so off on the
mere fact that the course that is adopt
ed seems to somebody or seems to you
or to me to be not the best course
When you come to study the subject
you find a great variety of facts which
inevitably modify any first Impression
But, passing all that, Mr.. President,
| / would rather pay four times the
amount of tax and have a voice in gov
erning myself. in saying what ! shall
1 t.
shall be expended. than to pay what
| the people of the city of Washington
have to pay and have no voice at all.
1 would rather pay more and exercise
an humble suppliant with people set
over me by others, who are not my
representatives, to say what 1 shall
pay and what my money shall be ex-
pended for. There is no parallel that
can justly be drawn between the situa-
ton of the people of Washington in
| respect to taxation and the people of
Cincinnati, or of Cleveland, or of Buff
falo. or of st. Louis, or of San Fran
cisco, or of Des Moines. The people of
| Washington and their property are
| helpless in our hands; they have no
voice about it; and that must be SO,
| because we and not they must be SOW
| ereign in the city of Washington. The
only way they can protest is through
newspapers. The things that are to be
done with their money may be the
| things that they most oppose, but they
| are helpless.
Dwells on Half-and-Half Plan.
| Now, sir, under those circumstances,
after a long history of most distressful
controversy; after a futile attempt to
give them some opportunity to take
charge of their own affairs. after many
years, during which they were bitter
over what they deemed to be Injustice
after they had been for long years, year
after year, subject to the eXactions of
people to whom they could say moth
ing, an arrangement was reached, after
Hong discussion and consideration,
which by it's operation would accom-
jplish two things: One, to give to the
people who are here, and the people
who might come in the future, some
guaranty Of certainty of continuous
bolicy and of protection against un-
ment in respect of the impositions upon
their property and the expenditure OF
| the money taken from them by taxa
tion.
| ",rhe other thing accomplished wa.
that upon all expenditures in the Dis
trict there should be the protection o.
| responsibility by the members of tn,
two houses. Although there is no re-
| sponsibility to the property owner O
Washington, this arrangement tied t
every dollar to be exacted from then
a dollar to be taken from the consti
tuents OF the men who voted tn,
money. Thirty-seven years ago tha
arrangement was made, and under 1
the people OF the District of Columbi;
Ihave had the protection of fixed ant