Evening star., 1915-11-05

IF that provision had been incorpo-
rated when the District of Columbia
was constituted you gentlemen would
not have been here to conduct this in
vestigation today, because that is the
point of conflict, the issue between the
government on one side and the right
of the individual to the use of the land
which he owns in fee. If there was no
privately owned land in the District of
Columbia this question would not have
arisen, as the District would have been
actually federal reservation.
Whole Responsibility Federal.
Going back to the fact that the dom
inant element in the question under
consideration is the national govern
ment, 1 come to the declaration of the
plan of fiscal relation which Commits
sioner Brownlow and 1 believe should
exist between the District and the
United States. That is, that the Dis
trict of Columbia, continuing to be
city of 100000 people. but being the
minor factor of the equation. and the
National Capital being the major fac
tor. that for purposes of government,
for purposes of financing the munich
pality, the primary, the whole respon-
sibility is that of the national govern
ment.
The national government should pay
all the expenses of the District of Co
lumbia, just as it pays all of the ex-
penses of the Agricultural-D Department,
the Navy Department, the War Depart
ment. the Department of Commerce and
of all other executive departments or.
branches of the federal government 1t
should pay all bills out of any moneys
in the Treasury not otherwise appro-
priated. SO much for what the federal
government ought to do in the District
of Columbia.
Now what should the 350,O00 people
in the District do? What should the
second, minor element in the equation
do? Take an individual member OF that
group of 100000, take a man, John
Hobbs living anywhere in the District
of Columbia John Hobbs should pay
into the Treasury of the United States
a fair and reasonable sum of money for
the privilege, protection and civic rights
that he enjoys by living in the District
of Columbia. All of the John Hobbses
in town should pay a reasonable and
fair sum of money because they live
here. just as anybody in any city pays
for the privileges and advantages of
John Hobbs would pay it into the
Treasury of the United States tax
for the privilege of living here. That
money should be covered into mlscel-
laneous receipts along with moneys de-
rived from internal revenue, customs
receipts, income tax, post Office re-
ceipts and all the other moneys that the
United States collects, and it should
bear no relation whatever to the
amount of money that Congress appro-
PIRATES for the establishment and up
keep of it's National Capital
Amount to Be Paid.
"Of course, If the committee should
look favorably upon this plan, which
is variously known as the Hoar plan,
the Sims plan, and, latterly. in some
what different form, the Works plan,
one very important question will have
to be determined. That is the question
of how much John Hobbs shall pay. l
trust that if this plan does appeal to
this committee, if it should decide to
recommend it's adoption to Congress.
that the committee will, upon its own
initiative and with its own facilities,
obtain the information which ought to
be obtained in order to fix that amount
at q figure which will be fair to John
Hobbs and fair to the national gov
ernment. I would most earnestly urge
that you do not accept the information
of any agency other than your own.
The resolution creating this commit
tee carried an appropriation for it's ex-
penses. If that appropriation is insult
ficient, I am sure that the moment Con-
gress meets you can get additional
funds. l believe that the committee
itself, by the expenditure of money
provided by Congress. should itsel, or
by the employment of competent and
reliable people. Investigate how much
should be paid and arrive at a deter
mination of how much should be paid
after the most careful inquiry and not
by ex parte statements made by any
one other than the members of the
committee or its employees.
I'm this connection / would like to
suggest that fair sum of money for
John Hobbs to pay for living in Wash
ington would be what it would cost
him to live in any other city of the
same size Just how much this cost is
is not as easily ascertained as one
might think upon first consideration,
and again for the reason that the Dis
trict of Columbia is different from any
other political division in the world.
In every other city John Hobbs would
have to pay not only his municipal
taxes, but he would have to pay county
taxes. he would have to pay state taxes
and he would have to pay large num-
ber of special assessments. In the Dis
trict of Columbia many of the expendi-
lures provided by county and state
taxes are covered in the tax of 1 per
cent. Also In the District of Columbia
John Hobbs has fewer special assess
ments than in most cities
For Special Improvements.
IT think every member of the commit
tee from his personal experience in his
home town knows that in most cities
of the United States the entire cost of
street paving, roadway improvements.
sidewalks. curbs and alley improve
ments are paid by the owners Of the
abutting property. In Washington one
half the cost of sidewalks, one-half the
cost of alleys and one-half the cost of
street paving up to forty feet in width
is assessed against the abutting prop
erty. The rest is paid from the general
fund created by the half-and-half.
do not mean to argue from this that the
tax in Washington is low compared
with other cities. I regret that I cam
not present to the committee any COM
plete statistics showing a comparison
of taxes paid in Washington with taxes