Evening star., 1915-03-29

tennncc aud uphuildin- "a tbat ,rpr ia
order TINT the natioa might Zoe deiuGcd
INTO continuing. unnecessarily fo pH>
one-halt Of the capitals cNp-nscs thr
District taNes were reduced by cuttinE
: one third from the assessment or
realty. anG by emitting intangible per-
sonrIty from the a>~es>mrnt: -,
, fhts excess OF a>aiiaI;e rc>carc
sh"nid bc pre.cntei b& rr,iur-
ing or eliminating the uatiouai coairi-
hnn"n and NOS by decreasing thc locai
'aNntI"n. since Nashinrtou il
grossly HnGcrasse>>cd and ,.:, tx al
/ rend. the ii-htc>t ta>ea among .smcri-
can csties: i3t No hardship viii be i'm
posed upon Washington II, tbi. with
afawni "a The national contribution.
since the capital community, rhonrI, ia
no" pays only opc-baif .hc tn, of the
average American city. is tho wealth.
lest per capita and therefore richest ~
tn>a"'e resources amon@ all thr t.iur<
/ u the nation
inc half E9d = half arrangement
under these conditions il and I,as been
for years q criminal ron.pirarx q.
cheat ;'ad dcfrau1 the faNpa,crs of ,he
1 nation AVID should be instantly aud
rntaics>lE destroyed, irrespective .F
any deta:inS equities. Tho Nushiu.-
! eOninnS' taxes Should hr d,,ubIcG inn
medtntcis: and the uulson ShouId ...-,~,.
10 contribute 10 rapitai rnaintcnunr,
ard GPbuildinE- rscc.,t from, tim. g..
time, irreguIariy and auctua.iuui,, a.
! ihe spirit moves 10.
Pro-Wasllington.
! ashln9tuu replied To- these
contentious:
up The amount raised annually an
der the half-and-haIf nrranrrment has
never been more than enough and has
often hccn Insufficient to meet the can
faTs needs in current maintenance
| and ittIieiOnS
Sreat permanent public improvements.
much more than this amount could b.
wisely and economically, expended to-
day upon tho capitnt in accordance. yi.,,
the standard set b, other great ,meri,a,
! cities. Neither in 100. nor in ,py o,h.r
year has more money been raised un-
der the balf-aDd-half srran-cm.,;
| than could be wisely expended in cnci-
snI maintenance nud dcyeloam.,t
There was no conspiracy in that ,e,-
10 decrease the local tnX revenue in
order to continue by fraud the half
and-hnlf arrangement The t,x ,c,;x
'atfon of that ,cnr WAS not intended
to dccrease nnd di.j not dccrc,Se ,s,
local tax revenue. On She rontrar, !,
very largely Increased both assess.
ments. in real estate S:.:...O0O 900 nor.
thnn the previous tricnniaI aSsessuept
and In personality 80 per cent NOR.
than the preceding year: -, Washing
i tons renity is grossly o,crassesscd ,r
comparison with the other American
cities. or what amounts Ia tho Spn,.
thing other American cities arr rro..,>
undernsscssed in comp.Ti Tison wiki,
/ Washington: t3p ashint:fOn's actual
tnN-bursIcn instead of being one-h.i.
thnt OF the nvcrnge American city tar
exceeds TINT average. bein: Srens-r per
/ capitn than In -. of the other 1871
American cities; 80 Washington an
stead Of being the richest amon.,
American cities is absolutely the poor
est In taxable resources. 1t Is rendered
incapable by the rrsrPIin;s legislation
Of Congress Of bcarins alone ,h.. bur-
den Of capital maintenance and up-
building.
Since the a.hinstoaian is TO-
/ day compared with other americaus
heavily taxed municipality and since
not even Sufficient money is raised un-
der the present system to PROV ide adc-
! luntc maintenance ana wise. dcNeIer-
mont for the National Capital. the haif-
and-hntf arranSement should not nov,
be disturbed.
If shc half-ansl-Lalf .,rran-ement Ia
at nny time TO he repeaic.I o. rndtcalI.
modified this drastic action Shoul.I uor
be taken through the medium, ~ n rider
on an appropriation b!Ii, hut after ti,..
thorough and careful consideration.
+. ton OF fundamental law. The organic
act. with it's compromises. Its balance.
it's OfSsettinr: of equities. IL an Integral
whole: and when tie time comes T.,
i change it radically the substitute for IL
should also be cOmpiefc. rounded nrr
balanced In all it's paris: and its fra,.,-
er~ in moldinE it should give TO all she
eGnities of all the PARTIES concerned
the same wise and fair consideration.
TINT WRs given u! the >futc.mcD of tie
last century fn thei- four .ear~' IaI,,,r
| of framing the organic ne! and .st,i-
iish'ng The h'if-rHi-sa!f PriuripIc.
The issues raised bv these cor
tradictory claims are discussed
and the contentious lii behalf -.
the capital are elaborated III the
following chapters OF The Star
editorial correspondence NH, =
are reproduced for convruieDt
reference Use by the N Wa>lliu~-
toniars now collecting. sitting ard
weighing the facts