Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-04-24

| benevolent and benefcent. if only this
! self-imposed compulsion to be just is
| removed. and he is told in a new hyp-
motto tone of voice that this is his
city and that everybody has confidence
! in him. Grudgingly resisting a half
| contribution, he will. if he is relieved
of his promise to pay anything in par
| ticular. enthusiastically insist upon
paying the entire bill
| . The will O the wisp plan leaves Con-
gress. in which the District is not rep
resented, with exclusive power to tax
the capital community in any amount
| it pleases. on. the basis of its own
declaration that it thinks such amount
to be Just and reasonable and then
! to hand over the whole of the tax
| money to the national Treasury. with
out further accountability to the Dis
trict for penny of it. If a community
! is not to tax itself. if an alien body in
which it is not represented is to tax it,
the taxed and unrepresented commu-
nifty absolutely needs for it's protection
against excessive taxes some binding
limitation and restraint upon the power
of its alien tax gatherers, like that
imposed by the half-and-half plan.
The indefinite plan of contribution.
which leaves the local contribution to
! be fixed from year to year by Congress
alone on the pretext of reasonable
taxation. destroys the shield against
eXtortion furnished by the half-and
half plan and leaves the capital ex-
posed helpless to it's enemies.
In the last Congress the most con-
spicuous representatives who showed
unfriendly interest in District affairs
urged that just and reasonable taxa
ton Of the capital would raise over
100000 The amount declared by
the District appropriation bill to be
needed for capital maintenance and
development was about $12,O00,00O. If
the will o the wisp plan had been in
force and the Crisps. Proutys and
nh ct
act of 1873, had enacted their views of
District taxation into law, the District
would have been taxed over $14.O00,000.
and this amount would have disappear
gress would then have appropriated
Sl2,OOO.OOO from the national Treasury
for capital maintenance. Theoret-
| cally the two transactions would be
absolutely unrelated. There would be
no connection whatever. between the
taxation of the District and the appro-
priation for the capital. Washington
| would thus he taxed two millions more
! than its total municipal expenditure,
and would have no right. power
and no opportunity even to inquire
what became of this donated surplus,
or. indeed. what became of any of the
taX-money thus wrung from it,
A tax-system with these possibilities
and even probabilities of evil and dis
aster is commended under the will O.
| the wisp plan to the Districts approx
al In substitution Tor the safe and sane
system of the half-and-half arrange
ment
Moreover, the proposed indefinite plan
deprives the District of the last vestige
of participation in taxing and govern
ing itself which is left to it by the or
ganic act. 1t disappoints and destroys
the hopes of those Washingtonians who
have been dreaming of or working for
an enlargement of this participation.
Apparently it heads the capital straight
for political well as financial bank
ruptcy.
Following Abrnham's precedent the
father of the organic act In a passion
of patriotic devotion is ready to sncri-
,, flee his offspring upon the National
Capital altar. Like Abraham he In (The
Star thinks) blinded by n delusion as
to the real character of his purpOsed
murderOus act. Let us hope that like
Abraham before wanton and pro-
foundIy hurtful tragedy is consume
mated he will have his eyes opened to
the truth, and that when the deceptive
cloud which has Obscured his vision
ix dissipated he will see clearly that
neither necessity, Justice, wisdom nor
patriotic loyalty demands or excuses
this unnatural and abhOrrenf sacrifice.