Evening star., 1915-04-03
Committee Engages A. M.
Fisher to Gather Data for
Fiscal Relations Inquiry.
EXPERIENCED ACCOUNTANT
BEGINS SERVICES MONDAY
All Facts Must Be Digested for Brief
to Be Filed August MANY
Contributions Required.

A. NJ. Fisher. expert statistician, was
engaged today by the executive COM
mittee OF the joint citizens committee
TO aid in the collection and tabulation
OF facts to be used in preparation of a
brief which is to be presented to the
joint select congressional committee
appointed to inquire into the fiscal rea
tions between the District of Colum-
bia and the federal government, and
which are to be used also at an oral
hearing before the congressional com
mttee.
Mr.. Fisher, it was announced, was
selected by the executive committee
after careful examination of offers
from individual statisticians and ac-
countants. and from several of the
large accounting and audit companies
of the country.
Mr. Fisher has had unusual expert
ence in similar work in other cities
as well as in important cases before
the interstate commerce commission.
He will begin his services Monday IN
a conference with the executive COM
mittee and the chairmen of the sub
committees preparing to collect sta
tistical and financial facts.
Data Wanted by May Is.
The executive committee has request
ed the subcommittee to have all the
facts collected by May Is in order
that there may be adequate time to
digest them for the brief which must
be prepared and filed by the first of
August under the understanding with
the joint select committee of Congress,
and it is expected that the subcom-
mittees with the assistance of Mr..
E,,II, IL nxyf
week.
Chairman Macfarland said today that
in view of the great extent of the
work to be done and the short time in
which to do it. the executive commit
tee did not feel that it could wait for
funds, believing that all the money
necessary would be Forthcoming e
promptly. He added that the fact that
the executive committee had already
opened headquarters offices in the
Evans building and had engaged the
expert statistician requisite would in
dictate to citizens whether members of
the civic organizations represented in
the joint citizens committee or not the
necessity for Immediately sending their
contributions of money TO p. T. Moran,
president of the Chamber of Commerce
and chairman and treasurer of the
committee on finance of the joint citf-
Zens committee the fiscal relation
between the United States and the Dis
trict of Columbia
Although no canvass has yet been
started. few contributions of less
than $40 each have been sent in, but
many more will be required.
All Citizens Interested
Mr.. Macfarland said that every man
and woman in the District of Column
bia was interested in the matter and
that the citizens could be depended
upon to support financially the entire
voluntary services of the members of
the joint citizens committee. He said
he desired to repeat that the money
would be spent only for professional
expert assistance and the necessary of
flee expenses, including clerical serv-
Ices. printing, stationery and postage.
He said the executive committee had
made the most economical arrangement
possible for the necessary expert as
sistance. but it was well known that
there were standard rates for the work
Of professional experts; so that con-
siderable money would be required He
said that the task of collecting and
systematizing and presenting the
great mass of facts in this case must
be done thoroughly and accurately in
view Of the vast Importance of the
question to the National Capital. and
that the spirit shown by the citizens
generally indicated that il would be
done in that way.