Evening star., 1915-11-16
Its Enemies Unable to Agree.

Districts support. Mr.. Moves So
Its Enemies Unable to Agree.
.Tbe assailants of the half-and-ha1f
plan fire at it from contradictory and
diametrically opposing standpoints; and
if their common target might at the mo-
ment of universal bombardment disap-
pear. these groups, aiming their shots at
opposite sides of the target, would smell
and demolish one another.
For example. one set of men would
overthrow the act of 1878 in order to get
for the local community greater participa-
ton in their local government and
larger measure of self-taxation: another
set would destroy this law in order to
reduce to nothing local participation, even
nominal, in local government and self
taxation These two groups could never
agree as to the substitute for the act OF
would much prefer that act to the sub
s;itute proposed by the other. but both
are unted-an unnatural union-in
assailing the haif-and-half plan.
One set of men, conspcuously active
in the last Congress, would substitute an
indefinite contributive system for the
definite proportionate system Of the half
and-half plan in order to eliminate or
largely reduce the national contribution
and to throw the whole burden on the
local taxpayer: another set of men favor
precisely the same indefinite contribution
system in hostility to the half-and-half
plan in order that the nation may be
unhampered by any fractional limitation
upon its patriotic beneficence in the up
building at national expense of a national
capital.
Many Men, Many Minds.
-One man denounces the organic act
OH the ground that it taxes the local COM
n1unity far too little another that it taxes
the community too much; another con-
demns it on constitutional grounds for
taxing the local community at all.
One man attacks the half-and-half
pan as perniciously alive; another on
the ground that 1T is dead, and another
on the ground that it has never existed
except in the Imagination as a legis-
lative fiction.
One set of men would overthrow the
tax system of the act of 1878 and inn
pose drastic tax upon intangible per-
sonalty; another set of men would de-
stroy it in order to substitute exemp-
ton from taxation of all kinds of per-
sonalty, tangible and intangible and
10 put the entire burden of taxation
upon naked land.
The act of 1873 is assailed by men
who contend that it has benefited cod
died and pampered the local community
too much, to the disadvantage of the
rest of the people of the United States.
and on the other hand it is attacked by
men Zone or two) who contend that the
half-and-haH plan has injured the local
community as a whole, cursing it with
nigh cost of living, soaring rents, a
shabby Pennsylvania avenue and un-
desirable celibacy for thousands of
young marriageable Washingtonians
One set Of men denounce the organic
act as a pouring of vast and unde-
served blessings upon the ingrates and
mendicants of the local community:
denim it as curse to the community
as Il whole, the source of all our woes
from diphtheria to spots on the sun.
Safe and Sane Middle Course.
rs not the half-and- half plan the
wise compromise. the safe and sane
middle course between the extremes of
radical and diametrically opposing sys-
tens proposed as substitutes in its
place?
Mr.. Browne has expressed in yary-
ing forms of words his theory that the
i;a auonal contribution under the organic
act has not benefited all of Washing
ton. but only few holders Of make
land in a favored section of the city
and has cursed the rest of us He
thinks that the half-an,i half contribu-
tion should Immediately and fully cease
and that not the half tas at presently,
but the whole cost of capital mainte-
nance. should be thrown upon the Dis
tricts unimproved land.
There are many who agree with
single takers as to the soundness of
many doctrines of practical tax reform
taught by them, but who dissent vigor-
ously from the contention that the
single tax is hostile in principle to
the half-and-haif plan, unless the pur-
pose is not merely to reform taxation
but to destroy by coniiscatory taxation
private ownership in land.
They dissent absolutely from the
idea that il will be easier for the small
taxpayer to pay his share of the whole
of a. tax burden tSan it is to pay his
share of one-half of this tax burden.
and that this miracle will be accom-
plished by a change in the system of
taxation which will decrease the pro-
portior.ate burden of the small tax
payer and increase that of the larger
taxpayer. But il this tax reform can
he effected why not accomplish it with
out disturbing the ha1f-and-haif pro-
vision OF the organic act? is it neces-
sary in order to apportion more equi-
tably the tax burden between large and
small taxpayers to double tine burden
which falls upon them all collectively?
Benefits Under Organic Act.
1T is not true that only a few tax
payers. a gang of real estate owners
and operators in one section OF the
city. have profited by the hal.-and half
provision OF the organic act since 1878
Most of the great improvements which
have been accomplished since that date
and wrought by the organic act have
been such are enjoyed by residents
as individuals and not in proportion 10
taxation-by the small taxpayer as
much as the great. by those who con-
:ributed only infinitesimally to the i'm
proycment and by those who have no,
contributed at all
How any individual taxpayer could
possibly be aggrieved by the assump-
tion by Uncle Sam of one-half of the
burden of capital making, capital de-
veloppient and capital maintenance
and could suggest or assen. to It's
withdrawal. is beyond the reach of the
normal imagination. If the complaint
is that in respect TO the item of street
extension and improvement one-quar-
ter of the city or one small section
of one-quarter OF the city has re-
ceived more in appropriations from
the general revenues than il is en-
titled TO when compared with other
sections in tax contribution and NOM
iation. then the remedy is obviously
to devote less of the general revenue
IL; the future to unduly favored
section and more to a neglected sec
tion, and not to render this equita BILE
equalization impossible by cutting
down one-half the general revenue to
be devoted In part to this purpose
II the small taxpayer believes that