Evening star., 1915-03-29

like the workmen in the building
trades. being driven out OF the capital
and off the city's tax list.
Washington and New Orleans.
The cities nearest to Washington in
population are New Orleans and Min
neapolis. the former a little larger, the
latter a little smaller; both richer in
taxable resources and means Of local
self-support and money-making. both
suffering less than Washington from
transient non-taxpaying percentage or
population. The tax levies and per
capita tax levies of the three cities arc
close together. indicating that Wash
ington is taxed today substantially as
the taxpayers of those American cities
most closely approximating it in size
and resources; and the moral is that
Washington is already bearing. with
less resources and greater drawbacks
and disabilities. the same tax burdens
that are endured by these typical Amerf-
can cities. and. as a consequence. that
in fairness its tax burden should not be
Increased artficially single dollar in
addition to the natural increase from
itS steady growth.
r. cap, Total tax
sr Orleans r:eSssis' :soass 81 si47s say
Washington. .i2.t'6 !.S .,'".o's.t
Minneapolis. 32S.3t6 lIO ooS-'-fl
All three cities are over 100000 in
population and consequently the county
tax is figured by the census in the tax
Ievies. Minneapolis thus gets the bene-
tit Of this special addition to her tax
levy. while Washington suffers from
the non-inclusion in the census calcu-
Iation of the tax on the gross incomes
IF personal taxes. This revenue in
Washington's case Is especially heavy,
the tax derived from this source being
greater than that derived from the
personal tax on individuals. Yet 1t
does not figure at all in the total and
The revenue from this source Is for
Washington. 81 1896 ego: for MinnAa no''s.
s4S592a and for New Orleans. $900,492
In neither New Orleans. MINNEAPOLIS
n fraction of the city's area assessed
and taxed: in no other city is so large
Il percentage Of tire citv's area and Of ~.
aitv's realty improvements, great build
inss and industrial plants. exempt from
taxation.
Washington's comparative tax burden
(and they have been exhaustively dis
"ussed in editorial correspondence Of
The Star of March IA. 1910. the present
Ter Capita and total tax levies of Wash
ington represent the full reasonable tax
burden imnosed unon themselves by
American cities approximating Washing
ton in population and other municipal
conditions.
Delusion of Vast Wealth.
Messrs. Prouty. Crisp and H. j
Browne affirm that Washington's rea-
sonable tax burden. instead of being
FIVE, six or seven millions, like that Of
Minneapolis. New Orleans, Milwaukee,
Newark. etc, is fifteen millions. much
greater than st. Louis (s12.354s1s).
Cleveland G1o.o1s.so7). Buffalo (ss.-
i2e731). or Baltimore Gs.s4a.oo5). The
small taxed fraction of Prouty's Wash
ington. fabulously wealthy. though
comparatively destitute nf visible tax
able resources. can. he says, bear tax
burden as great as those of wealthy,
rich and populous Baltimore and Min
neapolis combined. or Buffalo and New
orleans combined, or st. Louis and St.
Paul combined.
Mr.. Prouty's speech contains a table
which gives the figures of expenditure
of the states of the Union. the entire
expenses of the state. including the pay
of all state officers, its legislature and
the maintenance of it's universities,
eleemosynary institutions. peniten-
tiaries and state departments" These
figures may be combined with the CEN
sus figures concerning city's tax bur-
dens to put in an even more striking
light the excessive and bankrupting
tax burden proposed by Mr.. Prouty for
Washington.
washineton's tax burden at $15.0oo.-
~ >,
OF st. Louis S12,354.9'A and of Mis-
souri, s3.sS1.94S) combined about the
same az Baltimore ss.843.005). Mary
land fs2.151.900). and Georgia $3 1885,
622) combined. or Baltimore. Maryland
and Louisville s3.444.220 combined.
or Baltimore. Maryland and two cities
of Des Moines C$3,071.47s) combined.
Washington's tax burden would be
equal to that OF Louisville CS3.A44.22s)
and all Kentucky (s4.ssS.s7O. Des
Moines s1.535I I39). and all Iowa (S3.-
27.s95). and Atlanta. Ga (Sl.s35.344),
atives johnson. Prouty and Crisp to I'M
pose upon the resourceIess small owners
uf the tiny taxed fraction Of Washington
"a burden as great in dollars as the COM
lucky and Of Des Moines and Of Iowa and
~ Atlanta
Mr, Prouty proposes to crush the So
u60 taxpayers of Washington. only
about 500 of whom. including corpora
.ions. pay over $1,000 in annual taxes.
and 10000 of whom are small home
owners. with a tax burden onlv a little
less than those of Detroit (s9.6Tf.57)
and all Michigan S5.90e.624) combined: !:
about the same as those of CINCINNATI
Ss.5s3.5fo) and all Ohio S7.493.599)
combined: considerably more than Min
neapolis S5.s92.24D. st. Paul S2.Io4.-
f2O and all Minnesota S5.6s9,05G
combined: considerably more than Mil
waukee ,s6.Sas.1I3), Wisconsin S5.-
30s.543). Charleston, $. e. G54'.s62),
and South Carolina si.4sl.fsO COM
bined: more than New Orleans CS5,1s2.-
i2l). ali Louisiana s4.II3.242) and all
Indiana (s5.01T.s1s) combined. and
more than all New Jersey t5.3sS.348.
Jersey city tS3.5.0,s54) and lndianapo-
us tS3.46s 9s5). with other cities or
states amounting to two and one-haif
millions thrown in for good measure.
Imaginary Bankrupting Riches.
Is not the proposition reduced to an
..bsurdity? Messrs. Prouty and Crisp for
-rxation and confiscatton purposes i'm
ute such vast Imaginary values to
Washington realty and personally as to
threaten to deprive this property Of all
real value and to bankrupt these un-
happy Croesuses. destroying them with
IN. weapon of their own alleged but
or-.xistei,r wealth The iInputation
-.i riches which they have not is used
'" rob t!.ein ia excessive taxes OF the
5ttlr winch they really have.
Docs ary one suppose that Washing
ro'!. IL II could by any possibility bear
rr,. tax burden of Baltimore and Min
Fl':tpolis combined. aud could meet from
- Dwu resources the full expenses of
';,pit:tl maintenance and upbuiiding.