The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-11-16

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gospel truth in Congress-" he declared.
and have been made the basis for all
attacks upon the District and the half
and half plan"
He urged that the report of the Select
Committee. whatever its recommended
tons, embody a strong refutation OF the
figures contained in the George report
W. d. Mackenzie. Of the Single Tax AS
ISOLATION. and James Hugh Kelley also
addressed the Select Committee at the
morning session.
Few Citizens Oppose IL.
Mr.. Macfarland said in part:
1T is significant that besides single
takers. very few less than a dozen citi-
zens have appeared In opposition to the
half-and-half plan. A revolution in the
fiscal affairs OF city. even IL 1t is the
Capital, ought not to be made when so
few peop.e come 10 ask for It.
AS to the single-taXers, whether Of
ficials or private citizens, l have only
TO say that. beginning with the Henry
George, jr.. report, there seems 10 be a
concerted effort on their part to abolish
the half-and-half plan in the interest of
hearing. however. through two of their
number. that II the half-and-half plan
were abolished without the adoption of
their panacea, the effect would be OPP
pressive and 'disastrous.' Their most
practical statement was that one city
in the United States. even though a small
One-Pueblo, C0lo.-was actually under
the single-tax system. But Pueblo is al
ready tired OF the single tax. as the sin
gle-taX law was repealed this month.
Our criticisms are OF measures, not
men. Our protest has been against the
George report and bills founded on its
now disproved assumption. that IL prop
erly taxed the District people could pay
all the Districts expenses, and SO aban-
don the half-and-half plan.
'Cnwillingness to appropriate national
money for District purposes under any
plan, and a desire to make the District
people pay all the District expenses,
caused the alarm which defeated those
measures. and resulted in the appoint
ment OF this committee.
In destroying, as we have done, the
foundation stone of the opposition to the
half-and-half plan, namely. the assertion
that in 1912 the real property in the Dis
trict was worth .Ooo we have de-
stroyed the only real reason for a change.
what Was Blackburn Reason.
Reviewing the hearings. we observe
that all the measures suggested in sub
stitute for the half-and half plan. except
perhaps the single tax. were proposed
and fully considered between 1874 and
1873. when the organic act was in process
Of evolution.
Mr.. Blackburns opinions are always
entitled TO respect, but their strength de-
ponds on their reasons and not on his
name. He gave reasons in 1873 for the
adoption Of the half-and-half plan which
are as appropriate today as then. and he
stood by them.
He cited no changed condition. ex-
cept that the government had acquired
more land. although in 1873 it owned a
larger proportion OF the then city than It
does of the present city.
1T is claimed by the civil commits
siOners that the half-and-half plan is "a
legislative fiction and has long since
been practically abandoned by Congress.
although they grant that il had a
psychological effect in producing the Ia bit
of annual appropriations based upon the
wants OF the people OF the District.
This seems to be a valuable result OF
a legislative fiction. Indeed, It suggests
that the legislative fiction ought to be
continued. and that there is nothing in
the claim that II is obnoxious to Con-
cress as 4 whole.
But the best answer to the claim that
the half-and-half principle Is nothing but
legal fiction is the actual action of
Congress up to the present fiscal year
under that principle.
Quotes Figures Prepared.
a table prepared at my request by
the auditor of the District, giving the
total Of all the appropriations for Dis
triCt expenses from 1873 to June 80, 1915,
shows that the total appropriations pay
able half-and-half from the District and
national revenues respectively. from ISIS
t. 1915. are sc1u0I4, i5I.2;. of which the
United States paid half and the District
half. and that in addition the District
paiG from its revenues S5.9lI.l6OS9 under
appropriations and appropriation charges,
and 500. 1861 in refunding enormously
collected taxes, etc, which. of course, be-
ing merely a refund of revenue collec-
tons. is properly chargeable to the Dis
trict. out of a total appropriation. there
fore. Of s216, O21. 6lS13 for the thirty seven
years. only S5.9F.l60.S9 was made wholly
out of the District of Columbia revenues.
a very small percentage in so large a
total amount.
The table presented by Commissioner
Brownlow showing appropriations for the
period 1900 to 1914 illustrates just as
strikinGly the insistence OF Congress
upon the observance OF the half and half |
plan imposed by it upon itself and the /
District taxpayers.
II want to say most emphatically that
the half-and-half plan never interfered |
with the appropriations in my term. That |
Is the testimony Of all the living Commits |
sioners before this committee except those |
OF the present administration. The de-
sire for what Is called economy, or the |
adverse opinion as to a particular esti- |
mate. prevented us from getting all that |
ought to have been spent wisely and eco |
This was particularly true of /
the items for current expenditures during /
the period of the extraordinary improve
ments and the repayment too rapidly Of
the government advances on account of |
the Districts one-half OF the cost of the
improvements The mu-
nicipal services generally suffered in not