Evening star., 1915-11-15

EVENING STAR, MO
Treasury Department has properly
| funds Of the District of Columbia de-
posted in the Treasury, as required
by 1aw-for example, deposits by citt-
It would have been impossible for the
| auditor Of the District of Columbia
and the auditor for the State and other
| departments to make annual state
ments required of them in the period
vances made by the United States
Treasury to the District of Columbia
| for extraordinary Improvements In
order to calculate the interest at =
| lumbia to the. United States, if ac-
count had not been kept.
"It is obvious that the annual ap-
propriations out Of District revenues
could not be accounted for at the
Treasury Department unless the Dis
| trict revenues themselves were ac-
counted for. AS late as January IL.
1914, the House Of Representatives. on
formed appropriations committee, took
action which indicated that 1t did not
regard the revenues of the District OF
Columbia as having been miscellaneous
receipts. 1t passed on that day the
District appropriation act containing
a section numbered eight, providing
that the District revenues for the next
fiscal year not appropriated should De
ury to the credit of miscellaneous re-
ceipts.' The Senate struck out this
section on the recommendation of its
appropriations committee, which did
not think the action should be taken.
The House abandoned it. Undoubtedly,
the view Of Congress was that the Dis
trtct revenues were not to be covered
into the Treasury as miscellaneous re-
ceipts.
Advances Always Reimbursed.
THE advances made in each fiscal
year by the United States Treasury un-
til the taxes are collected are always
strictly reimbursed from those taxes
when they come In. The account for
the whole fiscal year is settled on the
basis that the District of Columbia
revenues shall reimburse the United
States Treasury for such advances
within the year, the primary unit OF
Treasury accounting.
1.-THE real Importance of this matter Is
adoption of the Morrill, plan of appro-
priations, now revived by the civil
commissioners and others. 1t is said
that the amount of the yleid or
taxes for local purposes would pe
ignored. But how could this be? IL
must be recorded; it must be accounted
for; it must be known. 1t must be re-
ported by the Secretary OF the treas
ury to Congress. In particular 1t must
be known to the appropriations COM
mittees, and it is certain to be made
known by them to the two houses OF
Congress in justification of their action
in making appropriations FOR the local
expenses. Simply saying at the open
ing of the bill that the money tor hs me
District is appropriated out OF the
United States Treasury will not suf1ce.
Appropriations committees will have to
anticipate the inevitable question, no"
much do the District taxpayers con-
tribute?
Results of Morrill, Plan.
Let us examine the actual working
of the Morrill, plan. if it should be
adopted. First, estimates would have
to be submitted by the District Com
missioners at present. Can any one
believe that the District Commission
ers would ignore the District revenues
in making those estimates? 1t is GER
tain that, practically, they would con
slider them just as they consider them
now. They might add much more
than the amount of the revenues to
their estimates. especially II the iimita-
ton in the act of March 3. 1909. were
repealed, as it should be. But the ba-
sis of the estimates would not be the
money in the national Treasury, but
the money expected from the District
revenues Even If the Commissioners
could and should ignore the amount OF
that the appropriations committees
would take them into account? They
would surely do SO.
'T can speak with more than usual
knowledge of what Commissioner New
man has called the appropriating hab-
its of Congress, because for ten years,
from 1900 to 1910, I presented the Dis
trict estimates, as president OF the
board of COMMISSIONS ers, to the appro-
pria atoms committees of the two
houses. Let me say that my personal
and official relations were of the most
agreeable character and that l have the
highest appreciation of what was done
for the capital by those committees.
tions for municipal improvements, and
l had every reason to be grateful for
the action taken upon the estimates
submitted. AT the same time, l saw
the natural desire of all appropriations
| committees, proper in their function
as watchdogs of the Treasury. to keep
down the total appropriations. so that
there might not be in those days "a
billion-doilar Congress
Decided on Their Merits.
Il want to say most emphatically
tnat the nalI -anC- plan never IN
terfered with the appropriations in my
time. They were decided on their
merits. regardless of the half-and-half
plan, and it did not interfere with ap-
propriations. That is the testimony of
all the living Commissioners before this
committee. except those of the present
administration. "A The desire for what is
called economy, or the adverse opinion
as to a particular estimate, prevented
us from getting all that ought to have
been spent wisely and economically.
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 extraordinary improvements. The
municipal services generally suffered
in not getting the gradual growth equal
to the growth in the population and
needs, that there are large arrears
to he brought up in all the different de-
partments of the District work.
II can imagine myself presenting
estimates under the Morrill, plan to an
appropriations committee, and I know
that the first question would be, how
much money will the District taxes
Weld Sor the next fiscal year? l know
equally well that throughout the entire
list of estimates. and in the final total
the equally important question would