Evening star., 1915-11-16


himself as to personally values to be
added, and on this mistaken basis made
his speech and pushed hostile 1egisla-
| ton against the District, proposing the
absolute repeal of the half-and-half
plan. Logically, even inevitably. from
the Browne figures came the Crisp bill,
the Johnson-Prouty substitute for the
George bill, the Johnson amendment to
the appropriation bill and every like
assault upon the capital based upon the
mistaken thought that the District tax
payer is underaSseSsed and undertaXed
and ought to be blistered.
There is nothing else this committee
can do which will be so just and so
beneficial to the capital as to correct,
vigorously. impressively and effectively,
this prejudice-breeding error.
Will Be Thrown in Lions Den.
'If it is not fully corrected in some
striking fashion by this committee; and
if. without such correction, the capital,
deprived of the half-and-half plan, not
safeguarded against excessive taxation,
is sent to the House to suffer what that
body will consider reasonable and
equitable taxation, Washington will be
thrown into lions den or fiery fur
mace, with no prospect of an interven-
ing miracle to save it,
Having followed with some care the
course of legislation in the last Con-
gress, l say this in all earnestness-
and think that any one who examines
into the facts even hastily and super
ficially will agree with mel say that
this $744 ,000,0 900 valuation, demonstrat-
ed three years later to be about $780,
100000 too high, was accepted as gospel
truth, and furnished the basis of attack
upon Washington. which, If successful,
would, have ruined the community.
Consider the George e-Prouty j Johnson
bill-the mutilated George bill-so
transformed by amendment into thing
abhorrent that Mr.. George himself was
compelled to repudiate it. 1t proposed
from two-thirds to full valuation 1ull
valuation being accepted to be $744,-
000,000), to retain the tax rate at $1.50
and to tax at the same rate intangible
as well as tangible personality"
Mr.. Noyes quoted as follows from a
speech by Representative Prouty of
Iowa in the House in 1914, when the
George-Prouty bin virtually repeating
the half-and-ha1f provision was under
discussion, in order to show that the
Browne-George valuation of s744.O6O,-
900 was accepted in Congress as ac-
curate.
How Facts Were Obtained.
"a committee was appointed and
spent one year in Investigating. I will
tell you how they got at the principal
facts. There are in the. city of Wash
ington what are known as guaranty til
tie companies. Every transaction that
is made in the District of Columbia
passes through them because they
guarantee it. But in order to do that
they require that the man who buys
the property shall pay the money to
the company. and after they have taken
out their per cent they turn it over to
the man who has sold the property.
They do that in order to protect them
selves against an inflated guaranty.
That is the way real estate passes in
the District of Columbia.
Now the District assessors have long
tried to get hold of that information,
because that would show bona fide real
cash transactions but the guaranty
title companies had always refused to
after them, using the strong power of
the United States, and issuing sub
poena duces tecum, the guaranty COM
panies consented to lay their books
ants were put upon these books and
they examined transactions covering
the last three years. They found ac-
tual bona fide cash transactions
that there are only 10000 families in
Washington, you will see what a large
per cent they got in actual bona fide
cash transactions. The report
tive estimate they cut off $4,000. 900.
That is the way they reached these fig
ures of s744.0O0.0 and 1t Is the pur-
pose of this bill to have the property
so assessed that it will show $744,000,-
000."
Mr.. Cooper Asks Question.
Representative Cooper interrupted
Mr.. Noyes' reading to ask:
what foundation was there for the
published statement made to the House
of Representatives that expert account
ants were put on the books OF the
Guaranty Title Company" He was re-
ferring still to statements Of the
George report and the agitation fol-
lowing it in the House.
Mr.. Noyes replied:
1--WE have had the testimony here al
ready, Mr.. Cooper, as to actually what
occurred. The only one who visited
Browne. and there were very small
number of cases-(after inspecting
these 10000 possible .cases) which were
brought out as samples. and 1t was
shown by the testimony of Mr.. Marsh
that in these foundation cases. the
small number of foundation cases. Mr..
Browne mixed up his samples"
HAS Mr.. Browne ever claimed to be
an expert accountant, that you have
heard?"
it,"
80, if Mr. Brown was not an expert
IneTe WAS dDSoluttiy IlO eA-
pert accountant who looked over the
books of the Guaranty Title Company"
said Mr.. Cooper.
THAT is as I understand It,"
"I never made any such claim" Mr..
Browne said.
Mr.. Cooper continued: "And il so,
there is no foundation in fact for the
Prouty statement; is that what the
analysis shows?'
at seems SO to me-" answered Mr.
Noyes.
Attitude Not of Criticism.
After colloquy between committee
members and the speaker, Mr.. Noyes
continued, making it plain that the
joint citizens committee does not want
to be put in the attitude of criticising
the George report. He said:
Take two or three paragraphs out
testimony of Mr.. Browne, and the
George report, in its general tendency,
is helpful to the District. There are
administrative reforms proposed, and
so l object to having any one who is
Interested in failure to correct his
gross mistakes, that have been used to
our vital injury, getting behind Mr..
George and Mr.. Georges high reputa-
tion. What we complain of is that
those figures. boistered up in this way
-bolstered up, as alleged by the gov
ernrhent of the United States, and boil
stored up by careful investigation of
the best sources of information---that
this valuation. thus backed, was pre-
of the House. There Is nothing in the
Wi6o World that anV of ns could