Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-20

| committed the bill to the District COM
| mittee. after Mr.. Hunton had promised
that the committee would strike out
the property qualification referred to.
House. with the Objectionable clauses
omitted. Mr.. Blackburn, during debate
In the House. said that the people Of
the District have right to demand
lations to the Federal government
to protest against being left
subject to the whim and caprice of
Congress at each session He added
that they have not and can have no
tangible value to real estate property"
so long as there remained uncertainty
as to the amount of taxation. II in
sist,' he said. that some definite plan
shall be adopted, and the relations be-
tween this city and the government
shall be permanently determined
Just before the vote was taken on
the bill Mr.. Ittner moved to amend it
by reserving to Congress power at any
time to repeal, alter or amend any pro-
vision of the act. He and Mr.. Keller
said that this amendment was pre-
sented with view to preventing peo-
pie coming to Washington to live, and
claiming that the so per cent arrange
was defeated without a division. not.
however. until Mr.. Hunton had said
that without 1t future Congresses could
amend or repeal any part of the act.
On final vote the House. by % to 1871.
refused to order the yeas and nays
so the bill was passed"
Substitute Reported.
In the Senate Of May Is. 1873. Mr.. In
gals. from the Senate District commit
tee. reported substitute for the House
bill. The substituted bill made no
change In the clause providing that
the government should pay so per cent
Of the District expenditures. There
was very little discussion in the Sem
ate on the subject of the so per cent
clause. except a speech by Senator Bay
ard. who thought that the government
should pay more than so per cent He
said:
The status Of this people is not fixed
The government of the United States
the real estate of the District-that is
to say. of the city portion and the val
liable portion. The city of Washington
Is not alone depot for its local COM
political center of the entire Union.
Representatives from every state and
territory find their homes here during
the sessions of Congress. The agents
for the federal government In all its
executive branches flnd their depart
ments of labor here, and all persons
having business throughout the United
States In connection with the federal
government must in some way or other
find their way to Washington. This
makes 1t federal city. 1t is used for
, federal purposes. The occupation Of
the ground by those who own houses
and make their permanent homes here
Is mere incident to the great pur-
pose, which Is the use Of this town as
a center for federal action. The re-
suit is, as far as property is concerned
that system of expenditure has been
permitted here and a system of legisla-
~
lowed to have one years continuous
existence in any place where the peo-
pie were allowed to govern their own
affairs with intelligence. There have
been abuses In the way of expenditure,
there are today abuses in the way of
expenditure in the District that would
not be suffered to exist anywhere else
No people who were to pay such taxes
and have such expenses would ever
vote to lay them upon themselves, be-
cause bankruptcy. hopeless and COM
plete. would be the necessary result
Ought to Be Federal City.
There is one feature of this bill
which I would ask the senator having
charge of 1t to explain. At page s, from
line rs to line so, Is contained PROPOSE
ton that the estimates for the expenses
of carrying on the government of this
District shall be paid In the proportion
OF so per cent by the United States and
the other SO per cent by the local popu-
lation. the property-holders. AS to the
justice of that l am not sufficiently in
structed. How many people in the CITY
of Washington use these expensive ave-
nues and streets. upon which such vast
sums have been expended, and upon
which such large expenditures In the
future are made necessary? The term
floating population will apply better
to those who live here than in any
al Nf h lob -.
I suppose that much larger number
of those who roll SO pleasantly over the
smooth streets of this city are people
who pay no taxes whatever In it. l do
not know how many. and l do not
know whether the committee have as
certained or sought to ascertain how
many. of those who have all the bene-
Ats Of the expenditures of this town
pay no portion whatever of the ex-
penses of the town. 1t Is simply absurd
to suppose that this little town. for
land and Virginia can be maintained
upon the scale which we now see it in.