Evening star., 1915-04-29

the last forty years. and especially
| within the last fifteen years. AS Wash
| ingtonians we regard with grateful ap-
probation the patriotic and public
| spirited labors Of the faithful among
| our constitutional legislators, who In
unselfish devotion to a task at times
| apparently thankless have, raised the
nations ward from the gutter OF uni
| verSa1 derision and contempt to the
| pinnacle of world wide admiration and
honor, and who have made of Washing
| ton not merely the City Beautiful. but
| the City Healthful. the city Intellectual
| and comparatively speaking, the CITY
| Good Since 1878 the nation. faithfully
| adhering with few exceptions to the
| implied compact of the organic act and
wisely liberal in developing on artislic
as we'll utilitarian lines the natlonal
public building equipment or the ma
tion's city, has made d record IN capltal
building and maintenance OF "h'ch ITO
American needs to be ashamed
'1n view, however. of the correspond
ing achievements of other nations. ike
Argentina and Brazil, we nave no rlsn1
to be arrogant in our pride as capleal
builders. either in the line or creation
or of maintenance and development
Lessons in Capital Maintenance.
The attitude of the national govern
ment toward Buenos Aires and Rio, re-
spectively. has been such as to reduce
to an absolute minimum the capitals
need of and appeal for financial CO.
operation by the government: never
theless a maximum of such co-opera
ton has been cheerfully rendered
"I) Argentina and Brazil have in ev-
cry conceivable way increased the abil-
ity of their capitals to raise tax money
The United States has. on the other
ing capacity of Washington. The
South American cities are great and
rich in taxable resources. and their
wealth and commercial and Industrial
noted by the nation as by their own
enterprise. Washington is and has
been always poor In taxable resources.
and has been crippled commercially and
"In the interest of Baltimore. Richmond.
Philadelphia and other neighboring
commercial cities Congress has, his
commercial and industrial growth. 1t
has deprived the Washngtonian Of the
means of self-support found in the
local industries that develop in the or
trated the great local industries. cor
responding to the factories, mills and
manufacturing plants of other cities, In
the hands of the government. and then
by the apportionment-o Of -offices law
shuts out from the classified service in
these great national-local industries all
who claim Washington as residence,
including the growing youth of the
city. Thus Congress denies the capital
great industries of its own; it shuts out
Washingtonians from the national
local industries; 1t drives out from the
city the growing youth that they may
find elsewhere the means of self-sup-
port.
"(2) Argentina and Brazil have taken
from their capitals only that degree Of
control which is absolutely essential to
protect the national interest: here the
nation reserves to itself exclusive and
despotic control The South American
governing, with a distinct municipal
government and full representation in
national government. With US the ma
tion Is in absolute control of the capi-
tai In every particular, with exclusive
legislative, executive and judicial pow
er. and the capital Is not self-governing
in any respect whatever. and not in the
smallest degree represented In the ma
6onal government. Here the munich
pality does not even tax itself in forms
that it prefers. and does not expend Its
tax money for the purposes which
please it. The nation decides how
and in what manner it shall be raised
and expended
Thus the South American nations
have made their capitals rich and able
to pay heavy taxes; have permitted
them In large measure to control their
own taxation. and then have. in addi-
tion, contributed handsomely to their
maintenance. With US the capital has
for many years been denied any control
Of its taxes, and has been kept i'm
pecunious and with minimum of abil-
ity to pay taxes by the consistent pol
icy of the nation. which for the first
seventy-f1ve years of the city's life
openly shirked its own equitable f1nan-
cial obligations to Washington.
Little in capital maintenance has
been equitably expected from the South
American governments; they have CIV
en- much. Much has been equitab1y ex-
pected from the United States: 1t has
Rfven nothing. since what 1t has paid
has been. under the conditions Of capi-
tai creation and development. not do
nation, but the honest meeting of a
just obligation.
Argentina and It's Capital.
Let US examine what Argentina has.
under these conditions, done for Buenos
Aires. The South American facts and fig
ures are taken almost entirely from the
bulletins and other publications Of the
PanAmerican Union (until recently
the Bureau Of American Republics).
which, under the capable management
of Director John Barrett and Chief
Clerk Franklin Adams. is performing
an international function Of the high