Evening star., 1915-03-29
Is Washington Lightest or
Heaviest Taxed. the Rich
est or the Poorest of
Our Cities?
NOT A FIFTEEN-MlLLl0N.
BUT A SIX-MlLLI0N CITY
Taxed Fraction of Resourcelcss
Washington Can Bear Tax-Burden
Of New Orleans or Minneapolis,
Not Twice Baltimore's.

see star Dec. Is. 1915 and April -. lei4o
See pages = and 10. Squar" Deal for National
Representatives Crisp and
Prouty have contended in clabo-
rate speeches in the House that
Washington is the richest oi
American cities.
In order to justify the repeal OF
the half-and-half provision of the
organic act. Representative Crisp
pictured Washington. in imagina
ton. as a most extraordinary and
inconSruous paradox. On the one
hand. it has, he says, very few
wholesale houses, practically no
manufacturing industries or en-
terprises" and is maintained and
supported almost entirely by the
money paid out to government
employees. On the other hand.
this community. without lndc-
pendent resources. one-thlrd col
ored. composed almost entirely
OF government employees and
those who supply the latter
needs. OWNS more taxable real eS-
tate than is owned. according to
the census of 1910. by Baltimore
and Cleveland combined. or by
New Orleans. Indianapolis,
Louisville and st. Paul CONF
bined: owns greater total valua-
ton of real and personal prop
ertv than Chicago, and not very
much less than Cleveland, Mil
waukee. Cincinnati and New Or
leans combined: and is So rich
and strong i'll the possession ot
these fabulous riches that it can,
without hardship. much more
than double its present tax-bur-
den under which it pretends To
be staggering, and can pay per
capita tax levy greater by far than
is paid in any other city oi the
United States. and twice the per
capita tax levy paid by other
cities oi its class. like New Or
leans. Milwaukee and Detroit.
According 10 Representative
Prouty also. Washington is not
only the lowest taxed american
city. but is the richest in per
capita taxable resources. At tie
root oi this dclusiun of vast
wealth i'll Washington is Ill. !.
Brownies contlscatory singlc-taX
estimate OF 1912 oi S744,ooo.oco
realty values at the capital. MIR.
Prouty enthusiastically adopts
Mr.. Brownies guess. as accepted
By MIR. George. because by SO do
ing he can at one stroke make a
point both against Mr.. George
and his capital constituents. The
and contScatory clarac-
ter of this estimate was shown III
detail i'll The Star ot
February II. 1914. On the bass
oi Mr.. Browne ; guess at N ash
ington realty values Mr.. Proutv
figures that W Washington can
easily raise i'll annual taxes SI4.-
So COO. He uses his own guess
work based ON The tax rate TO
show that asilinStun can read
ilv coilec; an annual levy oi SI4.-
oI7.2GI.75.
lie concludes: The commit
ice oi one hundred knows iuli
we'll that ii property i'll the Dis
trict ui Columbia WAS taxed sub
stantially the same as ii Is taxed
in other cities ii would produce
over Sl5.coo.occ. while it requires
about SI+.COo.ooo to pay all eN-
peuse>. This is the vital issue.
Is Washington i'll taX-ral>lliS ca
I'dCltN SIN 10 oSNSII litilicii VI e
fourteen 10 fifteen million city:
A Six OF Fifteen Million City?
Mr. prouty proposes to collect from
the local taxpayers $1,000 oo0-appro:.-
imately tnree times mucn AS they
are now uayins-n king their per cap
ita levy so per cent higher than the
most excessively taxed city IN the
United states and two or three or four
times as much as other cities of the
ra pitais class. Mr.. Prouty would raise
from 10000 taxpayers in resourceiess
more than was raised IN
1912 in Detroit and New orleans COM
biue,i about as much Baltimore and
Milwaukee combined. 25 per cent more
than st. Louis, 80 per cent more than
IeNeland.
What fair minded \inerican. in or out
Of Congress, would attempt TO collect
from The $4,000 local taxpayers. nearly =
ali of whom are small property owners
5 :, 900, 900. or approximately twice AS
much as the total raised III 1872
through all kinds of taxation by Balti-
more 90 per cent more than WAS raised
,y the whole of cleveland and approx
nately three times as much as Was
objected in all taxes in New Orleans?
Where are the ashingtonians to get
.hese tiftecn million dollars of taxes,
Dr. even the half Of that amount, with
,ut the sympathetic cooperation OF
congress" Their legislature has cut
hem off from the money INA king op-
,ortunitics of the ordinary nanufac-
urjn- and industrial city. They have
10 Rockcfellcrs or Carncgies or multi
Of any degree TO be blcd
after suciali listic methods of taxation
M the nubli, benefit Their great en-