Evening star., 1915-11-13

. while the assessor and his assistants
were all fair and honorable mem ne
had no doubt but what they had oeen
unconsciously Influenced by the agita-
:. ton in Congress during the last two
: or three years for raising assessments;
! They are honest, but they wouia
not have been human If they had not
been SO affected" he said.
Tells of Eighteen Cases.
He told the committee of eighteen
small residence properties controiled
by his Office. He said that ne hao
found the assessment fair in fourteen
cases. slightly excessive in three cases
and very excessive in one case.
II think these cases show tnat the
charge that the assessments on sliail
homes in the District are excessive is
not based upon fact" said Mr.. Bran
denburg.
Mr. Brandenburg said that all his life
he had been opposed to suffrage IN
the District. but that in recent years
he had somewhat changed MS ii'iho
regarding that matter.
rs there any reason" said senator
Works. why the people of the DIS,
trict should not vote for President ana
Vice President?"
None whatever" said Mr.. Branden-
burg I'm fact, there is an anomaly
here The people here choose delegates
parties and aid in selecting the candl-
dates for President and Vice Presiaen.,
but when it comes actually to electlng
those candidates they are barred
He argued that the people OF the Dis-
trict should have representation on the
floor of the Senate and House, so as TO
have spokesmen when Dlstrlct ahaiis
were up for consideration.
"As the population of the country mas
increased he said, the numbers OF
nf IN
has vastly increased until today he has
about all he can attend to in looking
after the interests of his own people.
He said that 1t was not fair to expect
give much of their t me to the consid-
Grafton of District affairs.
"At one time commented Represen-
tative Cooper. the constituency OF
member of the House numbered about
10000; now it is around 100000.
Work Increased Threefold.
Senator Works said that the work or
members of the Senate had increased
threefold, according to member OF
the Senate now in office.
Mr. Brandenburg said that it was not
fair to expect a member of the Senate
or House, chosen chairman of the Dis
trict committee, to give all the time
nation about the needs of the District,
because he would have to neglect his
other duties. and for that reason, he
said, a representative of the District
could well be chosen for that office.
Mr.. Brandenburg said that he was
entirely satisfied with the present COM
mission form of government in the
District.
Jesse L. Heiskell. real estate dealer,
was the next witness. He told the
committee that the half-and-half plan
was just and should be continued.
1T would be serious proposition to
disturb conditions which have grown
up under this plan during the last for
ty years. he asserted. He said that
the agitation in Congress against the
District and the half lf-and-half plan dur
ing recent years had had a very bad
effect in the District.
ut is evident that the tendency
among certain members of Congress-"
he said, has been to shift the burden
of the expenses of the District to the
fault lay with the application of the
half-and- half plan and not with the
plan itself
The last assessment of property In
the District has been abnormally high"
he charged. He told of property which
he owned in the suburbs which he was
willing to sell for $4,000. now assessed
on the basis of a 100000 valuation.
The idea of increasing taxes on out
lying property in the District Is ram
pant" he said, and. he added, The sin
gle tax idea is rampant in the as
SCISSORS Office"
He spoke of a business property
which he owned in part, which he
was willing to sell for less than
100000 and which was assessed on
a valuation of more than $4,000. He
said that he had appealed from the
assessment in vain.
Taking of Testimony Ended.
When Mr.. Hefskell completed his
testimony Senator Works moved that
the taking of testimony be ended.
This motion was adopted by the COM
mittee. Senator Chiffon explained
that the committee would then hear
arguments in rebuttal.
pr. ]. W. Chappell asked permission
of the committee to make further
statement. but under the motion
adopted he was not permitted to do
so.
W. ]. Kehoe told the committee he
would file a brief in opposition to the
single tax plan.
The committee then arranged to ap-
portion the time among those who
wished to be heard in rebuttal. The
members of the joint citizens commit
tee, Henry b. +. mcfarland, Theodore
W. Noyes and A. S. Worthington, were
each given two hours; Herbert j.
Browne. one hour: A. D. Mackenzie of
the Tax Reform Association, one hour;
W. ]. Kehoe, one hour: A. B. johnson, a
half hour, and A. S. Trundle and c. c.
each a half hour.
The committee then voted to adjourn
until Monday at 10 O'Clock, and that
the hearings should close finally at /
O'Clock Tuesday afternoon.
A report of yesterday afternoons
proceedings before the committee is
printed on page 8.
HllRl lnlA lila lnRillA