Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-11-06

AY, NOVEMBER 3, l9l;
tion's Capital. because of this arbi-
trary half -and-half division Congress
has baked at providing means for the
use of these parks. 1t has, set up an
that the expenses Of the Fairgrounds
| should be met wholly from District
| revenues. while at the-same time the
| expenses of the bathing beach are paid
| on the half-and-h half system, and just
across the street from the bathing
beach inePotomac Park, which is con-
trolled. not by the District Commits
sioners, but directly by the War De-
partment. there is row of nineteen
beautiful tennis courts. Now, for the
| upkeep Of these tennis courts, the Dis
trict pays half under the half-and- half
plan and the government pays half,
| and yet Potomac Park as whole is
considered solely. a governmental res
ervation. 1t is hot controlled by the
municipality; in fact, the District Com
| missioners who represent the munich
| pality have nothing to do with it ex-
cept pay half the expenses. 1t is con-
| trolled by an officer of the army de-
tailed for the purpose under the War
| Department, and he has not only, con-
troll of the park, it's highways, its beau
tification, Its flowers and tennis courts.
| but even its police and its lighting.
Now. why is it that Potomac Park,
which is the greatest playground of
| Washington for everybody who has a
| tennis racquet or base ball bat, or an
automobile, should be maintained on
the half-and-half system and at the
same time playground in some poor
| section. of the city, where the aittle
children go to play, be charged wholly
| to the District revenues? This is the
result of an attempt to divide national
from municipal functions and 1t demon
| strates the futility of that plan.
| ut must be manifest to any one who
| will sit down and look over the appro-
| pEiations for the various municipal
| functions and who will then consider
what is done with this money, that
| there can be no accurate division of the
| municipal and federal functions in the
| District of Columbia and that any such
division, If made, must be, absolutely
| arbitrary and necessarily inequitable.
Impossible to Make Assessment.
| 1T has been said that the proper
method to determine the proportion Of
the expenses to be borne by the people
of the District of Columbia and by the
| federal government Is to find the
value of the land and other property
owned and occupied by the federal gov
| eminent and to levy upon that prop
erty an amount which would equal the
| taxes paid by private owners. Here.
| again, you come to the same difficulty.
| 1t would be absolutely impossible, in
my opinion. to determine to the salts
| faction of the two parties in interest,
and in case this plan were adopted,
| there would he two parties. the District
| taxpayer and the federal taxpayer: it
would be impossible, I say, to deter
| mine a basis of assessment for private
| property and public property. The land
| that Is assessed at the highest price per
of Columbia is that at the corner of
| 18th street and New York avenue,
| directly opposite the United States
Treasury. That land is now assessed
| on valuation of approximately 800
per square foot. Would you go across
| the street and assess the Treasury on
| that basis? The people who occupy
such valuable corners as those occu-
pied by the Baltimore and Ohio and Penn
sylvania railroad ticket offices, and the
equally valuable property in between,
occupied by the drug store, are willing
to pay rent on such high land valua-
| tons solely because they are situated
| in a place where there are great con-
gregationS of people and the more peo-
| pie the more business there probably
| will be. But the Treasury Department,
| on the other hand. can do its business
| just as well, and, in fact, a great deal
| better, if it. could be removed some
| where in Potomac Park. close to the
| bureau of engraving and printing. 1t
| is of no advantage to the Treasury De-
| partment to be in the best business sec
tlOn OIL the CITY, ana QOuDl very muCn
| If the Treasury officials would consent
| to an assessment by a local assessor
| on the basis of retail trade. / cannot
| but think that it is absurd to give the
nation. the republic, the same status as
| a taxpayer as is given to a haberdash-
| cry or drug store.
The arguments presented here by
| those who would continue the half
and-half, SO far as 1 am able to de-
| termine, may be condensed in this
| way:
That from 1900 to 1878 there was no
! fixed measure of the national obliga-
| tion Ito contribute to the expenses of
| the District of Columbia; that since
| in the proportion of SO to SO; that
| before 1873 the development of the
District was slow. sDasmodic and un-
| economical: that since 1873 the prog
| ress has been steady; that this change
resulted from the act of 1878; that this
act enshrined the half-and- half, and
| that, therefore. all our progress since
| 1878 is to be credited to the half-and-
half principle. From this, it is argued
| that it is dangerous to change the half
| and half, and that even if the half-and-
| half be changed, the proportional con-
tribution of the federal government
must be determined on a fixed percent
| age.
II cannot escape the conviction that
these gentlemen argue post hoe ergo
| propter hoe. They set UP in their own
| minds as the essential feature of the
| act of 1873 the half-and- half. The
| beneficial results of the act of 1878,
| therefore, they credit to the half-and-
half. Naturally. they think the half
and half should be maintained
| These gentlemen, honest as they I'M
| doubtedly are, devoted as they I'M
| questionably are, to the best interests
of the National Capital, are the vic
tims of delusion.
| Not Because of Half and half.
at Is true, and it cannot be denied,
that the act of 1878 was the great for
ward step in the adequate development
of the federal capital. But it was not
| the half-and-half feature that made it
| SO effective. 1t was rather the fact
that the act of 1878 placed upon Con-
gress. and upon Congress alone, the
sole and absolute power of governing
| the District of Columbia Since its pas
| sage only Congress has reviewed the
needs of the District of Columbia; only
| Congress has made its laws; only Con-
| gress has determined what projects of
| Improvement should be approved and
| only Congress has found the funds
| wherewith to carry out these projects.
| 1T has been said here by those who
support the half-and-half and are
/ opposed in any event to what they
| term the indefinite plan that we had
| the indefinite plan for seventy-eight
years before the passage of the organic
act and that it did not work. Such a
| c "a ic