Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-05-19
LEGISLATION That Washington Needs.

Legislation That Washington Needs.
The immediate legislation urgently
needed by Washington is disclosed in
the hearings before the joint commit
tee. % The law arbitrarily limiting
the Commissioners annual estimates
should be quickly repealed. 1t prohibits
the statement by the Commissioners
land the satisfaction by Congress of the
actual needs of the District. 1t pre-
vents the nation. inevitably, from meet
ing fully it's capital obligation 1t auto
matically insures an uneXpended sur
plus of District tax money. 1T accom-,
! plishes as Congress applies 1t, no good
purpose whatsoever. The Commission
ers' estimates. in accordance with the
spirit of the joint committees report
should disclose to Congress Nashlns
tons genuine munlclpai heeos. po.h 10,
current maintenance and for permanent
improvements; and the responsibility LOT
appropriating all or only part OF THESE
estimates should (as it does) rest solely
on Congress.
,o) The effect of the report of the
Joint committee is to vindicate in prin-
ciple the treatment of the half-and-half
| provision not necessarily applying
| arbitrarily and separately to each year,
| considered alone. but to the average of
a series of years The joint committee
points out that District expenditures
| since 1878 have been in the aggregate,
though not in every year viewed sepa-
| rately on the half-and-half basis. The
committee expresses the belief that this
fact is evidence of design. not an acct
dent and that the nation thus not only
| intended to carry out. but did carry out.
it's half-andhalf promise.
| Under the present practice which
puts local taxation before congressional
approximation the half-and-half pro-
vision is not and cannot be arbitrarily
enforced and literally obeyed in any one
year. But in the long run. in the fu-
| ture in the past this provision can
! be enforced and obeyed.
! Why not go ahead in the future in
general conformity with this practice
thus indicated in principle by the joint
committee? The only legislation neces-
sary will be provision to put the sur
plus of District tax money in any year
into the Treasury. not as miscellaneous
| receipts. 20 be merged with national
| money and lost to the District. but. as
| the Joint committees report describes
it, as "a trust fund for the benefit OF
the District of Columbia to be
expended in the government of the Dis
| trict of Columbia and for NO other pur-
pose"
missioners' estimates will permit Con.
gress to consider in appropriations the
full needs of the District, and the sur
plus in any year OF unexpended DIS
!trict tax money will thus be reduced to
d
though large. which under the proposed
| legislation VIII go into the Districts
trust fund will clearly be needed in the
future as a reserve fund % to pay Dis
trict Indebtedness, fictitious or genuine
| including the alleged ancient resur-
rected debts. based on the blunders or
neglects of government officials in the
seventies of the last century. which
have been conjured uD in the House: (2)
to be accumulated and later wisely
utilized to meet the possible emergency
of District shortage in some year in
necessary tax revenue under the organic
TACT: and go to meet the Districts share
of the cost Of great perma nent public i'm
provements which will call for the imme-
date expenditure OF more money than can
be spared from current revenues.
A Petition and Protest.
| We, the members Of the Wash.
|ington Board of Trade. do earnest
ly petition Congress (I) for the
repeal of the law of 1909 which
restricts the Commissioners esti-
mates to twice the amount of the
| Districts estimated revenues; and
| (2) for legislation which shall
cause any surplus of District
revenue arising in any year from
the enforcement of the half-and-
| half law to be held in the Treas
urv as a trust fund for the benefit
of the District to meet its needs
in some future year.
| We protest against the repeal
at this time Of the half-and-half
law, which the joint congressional
committee has in effect declared
to be fair; and we especially pro-
test against such repeal by rider
on an appropriation bill; or in
such form as to be retroactive or
by any method which does not
secure for the proposed legisla-
ton thorough preliminary consid-
Grafton by the District commit
tees, and by Congress, and which
does not substitute for the re-
: pealed law one establishing a
definite policy of regular and lib
eral appropriations by Congress
for capital maintenance and de-
velopment and a fixed and certain
| tax burden for the District of Co.
lumbia.
We further earnestly protest
against the appropriation by this
years District appropriation bill
of any amount less than twice the
Districts estimated revenues in
} accordance with existing law un-
less the resulting surplus of Dis.
trict tax money is declared to be
! held in trust in the Treasury fol-
: the benefit of the District to meet
in part its needs, outside of cur
: rent, routine expenditures, in flu
. ture wears.