Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-12
DECLARES INJUSTICE
IS BORNE BY DISTRICT
Senator Works Condemns Assess
ments on Private Property for
Public Improvements.

Tho Injustice which has been done the
residents of the District in the legislation
hv Congress providing for the laying out
~ the streets in the National Capital Is
Al ,cussed at length by Senator Works oil
.. ;fornia. member of the joint select COM
mittee on the District fiscal relations with
the limited States, in his separate report
He says:
"rhere are some peculiar conoitioiis
that have arisen respecting the streets
and street improvements that may well
be called to the attention OF Congress
The streets in Washington are unusually
wide and greater in number than in any
other city in the country, so far as am
Informed. This resulted from the elab-
crate way in which the city was laid out
as the capital of the country. 1 think this
was entirely proper and mas tenoeo "
enhance the beauty of the city.
People Should Not Be Penalized.
Put for this the owners of property
should not be penalized by the imposition
of higher taxes or special assessments
for the opening, widening or Improvement
of the streets This has been done. how
ever. and is provided for now by law
ITO meet the expenses of opening
street-that is, condemning and opening
II legally and on paper-the cost is as
sessed against abutting property. Inc
owners must pay the assessments, often
burdensome, sometimes fuinous, at once
while the street thus condemned may not
be opened and put in actual use Tor
months or even years later. This is en-
tirely unreasonable and unjust
This is only an example. There are
other assessments for public improve
ments. In my judgment. under the cir
cumstances, there should be no assess
ments upon private property Tor pup
lie improvements.
Reason for Half-and-Half System.
TT is practically conceded that by
reason of it's being the capital and the
great interest the government has in
maintaining 1t, the privately owned
property should not bear the whole
burden of the ordinary expenses of the
District. Hence the half-and half com
promise.
| IT am firmly convinced that this Is SO
| and because of that fact. and the otnef
facts that I have mentioned, l SUBMIT
that the government, afer receiving the
general taxes from the private proper
| ty owners, should exact no more In
special assessments or otherwise Tor
street improvements or maintenance
| But this is not quite the WORST. w ne1l
| il was seen that new additions to the
| city would be laid out beyond its orfgi
| nal limits and that streets might be
laid out without conforming them to
| the general street system, some OF the
enterprising and public-spirited citi
zens prepared and had introduced In
| Congress bill to extend throughout
this outside territory the system OF
streets already provided for within the
old city limits. This was obviously
necessary If the beauty and symmetry
| of the city plan was to be preserved.
! But II was with the greatest diff
| Guilty that the passage of the bill was
secured and it was finally passed with
the condition that the whole expense
| of thus laying out the streets should
| be borne by the people of the District
| 1t was a stroke of economy that does
| not appeal to ones sense of justice or
propriety.
through all the years that the half
and half system has been in opera
| ton, a disposition to burden the tax
payers of the District with expenses
| that should have been borne by the
| government. 1t was penny-wise-
pound foolish policy that has been
exceedingly hurtful to the District and
unjust to the taxpayers. 1t is the
strongest kind of argument in favor
OF abolishing the District and ma king
the government directly and alone re-
spopsible for all improvements and ex-
penses within it's capital"