Evening star., 1916-08-15
Johnson THEORY
ABOUT CAPITAL
Nation, Under No Obligation,
Contributes Much; Local
Taxpayers Owe Every
thing and Pay Little.
NATION, NOT ITS PEOPLE,
CONTROLS THE CAPITAL
Congress Alone Controls Capital Ex-
penditures and Is Not Extrav-
agant in Respect to Them.
No. v.
Editorial Correspondence Of The Star.
BY THEODORE w. MOVES.

Editorial Correspondence of The Star.
BY THEODORE W. MOVES.
Washington has a champagne ap-
petite and a beer income. 1t raises
only s1S.79 per capita and wants to
expend s35.45 per capita. You vote in
favor of having your constituents help
make up the S1666 deficit You will be
highly rewarded. Your names will ap-
pear often in the society columns of the
Washington papers. Yet there
Is rule of common sense and common
justice: a country, state or city Is
entitled to have expended for its own
benefit just what it is willing to raise
in taxes or to incur in public indebt-
edness and not another dollar and not
another cent. If Washington insists
on eating nothing but cake it should
be permitted to raise the dough-"
In these words is condensed the john
sonian doctrine of the relation of cap
ital to nation. 1t is in substance, as
follows:
Cd Warrington SO controls capital
expenditures as to be responsible Tor
them and is extravagant in those ex-
penditures.
UI.) Washington responsibly con-
trolls its tax income for capital mafnte.
nance and Is stingy in tax paying, and
is. in fact. only half taxed as compared
with other American cities.
The maintenance and upbuilding Of
the National Capital are the primary
and practically the sole concern of the
local residents. The nation, upon which
no capital responsibility falls. and
which should in equity contribute to-
ward it's upbuildng little or nothing.
has contributed nearly all. The local
residents, upon whom the capital re-
sponsibiiity directly fall" and who
should contribute practically every
thing, have. in fact. contributed COM
paratively little.
III.D Washington, upon which the
sole responsibility for the capitals
municipal maintenance rests, has mis-
erabIy failed to meet this great obli-
cation.
GV.) The nation, outside Of WASH
ingtOn. upon which only an infnitesi-
NAL obligation concerning the National
literally and n0b1y.
Congress Alone Controls Capital Ex-
penditures.
Washington does not control capital
expenditures. Since 1t does not control
these expenditures 1t cannot be extrav-
agant in respect to them. The nation
which does control these expenditures
is not and has not been extravagant I'm
this particular. Representative john
sons discussion of the relation of capi-
tai income and expenditures, consid cred
In connection with the joint cOmmit-
tees findings, unintentiOnaIIy demon
strates the equity of the half-and-haif
law.
Representative Johnson, anaIyzing the
figures of comparative expenditures of
Washington and other American cities,
derives from them conclusions discred-
liable to Washington.
AT page 1886 of the Hearings Before
the Joint Fiscal Committee" is printed
an ella aborate table, comparing Wash
ington's expenditures with those of
other American cities, accompanied by
full explanatory comment These fig
ures and this comment should, in fair
ness be read and studied in connection
with Representative Johnson's stric-
lures.
He say that Washisgtons . s total nd per
of this amount $3.50 is derived from
local revenue and S166G comes from
the national government / have not
verified the last two figures as census
figures hut for the purpose of this
argument let us assume that they are
correct
ference between the amount which Con-
gress exacts from the District in taxes
and the amount which it determines
must be spent on the nations city to
maintain it worthily as local deficit,
met by a federal subsidy, wrung from
the poverty of his outraged constitu-
ents and the constituents of his asso-
ciate congressman.
washington" he picturesquely says,
has champagne appetite and beer
income 1t raises only $3.50 per capita
and wants to eXpend $35.4J per capita.
You vote in favor of having your con-
stituents help make up the $1666
deficit"
The obvious injustice in this slur lies.
of course, in the fact that Washington
has nothing whatever to do with de-
termining either the amount which it
pays in taxes or the amount which is
expended upon the capital. Congress.
in which it is not represented. decides
both points. Its only function is to
pay to an alien taxgatherer whatever
| amount that taxgatherer demands
| The mockery of representing the ma
tional expenditures upon the capital as
| Washington's champagne appetite is
| oHensively obvious What Washing
ton wants either in respect to the
qualification of it's municipal appetite
and aspirations or the raising of its
municipal income is negligible, and is
neglected, in the calculations.