Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-06-23
To Benefit bv Killing.

iHPic are many WHO WISH 10 TepeaI
tie half andh half law only if they can
81 stitutc something which they con
dor better i'll its place.
iicfore the joint congressional com
p.lttee the single takers conceded that
She destruction of the halfand half plan,
which they sought. would be disastrous to
desirable unless the single tax system
was simultaneously adopted.
Many advocates of suffrage for the
District urged repeal of the half and
half plan on the theory that it prevent
ed District representation on American
lines in national and municipal govern
ment, and favored this repeal only in
order that such representation might be
enjoyed
Friends of the District like ex-senator
Blackburn favored repeal of the half
and-half law only in order that the ma
ton might contribute much more than
half toward capital upbuilding His tes-
timony before the joint fiscal committee
shows that ex-senator Blackburn thought
that the half and half arrangement is
now inequitable toward the Washington
taxpayers: that if definite proper
tionate contribution plan were continued
the payment of 65 per cent by the ma
tion and of IS per cent by the local com
munity would more nearly meet the
equities. and that he favored system in
substitution for the half-and half plan
which. while it should not limit the ma
ton to half contribution, should be as
definite in its protection of the local
community against unjust and excessive
taxation as the half-and- half law itself
The repeal of the half and half law, as
now proposed. does not meet any of the
conditions of the approval of such repeal
by the three groups above indicated.
There is no prospect and no expectation
of the immediate establishment of the
single tax system IN its entirety in
Washington Such system will be the
more easily established if it is required
70 exact from the community a half in
stead of the whole of the burden Of
maintaining and developing the National
Capital Such men as Representatives
Crosser and Bailey, for example, should
be with us on the immediate issue
The repeal now proposed does not in
crease in the slightest respect the Amer
lean representation of the residents of
the District in either national or mu-
nicipal government. 1t carries no prom
Use Of and has no tendency to bring
about such increased representation.
While this repeating rider is pushed
with all vigor, our enfranchising con
stitutional amendment. which should ac-
company it, is shelved in committee.
., Repeal of the half and half law, as
now proposed, instead of charging, di-
minishes the national sense Of obliga-
tion toward the nations city, and in
stead of increasing the nations capital
contribution: above the one half mark
tends to cut down and does cut down
tNlS udtlOUdl cOntrlDutioH lHSttdu Oh
substituting, as ex-senator Black burn
desired, system for the protection OF
the unrepresented local taxpayer which
would be more definite than that pro
vided by the organic act, the half and
half law is under the pending PROPOSE
tion to be repealed without the substitu
tion of any safeguard whatsoever in it,
place.
Since the repeal now proposed meets
none Of the conditions upon which these
groups of friends of Washington favor
such repeal, every one of them, single
tlyers, suffragists and advocates OF
matchmaking" the capital, should unite
to resist with all their power repeal OF
the half and half law at this time anG
in this way.
Senator Works is just and logical il
coupling inseparably with his project
of "nationaiizing" the capital and abol
ishing the organic act full representa-
ton for the people of the District il
Congress and the electoral college. Suel
representation in the national govern
ment would, many of US think, amply
supply the safeguards against injustic,
bestowed by the half -and-haf law upor
tbs capital But to be wise and JUS