Evening star., 1916-01-14
A Task for Statesmen.

rcCcntly ar economic necessity. IS
now to bc discarded as unnecessary.
the new organic act for the District
TO hc substituted for the act OF 1873
j. not TO be framed so easily and so
quickly as some legislators assume.
Of course. It must not be shaped
along the line ind Tor the purposes
advocated by lie District committee
i'm the last 9rdst. Thc evidence be-
fore the IoiIt committee and that
committee, 5Hd'ng and report on
these issues !cmu:Strate that Mr..
Crisp. Mr.. Prorty and Mr.. Johnson
were completely misled in their re-
lance upon the accuracy OF the vital
alleged fact; upon which their con-
-tentions we're based. The very foun-
Gatiors OF their argument were over
,u-rcd. The Star believes that ii they
viii study the report OF the hearings
hey will. as fairmindcd men, admit
-re' they were mislcd.
Nor is the joint committees report
g indication and approval OF the leg
s.rtion concerning the organic act
.5Tpcatcd by the appropriations COM
-tyc oi the last House. That legis-
ON was based upon the belief that
t.e aatior was paying too much un-
the hdlt-and-h half provision and
cfS va, express prohibition of the
Haymeut OF as much as one-half by
nation in the future The whole
-Hr,ft and tendency OF the joint COM
.snittec's report and the specific decla-
rations of Senator Works are TO the
effect that the nation is now paying
too little. The appropriations COM
.mittee's legislative rider proposed
that surplus District tax money
should be covered into the Treasury
sas miscellaneous receipts, and thus be
lost to the capital forever. The Joint
committee negatives the theory that
there is no such thing as District
revenues, upon which this legisla-
tive rider is based and finds that
the local taxes should be paid into
the Treasury there to be incorpo-
rated into trust fund for the benefit
of the District OF Columbia, and that
the revenues thus collected be ex-
pended in the government of the
District of Columbia and for no other
purpose" The difference between
these two views OF the status OF the
Districts tax money is fundamental
and vital.
The abolition OF the organic act, il
h.
report OF the joint committee, will
be attained by the substitution OF a
system which shall in the final. i'm
pressive words Of the joint commit
Tee cause Congress to pursue "a
definite policy OF regular and liberal
appropriations" for the advancement
o. the city. and which shall cause the
taxation OF the local community. its
contribution 10 capital upbuilding, to
be fixed and certain" Any proposed
legislation. in substitution for the
organic act. which in final result
leaves the annual national expend-
ture Tor capital upbuilding indefinite,
irregular and ilIiberaI and leaves the
local contribution through taxation
fuctuating and uncertain, will not be
in accord with the principles of leg
islation laid down by the joint COM
mlttee aud will not be in harmony
with the principles OF equity.
he provision of the new organic
act which assures hxity and certainty
OF the local tax contribution, not in
he
which is pronounced fair and reason
able, and which establishes in con-
crete terms a definite policy OF regu-
lar and liberal national appropria-
tons Tor capital development. should
not be carelessly and hastily framed.
The wise and effective shaping OF this
law involves a labor for the states
men OF today as great and as i'm
portant as that which confronted the
statesmen OF the seventies OF the last
century in the deliberations from
which the original organic act was
evolved.
The subcommittee OF the House
District committee which takes the
initiative in respect to this legislation,
II IT does not have hearings OF its
own upon this most important local
legislative issue since 1873, should
study the printed report OF the hear
sings before the joint committee as
faithfully, thoroughly and thoughtfully
a II it were the joint committee
itself. Only in this way can the peril
nent and vital facts, essential to lust
legislation, be obtained.
II is suggested that the proposed
new law may carry the imposition of
an inheritance tax, of which the Joint
committee indicates approval in the
abstract, but definitely defers until
later the concrete expression of its
views and the request for legislative
consideration of them. Whenever
attention is given to this or any other
proposed new tax for the District il
should b. noted that the joint com.
mittee finds the existing aggregate and
per capita tax burden OF Washington
to he fuliy as heavy as il should be in