The Washington herald., 1916-09-11
The District and Arizona.

Senator Ashurst makes a strong plea for re-
election in his letter to the voters of Arizona
giving details of appropriations he has secured
from Congress for their benefit. These appro-
priations total S3,soo,ooo which the Senator ex-
plains will all be disbursed in his State, because
OF his ability and influence in Congress. 1t is
quite respectable bunch of money and will make
for prosperity in Arizona This bunch of money
to be disbursed in Arizona emphasizes the in
fluence of Senator Ashurst when it is placed
opposite the returns of the Commissioner OF
Internal Revenue which shows that he collected
only S35I,oIS8o in Arizona last year. The Sena-
tors influence was therefore great enough to
secure $40 in appropriations for each ST of in
ternal revenue collected in his State.
Senator who can persuade Congress to dis
burse ten times as much money among his
constituents as they contribute to the support
OF the government, deserves eternal gratitude.
But this appeal of Senator Ashurst is not as
novel as it might appear to the casual reader.
1t IS a rather common appeal made by Sena-
tors and Representatives from States somewhat
remote from the National Capital, who practice
cheeseparing in the appropriations for the Dis
trict Of Columbia and complain that the residents
OF Washington do not pay enough taxes, but
hold very liberal ideas about the amounts of
public money that shall be disbursed in their
own States.
The Internal Revenue Bureau last year COL
lected four times as much revenue for the sup
port Of the general government in the District
of Columbia as it did in the State of Arizona,
and this entirely exclusive of the revenues col
lected by the District collector for the support
OF the District government But Arizona was
not an exception. The Federal government col
lected more internal revenue in the District than
1t did in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho,
Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada,
New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Da-
kota, Utah, Vermont Wyoming These twenty
States have forty Senators and each of them
will have public money disbursed among
their people than they pay in taxes to supply the
revenue they receive from the appropriations
made by Congress. The government collected
more ordinary internal revenue in the District
than it did in any one of twenty States, more
emergency revenue than in any one of fourteen
States, and more income tax than in any one
of twenty-five States.
The significant feature of this contrast is the
attitude of many Senators and Representatives
from these States toward the people of the Dis
trict. They are the statesmen who most complain
that the people of the District are living off the
whole country, who want more taxes imposed
on the District, smaller appropriations made
TOR the District, and at the time try to
cut off one-half the revenues now collected in
the District by imposing prohibition on the Dis
trict without allowing the people here to vote on
the question. Under the conditions recited by
Senator Ashurst and the Commissioner of In
ternal Revenue, it may be that the Senators and
Representatives from States that receive more
than they contribute to the support of the gov
ernment, will some day see the Inconsistency of
their attitude toward the District and come to
the conclusion that since the District is helping
to support their own people by collecting revenue
here to be disbursed in their States, it would
be just as well not to disturb the present flow
OF money out to the country from this little
burg