Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-12-13
HALF-AND-HALF is DECLARED
FAIR TO NATION AND CAPlTAE
Theodore W. Noyes, at Hearing by House Com
nittee on Mapes Bill, Answers Opponents
of Present System

After The stars report of the hear
ing before the House District COM
mlttee on the Mapes bill to ABOLISH
the half-and-half system of financing
the District of Columbia closed yes
terday afternoon. Theodore w. Noyes,
for the citizens committee, addressed
the committee and continued his ar
gument during the remainder of the
days session. He did not conclude his
statement of the Districts case, and
Will continue Monday morning at 10
O'Clock, to which time adjournment
was had about o'clock Mr.. Noyes
said in opening that advocates of re-
peal urged that under the half-and
half system the District is only half
taxed and that the system is unfair
to the nation. To this he replied that
under the half-and-half law the CAPT
tai taxpayers are bearing their full
equitable burden of taxation, that it
is absolutely fair to the nation and in
fact under it the nation pays too lit
tie and not too much for capital main
tenance and development.
The second objection, said Mr..
Moves, is that the District pays too
much and the nation too little for
capital maintenance and development,
the halfand- half law restricting the
nations expenditures upon the Dis
trict. This, he declared, is not the
case, and under the half-and- law
the nation is free to make the fullest
of wise and liberal expenditures for
the capital city.
Dfstrict's Needs Nut Supplied.
A third objection to the halfand-
half law, Mr.. Noyes continued, is that
double the amount of local tax reve-
nue. is not necessary to meet fully
every need of the District. To this.
he said, the answer lies in the fact
that the annual appropriations do not
pretend to meet fully the Districts
needs for current maintenance and
permanent improvements. He cited
the District Commissioners recon-
mendation, in their latest annual re-
port, that the law restricting them
in their estimates to double the esti-
the interest of proper District de-
velopment, be repealed. so that APP
preparations can be made covering the
present urgent needs of the capital
municipality. If this courseis taken
there will be no surplus of local tax
revenues remaining unapproprlated
in the Treasury, but ii will be uSeo
fully to meet current needs and posi-
sibly to apply upon the payment on
the cost of large permanent works
such as the extension of the water
supply system. so seriously needed at
this time. as demonstrated in the an
nual report of Gen. Black. chief OF
engineers Mr.. Moves noted that the
District surplus doubled under the
half-and-half law would wisely be
applied to meet in part the cost OF
water supply extension thus SOWING
~ Of ha
Report of Joint Committee.
AS a fourth reason for the enact
ment of the Mapes bill it is charged.
said Mr.. Noyes. that the report or the
congressional joint fiscal committee,
which investigated the question IN
1915, approves the pending measure
To this Mr.. Noyes answered:
1T is denied that the joint fiscal
report approves the en-
committee reported in effect that the
half-and- half law was now and al
ways had been absolutely fair to the
nation; that it had been, but was no
longer, an absolute necessity; that IN
substituting for 1T system peter
suited to the conditions of today tnan
an enactment of forty years ago care
should be taken, first, to make District
taxation by law fixed and certain, IN
volving no greater exactlon from the
people of the District of Columbia
than "a tax comparable In assessment
rate and amount to that paid by the
residents of other cities similar In
to Washington, and sec
ond to cause Congress to pursue d
definite policy of regular and nperai
for the upbulldlng OF
the capital.
Bill Fails to Meet Report.
Addressing himself to the specific
proposal of the bill. Mr.. Noyes said:
1.-The pending bill fails to provide by
law fixed and certain local taAatioh
along the lines urged by the joint COM
mittee 1t leaves this burden of taxa
ton to shift from year to year in &C
cordance with the judgment of Congress
as to what constitutes reasonable tax,
atiOn,' the opinion OF some lnnuentlai
members of the House being that no
local tax is reasonable and lair which
leaves any of the expenses of the ma
tons city to be borne by the nation.
The bill fails conspicuousiy to provide
legislation which in making national
provision for the capital shall cause
Congress, as the joint committee recon-
mends, to pursue definite policy of
regular and liberal appropriations, having
in view not only the permanent moral and
physical advancement of the city, but
also it's pre-eminent beauty and gran
deur as the municipal expression Of the
s nome anu Tie PcOpiC . ~ iuO'
This bill, Mr.. Noyes continued.
leaves the national contribution to the
capitals upbuilding. divorced from any
definite policy, to shift from session to
session in accordance with the whlm
and caprice of successive Congresses,
fiuctuating and uncertain instead OF
regular, too often misery instead of lib
eral and rejecting the peoples pride.
"Since the principles laid down by the
Joint committee in it's report are hostile
to the proposed method OF repeating the
half-and-half law, this report, instead
of recommending it, in effect prohibits
it, The controlling equities recognized
by the joint committee are better met
by the half-and-half law than by the
proposed substitute"
Analysis of Committee Action.
Mr. Noyes called attention to a re-
port submitted to the Board of Trade
of this city on May 25, 1916, by its spe-
cial committee on immediate fiscal
legislation, which the board. at
meeting attended by 500 members,
adopted unanimously by rising vote.
This report, made directly following
the submission of the joint fiscal COM
mittee's findings, constituted WASH
ington's analysis of the report of that
committee, before either house of
Congress had taken any>action in re-
spect to half-and-half legislation.
The accuracy of this analysis and in
depreciation, said Mr.. Noyes, was not
Inv