Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-12-16

q foot He said that suburban prop
erty in the District was four times al
high in price as in the suburbs OF
Baltimore. He insisted that these val
ues were largely due to the govern
ment's activities. and there Is great
wealth in the District.
Comparison of Funded Debts.
The fact that the District has a
funded debt amounting to only $40 per
capita, and that this debt will be wiped
out in short time, while other mu-
inequalities have heavy funded debts
make big municipal improvements.
was given as an argument that resi- :
dents of these municipalities should
not be taxed to help support the Dis
trict of Columbia on the half and
half plan. He said that the funded
per capita: in Baltimore. $1l2S1: Los
Angeles, $S1; Grand Rapids, $31: jack
sonville. $50; Springfield. Ill. $22;
Huntington, w. Va, $32. etc Mr..
which the members of the House com
mittee came Or which were near the
homes of the members.
Mr. Brown told the committee that,
in his opinion. the citizens of the Dis
trict had not played up to the gov
eminent in the matter of identifying
the National Capital under the half
and half plan. He said: Il don't know
of city comparable in size TO WASH
ington where great avenue, IKE
shabby buildings lining it. In fact,
the business properties in most parts
of the city are shabby. These i'm
provements are not at all adequate In
view of the fact that the city is enor-
mously wealthy
Thinks Taxes Not Equitnb1y Levied.
The witness said that taxes in Wash
ington have not been levied equitably.
He said that it was unfair to tax tan
gible personal property $3.50 hun
bred and to tax real estate only 81 on
the full value. He said. too. that real
estate taxes had not been levied fair
ly. but that the big properties. owned
by wealthy persons, had escaped much
of the tax burden which should be
theirs, and the burden has fallen upon
the owners of the small homes, the
government employee in many cases
He said that the blame rested Upon
the assistant assessors. the assessor
and the District Commissioners. He
said the practice had been to assess
dwellings on their selling value. but
that large business structures. like
hotels and office buildings, were as
sessed on their cost of construction.
This. he said. gave the owners Of
these big properties distinct ad-
vantage.
"One prominent man in Washing
toni will not give his name now
said Mr.. Brown. was in the habit OF
going to the assessors office and hav-
ing the assessments on his property
lowered without any record being
case of Clifford Pinchot, who once
went to the assessors office and urged
that the assessment on his home on
Rhode Island avenue be increased,
since he did not think it was high
enough. He said that Mr.. Pinchots
request was refused, and argued that
it was refused because. If his assess
ment had been raised it would have
been necessary to raise the assess
ments on all the other property in
that neighborhood.
Increase in Realty Values.
Taking up the subject of increase in
land values in the District and in
creases in real estate generally. Mr..
Brown declared that the values had
increased far more in the District than
the increases in the assessments
showed during the last two years. The
assessments, he said, showed an in
crease in the value of improvements
on the land. but not in the land itself.
This he commended was all wrong
So long as the half-and-half plan
!
there will be surplus of District rev.
enues over the appropriations, since
Congress will not appropriate a sum
sufficiently large to cover all the Dis
trict revenues plus an equal amount
from the federal Treasury. He said
assessments down.
kilograms Read to Committee.
Representative Drane of Florida read
to the committee kilograms he had
received in reply to requests for in
cities which he said showed what
taxes were paid by residents of those
places on the actual value Of their
property. He said that in Louisville,
KY. the taxes paid were $2.15 a hum
drsd; Jacksonville. Fla. $685. a hun
included all taxes, state. county and
municipal He said that the people of
Washington paid 81, which was far
less than that paid by the residents
of these cities.
Mr.. Brown said that he did not think
there was justice In the argument that
residents of the District should pay
only municipal taxes. and not state
and county taxes, when compared as
taxpayers with the residents of other
cities.
I'VE have every element of govern
ment mere which any city has," he said.
Speaks OF "Federal Subsidy"
He charged that the federal sub
sidy" under the half-and-half plan
has merely served to increase land
values here. principally to the ad-
tate SPECTATORS.
Mr.. Worthington Of the citizens
committee suggested that Mr.. Brown
Shouid tell the committee that he be-
hsved In the single tax principle.
You can't cloud the issue here by
dragging my opinion regarding the
single tax across the TRAIL" replied
Mr.. Brown. Whether I am a SINGLE
taxer. or bolshevist, or an anarchist
has nothing to do with the matter.
The thing to do is to get the facts
before this committee.
Il am for this bill. for it will take
the swaddling clothes off the District
and result in a proper enforcement of
the tax laws"
Mr.. Clayton Replies to Statement.
Replying to statement by Mr..
OF the District are dominated by the
real estate brokers. William Mckay
Clayton. a resident of Washington
for forty years, and who was the first
president of the Federation of Citi-
zens' Associations, said that of the
sixty associations not one had a real
estate broker for president or as one
of it's officers. He said that in the
recent drive. when $4,000 new men,
bers were added to the citizens asso-
Citations. special drive was made to
interest real estate brokers and that
of the 1900 prospects" only twenty
two Joined.
Henry B. F. mcfarland read a
copy of a resolution adopted by the
federation of citizens indorsing the
effort of the citizens committee in