Evening star., 1920-05-22

ndpiuS '9i.So). (OunCil BluHS t!t.US)
Lincoln. Neb. 106.3s). and Omaha
G06.2S). These tax rates are census
figures of 1918 and cover state, count y
and city taxes.
The preposterous results from the
use of this standard of comparison
demonstrate it's unreliability and
wOrthleSsneSs.
But there are several ways in which
We can get an approximate idea OF
the comparative tax burdens of Min
neapolis and Washington.
Minneapolis is a progressive. wisel.
| liberal city. in its outlays for munich
pa upbuilding. For example. it spends
! about twice as much money as Wash
lngton upon its public library.
The real tax burden of a city is the
amount collected in taxes from the
taxpayers. In 1918 Washington's cit.
property tax alone was ss,525.679. The
| combined city, county and state tax
levy of Minneapolis was in the same
year s1O.701911
II Washington's 1918 tax levy had
been hgured at the proposed ai2 in
stead OF y: per cent rate. Washing
ton $ city tax burden would have been
sl5,o3S.slo. or S2356.S99 more than the
total city. county and state tax bur
den OF Minneapolis. If Washington
TAX burden We're only one-third OF
What IT ought to be, as alleged in the
House debate. then that total burden
:
n"". or two and one-half times the
CITY. county and state burden of Min
neapoliS.
~ View OF the exemption from taxa
ton OF s36S.00o.00O of national prop
cry. ana IN view Of the disabilities
under which it labors. and of its lack
ol resources in comparison with Min
neapolis. and of the fact that the lat
ltr state taxes should not enter as a
i"etor IN the comparison, is not Wash
lhSton now reasonably taxed without
any increase Whatever in its tax bur
den? - 80
The same conclusion is reached
. Nien any other of the large American
Sltles rs substituted for Minneapolis
~ .le comparison. In the case of
niahs others the showing is much
more favorable to Washington.
-. .nis point l should like to sub
M ior the record a comparison Of
"eHe typical American cities. com
fared from ten different angles. with
comments upon them.
Twelve COmpar ed from To. a,n
- record N the recent hearings be
iore the House District committee on
II, Il. .i'S is Mr.. Grogan's compilation
.; me hsures of city statistics in
80. hased upon the principles Of Mr.
hedie memorandum of 1915.
'apies are compiled the
comparative figures of Washington,s
'aX burden. in relation to those of
other citleS. from every conceivable
viewpoint, and covering in the com
i'artsonS very wide range of Amer
lCan cities.
10 these figures prove that the
Washingtonian is only half taxad
using the half-and-half plan as =
screen TO conceal the swindIe upon
1hcie sam that he is practicing: or.
on the contrary, do they not establish
,as the fiscal committee found in
isio) that under the operation of the
~. 4, ana -haif plan the Washingtonian
10 they not show that the half-and-
nan law is our safeguard against un-
JUST anu excessive taxation?
for better understanding of what
'these ngureS mean practically, let us
take small number of populous.
prosperous and progressive cities, in
c.ud1ng several which naturally
would be more heavily -burdened
than Washington. and compare them
n per capita conclusions exhaustively
and minutely with the capital. util-
iZlng not only the standards of com
p2rison that are reasonable and fair.
but those that are unreasonable and
lafair. Take. first. the nearest great
cities of the Atlantic slope, Wash
inston's larger immediate neighbors
10 the north. Baltimore and Philadel-
phia. Add the two cities next larger
than Washington and the two cities
next smaller-that is. New Orleans
the largest city of the south: Min
neapolis. the largest city of Mime
sofa; Seattle, the largest city of
Washington, and Jersey city Add
the largest cities of Illinois. Mis-
souri,, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky
that is. Chicago. st. Louis. Clevela nd.
indianapolis and Louisville. In this
list are included the largest cities of
ten of the states, i. e., Pennsylvania
and Maryland on the Atlantic coast;
Louisiana, with the south's largest
city: Illinois. Missouri. Ohio. Mime
sofa. Indiana and Kentucky of the
middle west. and Washington, on the
Pacific slope.
If Washington's tax burden, meas