Evening star., 1920-01-13

last forty years. we ought not to wipe
that away unless we can show some
thing better. and we ought to have
definite arrangement between the
United States and the District in or
der that this great national city OF
ours may develop.
Now. it has been said here there
is surplus CT $4,000, 900 in the Treas
ury. That $4,O00.000 has not been
taken from the taxpayers of the Dis
trict, but it is money that the United
states should have appropriated from
year to year over the past forty years.
amount for that time, since 1878"
Declares Value Doubled.
Representative Caraway, democrat
Arkansas, said that the value of real
estate here has increased more than
100 per cent in the last six years and
that ''if they were assessed 15 per cent
four years ago they are not assessed
30 per cent now. and everybody
knows it." He said that the federal
government ought not to pay one five
cent piece to the maintenance of local
! improvements, and that cities through
out the country generally would be
glad to duplicate tax-free all the inn
provements that the government has
made in the District
Undertaxed, Says MIR. Woods.
Representative Woods of Virginia,
democrat, member of the committee,
said that while believing that the Ma
pride, and that the people of the city
of Washington should not be taxed
more than the people of the country
and cities of similar size, he believed
! they are undertaxed. He said:
This intangible tax here for the
district in the city of Lynchburg, with
population in 1910 OF $4,000 plus-it
has increased since-the taxpayers pay
an intangible tax of S253,000, and in
tang1bles are taxed at a rate lower
nearly one-third as much as is paid in
TINS wealthy city-than any other
property. l think that this submission
OF hgures is species of legerdemain
to disprove fact. The property own
ers of the District of Columbia are not
paying a tax commensurate with the
tax paid by other people. They ought
TO pay more, according to the privileges
they enjoy, and inasmuch as they have
no voice in the government Congress
ought to be very careful to see to it
that they are not unjustly treated
Called "Tax, Free Haven
Representative Saunders of Vir-
gina, democrat, put into the record
his belief that Washington was Of
fering a tax-free haven to great
wealth"
I'VE are 1egislating in this BILL" he
said. lin a way to make possible
hereafter just and adequate sys-
TEN Of taxation to meet local needs
Our present complaint is that the
United States is called upon to fur
nish one-half of the money required
Tor purely local necessities. a case
from Virginia will illustrate the point
A very large property owner in that
state from the district represented by
my colleague, Mr.. Woods, was re-
quired to make a return of his in
tangible property for taxation. This
gentleman had a very small amount
of real estate. but a very large for
tune otherwise. and the city of Lynch
burg saw no reason why he should
not pay his taxes on this property
and thereby contribute to the general
fund for civic purposes. AT the very
moment that the city of Lynchburg
was preparing'to to take practical steps
to enforce its tax laws against this
taxpayer he hied himself to the city
of, Washington, where there was no
tax on intangibles to vex him or limit
him in the enjoyment of his large
estate. He lived here for the balance
of his days. What was true of that
particular gentleman is true of very
many others who have come here
from the various states of the Union
to escape local taxation. IT. is not
just to these localities that Washing
tonsshould offer a comparatively tax
free haven to great wealth."
In reply to, an inquiry from Repre-
sentative Reed as to how the present
bill would change that, Representa- :
tive. Saunders said:
This bill does not change that at
all. But as soon as we change the
absolute fifty-fifty relationship the
legislation will follow by which we
will impose a, just system of taxation.
The first thing, however, to be done
is to terminate the present arbitrary
and illogical relationship. That is
Chairman, l am perfectly agreeable
to the proposition that by reason OF
the fact that the capital of the ma
ton is here, we ought to make a con-
tribution out of the Treasury to make
this a city beautiful, but 1 deny that
purely local features of the city gov
,, ernment they should be maintained
in part out of the national funds.
""The taxpayers of Washington
should be fairly taxed for civic re-
| ouirements. leaving the government
raised, to such an extent as may be
deemed proper"
Restnte- Their Opposition.
Representatives Sisson of Missis-
sippi, Gard of Ohio and Henry 7
Rainey of Illinois, all democrats and
| long time opponents of the half-and-
(! half system, reviewed their argu-
| ments of former years and quoted
from the hearings of the joint fiscal
commission in 1915, of which Repre-
sentatives Rainey and Gard were
| members. Representative Rainey
spoke at considerable length.
! Representative Focht of Pennsyl-
! r,f hE
. District committee. said the people
! of his home district are proud of the
/ National Capital and willing TO pay
! for it's Identification, to make it q
model for the world. He asked MS
| colleagues to recall how the assess
I mentS in their own cities are some
, times influenced. He said:
| This is no time to make the change
| anyhow. You see the sentiment OF
| the committee expressed in then
negative recommendation on this Dill
which ought to be an expression o1
value. But while the bill may pass
| the House. it will not pass the body
at the other end of this Capitol. With
| the present disturbed condition OF
values, especially in Washington. this
! is no time to tamper with assess
ments Anyhow, one thing that we
always try to arrive at in city OF
| county Or any division of govern
ment is to reach the point where we
have ample funds, and certainly we
{ have enough here when they say they
have a surplus of $4,000. 00o. which
! indicates good housekeeping"
Cites Unique Status of City.
| Representative Hays or Missouri
| another republican member of the
| committee, called attention. to sew.
| eral facts that make Washington 6
| city set apart and not subject t.
/ strict compassionate is a city made
for the seat of government and In.
| tended that the federal governmen,
should support it: that "a great mu
niciDalIlk has Known tiD LacIe /: