Evening star., 1920-01-05
REPORT AGAINST
$3.50 PRINCIPLE
MADE TO HOUSE
Chairman Mapes of District
Committee Asks Passage
of His Measure.
MINORITY STATEMENT
FAVORS HALF-AND-HALF
Latter Will Be Signed by Nearly
One Half of Committee and
Be Filed at Once.

Be Filed at Once.
Chairman Mapes of the House Dis
trIct committee today filed in tho
House report urging the passage of
his own bill to abolish TIE half-and
half principle of financing the Ma
tional Capital
III TINS report Chairman Mapes
argued that the tax rate in Wash
inston is relatively lower than in any
other city of equal size and advan
tageS throughout the country. thar
the abolltlon of the half-and-hal
would not in itself mean an increas.
in taxes. and that if the present fs-
cal system was continued there will
De an ever-increasing surplus to the
sreult OIL the District in the federal
Treasury.
Minority Report Prepared.
Representative Williams of Illinois
mas prepared an extensive minority
report which is to be signed by nearly
one -half of the committee and which
ne lhlenoS TO fle in the House late
To-Day or tomorrow, setting forth ar
su.neH.s and statistics in support of
Ielainlhg the present fiscal system
or adopting some other fixed pronor
.ion In which the federal government
snali snare with the District in pay-
Capital. ''oHa'
Chairman Mapes said TODAY that n.
mas MADE no arrangements for call
ing up this bill in the House. but will
40 60 SO at the earliest opportunity.
House, and unless District IeeisIatinn
Is set aside by the leaders i'm tn.
rouse the bill to abolish the half
as.a ana1hai. hlaa may come up. The bill to
as.a d ollsn new system of weights
ana measures in the District is the
diminished business on the District of
Columbia calendar and will have
right OF way for conside ton over
the half-and- half bill
Chairman Mapes' Report.
chairman Mapes' report for the ma
Jority of the House District commit-
tee was as follows:
Inc language of this bill in the
same IN effect as that which was
carried as rider upon the District
OF Columbia appropriat ton bill pass
in the third session of the Sixty-third
Congress, the first session of the
Slxty-fourth Congress, the second
| ana third sessions Of the Sixtv-fiftb
Congress, and again in the first ses-
sion of the present Congress. 1t Is
believed by some to be the better
procedure to have it presented and
considered as separate legislative
Dill than as rider upon an appro-
priatIon bill, and your COMMITTEES on
the District of Columbia has. there
fore, considered and reported it as a
separate bill.
Its enactment into law, besides
providing common-senSe method for
the disposition of the money raised
by taxation within the District of
Columbia, would remedy legislative
situation which has threatened to
prevent the passage of the annual
District of Columbia appropriation
bill for several Congresses. and which
becomes apparently greater OBJ
stacle in each succeeding Congress
The bill in itself is simple. Indeed
it is so reasonable. fair and just and
SO much in accord with sound, eco
nomic business common-sense that ii
is difficult to account for the PEI
sistent and strenuous opposition which
it provokes in certain quarters ex-
cept upon the theory that its opponents
fear that its passage will some time
be made use of as the opening wedge
to require the taxpayers in the Dis
trict of Columbia to pay a more just
and equitable tax as compared to that
paid by the taxpayers of other cities.
1T simply provides that the 'eN-
penses of the District of Columbia'
shall be paid from and after July l..
1920. out of the revenues of the Dis
trict of Columbia to the extent that
such revenues shall be sufficient
therefor ana the GeUdluueT SHdli bt
paid out of the Treasury of the United
States. 1t does not increase the tax
rate or change in any way the tax
system now in effect in the District
of Columbia.
IF the bill should be enacted into
law the taxpayers in the District of
Columbia would not be required there
by to pay one cent more in taxes than
they are now required to pay. Tn"
sole purpose of the bill is to make II
$1,A
from taxes in the District of Colum-
bia under the fixed and very low rate
of taxation now provided for by law
to pay the expenses OF the Dlstric'
government as far as 1t Will GO the
balance to be appropriated out Oh the
federal Treasury.
"Inasmuch as the taxes paid by the
residents of the District or Coiumpia.
based upon true valuation or titr
property. are very much less than
the taxes figured upon the same basis
paid by the residents of any other
city in the United States when APP
preached Washington in population
or advantages. a majority OF your
committee feel that it is not only
eminently fair to the taxpayers OF
the District. but exceedingly ilberaL
as long as they are not required TO
pay any more, to use the money thus
raised from taxation in the District
before asking the federal govern
ment to contribute to the expenses
Of the local government of the Dis
trict of Columbia. and that not TO DO
so is grossly unfair to the taxpayers
of other cities. who pay much higher
taxes for state, county and mun'cfpal
purposes than the taxpayers in the
District of Columbia. and who are re-
auired to pay their proporttonate
share of any contributions by the fed
eral government
Tax Rate Fixed by Law.
THE tax rate in the District OF Co
lumbia is arbitrarily fixed by law 1t
does not fuctuate or depend at all
upon the budget or the expenditures
of the municipality. as it does in all
other cities or municipalities i'm the
United States. Every other com
munity knows that it must pay for
public improvements and benefits
either by increased taxes or bonded.
indebtedness. There is no such re-
straining influence against extravs-
gance here. Is it any wonder that
there is such a persistent demand on
the part of local interests for in
creased governmental expenditures in
the District of Columbia as long as
they receive practically all of the
benefits and bear none of the burdens
of such increase?
'The law provides that real estate
within the District of Columbia shall
be assessed at not less than two
thirds of the true value thereof, but
the assessor, in making the Iss.ss-
ment, acts upon the theory that the
law requires him to assess 1t ut not