Evening star., 1920-05-28
SUbST|TUTEFOR
MAPES BILL IS
URGED ON SENATE
Committee FavorabIy Re-
ports Amendment to Retain
HaIf-and- Half.

The So-calle1 Mapes bill, as amended
by the Senate District committee, pro-
viding for the expenses Of the Dis
trict government, today was on the
Senate calendar with a favorable re-
port from the Senate committee.
Senator Sherman. chairman Of the
District committee, said that he
would seek action hy@the Senate on
the bin at the first Opportunity
+ The House. in the Mapes bflf pro-
posed the abolition of the half and
half plan of appropriating for the
District. The Senate committee. how
ever. has restored the half-and-h half
plan and modified the law, which now
places limit on the amount of the
estimates which may be submitted to
Congress by the District Commission
ers.
The limit on the estimates for the
District under existing law has been
that they shall not exceed twice the
sum of the estimated revenues of the
Dis.rlct. Dis. As. Congress has invariably
District AS Congress has invariably
up to the full amount estimated for,
the result has been surplus of Dis.
trict revenues
The bill as reported to the Senate
also permits the use Of the surplus
trict needs. Chairman Sherman made
the report to the Senate yesterday
afternoon.
Senate Committee Substitute.
The Senate District committee
struck out the entire Mapes bill.
which abolished the half-and-half
plan of appropriating for the Dis
substitute, restoring the half-and-
half plan. as it was carried in the
District appropriation bill when it
passed the Senate.
Text of Substitute.
The text of the Senate committee
substitute for the Mapes bill follows:
That one-half of the following
sums. respectively. is appropriated
out of any money in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated. and the
other half out of the revenues of the
District of Columbia. in full for the
following expenses o the government
Of the District of Columbia for the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1921.
namely:
Hereafter the estimates of the Com
missioners of the District of Colum-
bia for any fiscal year submitted in
accordance with the act of June IL,
1873. shall state the necessary ex-
pc nses of the government of the
District of Columbia for said year,
and shall bear no arbitrary relation
to the total estimated revenues of the
District of Columbia for such fiscal
year and the Secretary of the Treas
ury is authorized and directed to ad-
vance, on the requisition of the Com
miSsioners of the District of Columbia
made in the manner now prescribed
by law. out OF any moneys in the
Treasury of the United States not
otherwise appropriated. such sums
as may be necessary from time to
time to meet the general expenses of
said District, as authorized by Con-
greSS. Nand to reimburse the Treasury
for the portion of said advances pay
able, by the District of Columbia out
of the taxes and revenues collected
for the support of the government
thereof If in any year the taxes and
revenues of the District of Columbia
shall be insufficient to reimburse the
Treasury for the portion of said ad-
vance payable by the District of CO.
lumbia. such unpaid advance shall be
reimbursed to said Treasury out of
the revenues of the District of Column
bia Of the succeeding year or years.
"If in any year the taxes and rev.
enues of the District of Columbia shall
be more than sufficient to reimburse
the Trea sury for the portion of said
advances payable by the District of
Columbia. such surplus of revenue and
all unexpended surpluses of District
revenue shown by the reports of said
Commissioners to have been heretofore
accumulated and deposited in the
Treasury of the United States shall be
held in the Treasury as a trust fund
for the benefit of said District and be
available as revenue of the District of
Columbia for meeting the portion of
appropriations payable by said District
in the succeeding year or years. and ali
acts and parts of acts in conflict With
any of the provisions herein contained
are hereby repealed.
thereafter the SO per centum of ap-
proved estimates to be levied and as
sessed under the act of June II. 1873,
upon the taxable property and privi-
leges in said District. shall be raised
by the imposition of such rate of taxa
ton on realty and tangible and in
tangible personal property as the Com
missioners shall ascertain to be neces-
Sary to raise annually. in combina ton
with other District tax revenues and
unex expended tax surpluses of previous
years, a sum sufficient to- meet the pro-
portion Of expenses to be paid by the
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