Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-10

The action Of Congress at it's last
session upon the District appropria.
tons bill was in the nature Of a com.
promise to operate during the fiscal
year 1920-21 upon certain Issues Of st,.
preme Importance to the people Of the
capital.
l. Shall the nation and the people
who inhabit the nations city cooper.
ate in its maintenance and develop.
ment. and shall their respective con-
tributions toward national upbuilding
bear fixed and definite relation ono to
the other, or shall they be entirely
unrelated, with the result that the ma.
TONS contribution toward national
capital upbuilding becomes uncertain
and capriciOus, much, little or moth
ing, according to the whim Of sue.
cessive appropriations committees?
This is the issue of vital concern to the
District.
The action Of Congress upon this
issue reafi1rmed for 1920-21 the prin.
ciple Of definite proportionate contri-
button by nation and capital com.
munity for the upbuildfng Of the ma
tons city, and overruled the conten.
ton that the national contribution
should. with reputation of the obliga.
ton Of 1873, become little or nothing
in accordance with congressional
caprice.
The argument that equity requires
this fixed relation between the two
contributions as long as Congress lin
which the District is not represented,
exercises exclusive power Of fixing the
amount of both contributions and of
arbit. arily imposing. collecting and
spending all District taxes, is irresist.
ible, and was not on this occasion sue.
cessfully resisted.
2. After agreement that there
should be fixed relation between ma
tional and local community contribu!
lions for 1920-21, the next issue turned
upon the percentage Of that relation.
Should the new ratio be $3.50, con.
tinuing the relation set up by the
half-and-half provision Of the act Of
1873, or do. changed conditions after
the lapse of forty years equitably re.
quire a new and altered ratio?
Congress decided that for 1920-21
the relation should be so per cent from
capital community and 40 per cent
from nation. instead Of the $3.50 rela-
ton that had prevailed since 1873.
While agreeing that the ratio should
be changed whenever equity demand.
ed the District had argued that no
change was necessary Or fair fer 1920.
81. On this issue Congress thus decided
against the District. While UNFOLDING
the vital principle Of definite proper.
tionate contributions, it determined to
test out in 1s2o-21 q new ratio.
3. The third issue concerned the
disposition Of the so-called "surplus"
of local tax money left unexpended by
Congress in violation Of the half-and.
half law of 1873. The Districts con.
tention was that this surplus, accuinu.
lated through neglect Of the capitals
municipal needs in war time and in
technical violation Of half,andhalf law.
should. in accordance with the spirit
and letter of the law and with equity.
be applied now on the .half-and-half
principle to help to meet the very
needs neglect Of which in war time
caused the surplus to accumulate.
The opposing contention was that OBJ
legation to account tor this surplus in
accordance with the half-and-half law,
or in any other way. should be re.
pudiated; that this money, exacted in
taxes from the people Of the District
while the half-and-half law was in ef-
feet, and left unexpended under that
law solely through the failure Of Con.
gress to appropriate. should be con-
f1scated by the nation, and not a dol.
lar of it be devoted to the only pur.
pose for which it could lawfully be
exacted by the tax-collector from the
capital community.
The decision by Congress In favor
Of a 6Q-40 definite ratio for 1920-21,
and possibly for the future, is a direct