Evening star., 1920-03-30
Will Not the House Reconsider?

Will NOT the House heconSlQer
Will not the House reconsider its
approval expressed in committee of
the whole of the plan of approximate
ly dou BILE taxing the DISTRICT
For several years the House has been
saying to the capital: "You raise more
tax money when doubled under the
half and half law than is needed to
meet economically the Districts real
needs for maintenance and upbuild
ing. Remedy: We must kill the half
and-half law simply on the basis of
present local taxation"
Will the House this year say to the
capital: "You do not raise enough tax
money to meet when doubled under
the half-and half law the Districts ac-
tual urgent needs. Remedy: Kill the
half and half law and double-tax the
people of Washington"'
Will not these Numerically opposed
reasons for doing the same thing sug-
gest that neither is the real reason
and lead to the conviction that the
murderous impulse to kill the half
and-half law and to destroy financial
equity by double taxation of the capi-
tai is merely the revival of the old in
dictment, supposed to have been
quashed, that the District is only half
taxed and is supported largely by beg
gar's aims thrown to it grudgingly
from their poverty by the congress
mems outraged constituents.
Every congressional tribunal which
has studied the facts and figures has
found that the Washingtonian is not
undertaxed. After weeks Of thought
full investigation the joint fiscal com
mittee of 1915 so reported. Will Rep
resentatives Gard and Rainey, who, as
members of that committee, found that
with general property tax per capita
of SIC the Washingtonian was fairly
and reasonably taxed, now assent to
the declaration that he is not fairly
and reasonably taxed when he pays a
per capita of $20.6s without including
the personal tax on the gross earnings
of corporations and $2292 per capita
with that tax includeds
The record shows that while many
other cities have fuctuated in this re-
gard Washington has steadily in
creased its per capita general property
tax from year to year and that the
largest increase in any one year in
its history is between 1917 and 1918,
partly on account of the new tax on
intangibles, which has been added to
its tax burden since 1915, when the
committee found it was fairly taxed
in the aggregate without any tax on
intangibles at all. Declaring that SIG
per capita was fair tax in 1915, will
Representatives Gard and Rainey as
sent to the contention now made in
the House that to be fair Washington
should have paid on the basis of $35
per capita general property tax in
1918 and $32 per capita prospectively
in 1921
The House District committee very
recently gave consideration to the per-
tinent facts and figures concerning
District taxation. The substantial ma
jerity of the members who attended
the hearing voted that the District was
not undertaxed. The so-called minor
ity report to this effect was signed by
eight members, orally approved by a
ninth, and received the votes of ten
members in the House. The so-called
majority report was backed by six out
of nine of the members who attended
a meeting at which snap judgment was
taken on the bill. Some Of these six
reserved the right to vote against the
bill on the floor of the House, and in
that vote the bill received the votes
of seven committee members against
ten in opposition.
The House appropriations committee
recognizing that the repeal of the or
ganic act and changes in the District
tax laws were matters of substantive
legislation, outside of its jurisdiction
sent this legislative proposition to the
District committee, where it belonged
and this bill having, in spite Of the op
position of majority of the District
committee members voting, passed the
House is now before the Senate Dis
trict committee and the Senate for con
sideration.
VIII the House now recall the matter
from the legislative committees OF
House and Senate and not merely re
peat its expression of desire to repea
the halfand half law, but also as &
new proposition, without Investigation
or hearings, abruptly and arbitrarily
vote to increase the local tax burden
by -thirdsf
Whatever it may wish to do in re