Evening star., 1921-01-23
FIFTY YEARS ago IN
THE STAR.

Sdhudty ~, 1911, the I1OusS PdS,S"s
as a substitute for a somewhat SINH
lar measure sent
Bill to Reorganize over from 'hs
District Passed. provide a new
form of government for the District
of Columbia. This was the change to
the territorial organization which.
later enacted, continued for several
years. The Star said in it's issue OF
January 81:
THE movement started about one
year ago by our citizens for a change
in the mode OF government for the
District seems now about to be con.
summated by the passage of a bill
that shall give us greatly enlarged
powers and privileges and u stNS.>
effective government in place of the
half doz:n jarring jurisdictions now
existing in the District
But. what is of the first impor
tance to us. the bill as it passed the
House yesterday recognizes for the
first time the principle that the gov
ernment property should be taxed as
private property is here, and bear its
proportion of the cost of improve
ments that are as much for the benefit
OF government as for the people of the
city. The thirty-fifth section of the
bill provides that there shall be a
valuation taken in the District OF Co
lumbia of all property. personal and
real, including all real property be
longing to the United States, eXcepr
the public buildings. but not of per-
sonal property of the United States. i'm
separate schedules. at least once In
two years: the assessment OF the gov
ernment property to be made under
the direction of the Secretary of the
Interior and upon the basis of valua
ti0n that shall he pHpnta aI m ~, q Il N
the assessment of the property of
private persons for taxation. The
next section provides that there shall
be appropriated each year out of the
Treasury of the United States the
same percentage upon the assessed
value of the property of the United
States within the District of Colum
bia as other property holders therein
are taxed on their real and personal
property: the money thus appropriated
by the United States to be appliSi eN-
clusively in the matter specified in
the acts making such appropriations.
THE Importance of this feature
of the bill in securing the coop
Grafton of the
Governments Part general gov
in Administration. the people of
Washington in making the seat of
government THAT it should be cannot
be overestiH.ated. Heretofore the
government has been unwilling to
! make it's proper contribution in the
shape of taxes or it's equivalent, be-
cause it had no confidence that its
| money would be properly spent. but
under this bill, with the government
duly represented in the administra-
of af il has heSita-
tion in agreeing to sustain its full
proportion of the expenses OF the Dis
| trict.
"The establishment of board of
ability and integrity. charged with
| the duty of establishing comprehen-
| sive and systematic plans for all gen
eral improvements, was apparently
/ deemed a desideratup by the House.
| and this feature of the bill, We have
no doubt, had much to do with the
| disposition of that body to agree to
pay the proper portion OF the ex-
| penditure for such works called for
| by the tax upon government property:
pass the Senate without serious op-
position, as it is substantially the
| bill passed by the Senate last ses-
| sion. after laborious consideration by
| Messrs. Hamlin. Sumner and others
! Of the Senate District committee. VINO
i reported it unanimously to the SEN
ate. The House amendments do not
in any sense conflict with the main
DIV serve to supply. s6ra@ provisions
that further inquiry into the working
of our present ineongruous, inhar-
monious and expensive Jurisdictions
of the two cities and the county DEM
onstrate it to be necessary. senator
Hamlin, who, as chairman of the
senate District committee. gave SO
much intelligent labor to the work
of drafting this measure, character
ICED our antiquated and jarring rule
here as a beautiful mosaic of Mary
land law. congressional law and mu-
nicipal law and Mr.. Cook, chairman
of the House District committee. also,
after like patient and thorough IN,
| quiry into our system or law anu
r,vernment. characterized 1t as the
| most defective in the United States.