Evening star., 1922-05-04
Point of Order to Be Made
Against Conference Feat
ure, Predicted.
PROTEST LAID BEFORE
BODY BY SENATOR BALL
House Imposes Tax Increase Feat
ure on District by
1913 to 81 Vote.

The fight to prevent enactment into
| law of the conference fiscal relations
provision in the District appropria-
| ton bill. adopted by the House yes
| terday, was centered in the Senate to-
| day.
A point of order against the con-
ference tax feature of the District
, bill will be made. it was predicted. 1t
is known that Senator Pat Harrison
of Mississippi and other senator's are
studying the matter carefully.
The rules of the Senate are explicit.
that the conferees on bill shall not
insert any matter which is not con-
tanned in either the House or Senate
bill. The action of the conferees on
the fiscal relations provision Of the
District bill clearly violates this rule.
it was pointed out.
Opposition IL Heard.
Senator Ball, chairman Of the Dis
trict committee, laid before the Sem
ate a resolution adopted by the Cham
ber Of Commerce, the esFederation of
Citizens Associations and the Real
Estate Board opposing the proposed
change in taxation of the residents Of
the District.
District Commissioners went up to
Capitol Hill to confer with members
Of the House and Senate on the ques-
tion of fiscal relations between the
federal and District governments.
Exactly what line of discussion the
conferences took was not ascertained
officially. but it was expected that the
Commissioners would center their in
terviews upon the conference report
on the District bill.
Mny Ask Concurrence.
The District bill conference report,
together with the action of the House
on the fiscal relations amendment.
and other amendments still in dispute,
was received by the Senate from the
House soon after the session began
today. The message Of the House
was allowed to He on the table tenn
porarily: Two courses = may pSs,n Dc taken
Colorado. in charge of the bill In
the Senate, may move to have the
Senate concur in the action Of the
House on the fiscal relations plan.
and the other amendment. to which
the House has agreed, with changes
made by the conferees, or he may
ask to have the fiscal relations plan
as approved by the House go to
the appropriations committee for con-
sideration.
House action on the fiscal relations
plan a point of order will be promptly
made, on the ground that the conferees
exceeded their authority in drafting
this plan.
The Senate is expected to concur in
. I, x,N1
and water supply provisions of the bill.
The House has voted to insist on it's
opposition to the Senate amendment
providing for the purchase of the Pat
terson tract and the Piney Branch and
Klingle valley tracts for public parks.
If the Senate does not accept this ac-
ton on the part of the House another
conference on that item, of course, will
be necessary.
Imposition by House.
Without having consulted the Dis
trict Commissioners. without having
held any hearings on the subject. de-
spite the vigorous protest of friends
of the District in the House, ignor-
ing the united appeal of the most rep
resentative organizations in Wash
ington, and opposed by the votes of
the legislative committee that should
have conducted hearings. the House
of Representatives., by a vote of 1873
to 81, late yesterday passed new leg
islation on an appropriation bill
taxes upon the residents of the Ma
tional Capital.
Prominent members on both the re-
publican and democratic side of the
House called attention to the fact
that this was the most glaring in
stance on record, not only of how leg
islation of the most fundamental
character affecting the District is
railroaded through, but also of how
the Senate can, under the ruling of
the Speaker. get any sort Of revolu-
tionary legislation through on an ap-
preparation bill without its being con-
sidered at all in committee. They
stressed that 1t places practically all
legislative power in the hands of the
appropriations committee and urged
that the various legislative commit
tees might as well disband.
Members Uninformed.
with the ruling of Speaker Gtllett
against the point of order that the
amendment offered by Representative
Charles R. Davis of Minnesota was
not germane. the amendment was
rushed through, entirely changing the
tax system and the entire financial
affairs of the District, with only
very few members having informed
themselves regarding the merits OF
the legislation.
Led by Representative Fred N. Zihl-
man of Maryland, republican. a men,
Der of the House District committee.
and Representative r. Walton Moore
of Virginia, democrat, who made the
point of order against the amendment,
a few staunch friends of the District
made a last desperate attempt to de-
feat the drastic proposal. Representa-
tive Denison Of Illinois protested that
the action was not fair and not SEN
sible, saying:
Here we have an appropriation bill
from a committee that was author
lied simply to appropriate the money
needed for the District of Columbia.
and they have usurped the functions
of the committee on the District OF
Columbia and brought In a provision
changing the entire fiscal system OF
the District.
Sees Committee Degeneration.
: But all of the legislative commit
tees Of the House are going to de-
generate into purely honorary COM
mittees unless the House rises up and
protects them in their proper juris-
diction by preventing legislation by
the committee on appropriations. The
sooner the House realizes that and
asserts the rights Of these commit
tees the better 1t will be for the
House and the country.
II am not talking about the merits
of this particular proposition that is
now before the House. The gentle
man from Kentucky and those asso-
ciated with him may be right. / do
mot know; have not had chance =
lContinued on Fourth PaSs-A =.