Evening star., 1922-01-06
MUST ORGANIC ACT
Be PUT TO DEATH?
It Has Long Baffled the Mur-
derous Assaults of Its
Enemies. s. -.
WILL ITS FRIENDS SLAY 1T
UNDER A DELUSION?

(From argument Of Theodore ". Noyes before
joint fiscal cmmittee. October 20. 1881
Two practical questions in respect tc
financing the capital have been OF
vital importance from the beginning
Cd Shall the national and local con.
tributions be definite or indefinite. re.
lated or Independent? (2) Who shall
determine the relation of the amount
Of these contributions. respectively?
The history Of the capital has dem:
onstrated distinctly that these con.
tributioas should be definite and re-
lated. and that If indefinite and unre.
lated to insure justice each contrib.
utor should have voice in determin.
ing the amount of his contribution.
Since the day of the creation of the
capital the nations obligation to.
ward the nations city has been the
same-primary, exclusive and domi-
mating. Not the obligation itself. but
the degree in which it has been recog.
niZed and met has been the fluctuat-
ing factor in the equation.
From 1900 to 18741S7S the national
and local capital contributions were
indefinite and unrelated. Each con.
tributed what 1t pleased toward CAPT.
tai upbuilding. The nation measured
its own obligation in terms Of dollars
as next to nothing. The local com.
munity raised and disbursed its OWE
taxes At its pleasure. It measured its
capital obligation considerably beyond
the limits Of its meager taxable re-
sources, and twice became practically
bankrupt in performing almost unaid-
ed the nations task of capital build
ing.
National Obligation Recognized.
In 1873 the nation confessed it's vio-
lation or gross neglect Of its capital
obligation. 1t gave practical express
sion to its revived sense of this obliga-
tion in its undertaking to, nay one
half the accumulated funded indebt.
edness of the District and one-half Of
future expenses. It took from the
District the power of self-taxation
and assumed completely exercise OF
the right to fix the local contribution
as well as its own. In thus exercising
taxation without representation over
the District the nation safeguaded the
local community by the pledge that to
every uOlldT GSOlAcClcu III thAeS IIOu
the local taxpayers should be added" q
dollar from the national Treasury. and
that the aggregate revenue should be
expended for capital upbuilding. This
provision protected the District from
excessive taxation by causing a tax
gatherer, alien to the unrepresented
District. to appropriate from his owr
treasury for the Districts benefit
every time he appropriated from the
Districts tax-revenue. Every. dollar
he took under the tax power from the
local community increased correspond
ingly his own capital contribution.
1t is now proposed to release the
United States from its self-imposed
amount annually in meeting it's obli.
CATION Of capital upbuilding and te
leave that amount uncertain and fluc.
tuating, on the Same basis as before
1878. But it Is not proposed to return
to the District it's power which existed
before 1873 Of fixing through self.
taxation the amount Of its own capi.
tai contribution. The nation is to con.
tinue to exercise the power taken in
1873 to tax the District as it pleases
but is freed from the limitation i'm.
posed upon excessive local taxation by
the obligation under the organic act
Of correspondingly taxing itself. :.
If, however, the nation Is not tt
share in municipal tax paying, the ma.
ton ought not in equity to fix tht
amount Of local taxation. II the local
community Is to raise Substantially al
Of the local revenue, II must on Amer.
icsn principles tax itself, determining
for itself how much shall be raised
and By what methods. Of TAXATION
and for what purposes the tax money