Evening star., 1922-05-04

man from Illinois (Mr. Madden) 10
take the floor and spend nearly five
minutes in eulogiZing the conferees.
What does personal eulogy amount
to when we are considering fiscal
situation involving questions of tax
alton and various other questions OF
extreme Importance?
1T is said that the excuse for our
action is because the Legislative COM
mittee on the District of Columbia
sends Legislation to the Senate and 1t
Is buried there, Is that any reason
why the House of Representatives
should put itself in any such position
that it is now about to assume? Does
House of Representatives., exercising
it's power and rising to- its dignity,
should not find some better method Of
dealing. with the affairs of the Dis
trict?
Most Objectionable Feature.
"In my opinion. the most objection
able feature of the amendment is the
provision that requires the District to
raise and pay into the Treasury, by
a yearly contribution for a period of
five years. the very large amount that
will be needed to enable the District
to get upon cash-paying basis by
the end Of the fiscal year 1921. The
theory for this is that while the an
nual contribution Of the District to-
about S14,000.000. this is not available
until toward the end of the fiscal year.
and meanwhile all payments are made
from the federal Treasury, so that the
government along during the nscar
year really advances $l4,0OO.0OO, for
which the District is bound. and that
the only way to remedy the burden
to which the government is thus sub
jected is to accumulate during the
flve-year period s14.O00.000. which. at
the end of that period. will make
possible the payment OF the common
liabilities from common resources.
"The present practice which this theory
criticises and condemns as a hardship
upon the government is sanctioned by
an old statute If there is any real
grievance of which the government Is
entitled to complain, it should surely
not be corrected by forthwith adding
to the normal 60 per cent contribution
paid by the taxpayers of the District an
annual item of perhaps nearly $1,000
900 for five years. 1t goes without say
ing that such an addition at any time,
and especially at such a time as this.
would be very serious thing. To create
fresh tax liability of such large
amount naturally causes the people OF
the District great deal of uneasiness
and anxiety. Incidentally. it may be
noted that against the proposed five
year s14.000.000 charge this bill gives
no credit for a clear balance of S4.646.-
900, which in the period from June 80,
1916, to June 80. 1920. the District paid
into the federal Treasury over and
above the contribution it was called on
to make to the total revenue and ex-
pendtures. AS 1 understand, the exist
ence of this balance is not only undis-
puted, but has been expressly recog-
nized in communications from the Treas
ury Department.
IF it is inequitable for the government
to make advances as heretofore, II
would nevertheless seem likewise wholly
inequitable to attempt to correct that
condition by exacting from the taxpay-
ers of the District an extraordinary
fund of something like s14,000.000. They
would fare much better by amending
the present law so as to compel the pay.
ment of 4 substantial part OF the local
taxes, say, by November I. instead OF
permitting payment to be postponed to
the close of the fiscal year Or they
would suffer less by the District being
called on to pay the government fair
rate of interest on the government ad-
vances for the average period during
which the government lays out its funds,
which would probably be period OF six
months"
Three Defend Plan.
The proposed new plan of financing
the District was defended by Repre-
sentatives johnson of Kentucky.
Evans and Davis. Representative
Johnson said:
LAS l have such a short time to dis
cuss the merits of this amendment
shall have to get at it hurriedly. but
1 do wish to say that at no time since
the end of the Shepherd regime in
the early seventies has Congress
l,~1- N hn nffl %
of the District of Columbia as this
amendment does. We see in the news
papers that some of the Commission
ers have said that this amendment
will pile untold taxes on the people
Of the District of Columbia. When
they say that they seemingly do not
bear in mind that the Commissioners
of the District of Columbia them
selves. selected from among the peo-
pie of the District OF Columbia. fix
their estimates. and that they them
selves fix the rate of taxation. What
could be more fair?"
Representative johnson denied the
assertion by Representative Moore
that the amendment would impose a
greater rate of interest on borrowers.
He declared that the newspapers of
the District have not properly or ac-
curately represented the nature and
effect of the amendment.
Representative Davis, chairman of
the House confereeS on the bill, after
reciting his efforts to gain better
salaries for District employees, said:
Now, gentlemen. ever since l have
been in the city the papers here have
raised a great howl, saying. We do
not have a vote, we do not have any
thing to say about our taxes. or about
our estimates, or about anything.
Some of these congressman from the
western prairies come down here and
skirnp u.s. and so forth. We have
the right under the Constitution to
make their assessments, to fix up
their estimates after they present
them. and to say what shall be ap-
propriated. We have done what we
thought was right.
Called Legislative Orphans.
And now I am going to get down to
the real proposition here, this amend
ment No. l. What is it? You know the
people of the District of Columbia are
legislative orphans. They cannot vote.
They cannot have q word to say about
their taxation or anything of that kind.
not a thing; but this Senate amendment
No. |, for the first time. gives them full
power to do it. That Is what it does.
1t says to the District Commissioners.
Fix your own estimates, fix your own
rate of taxation All, but l hear my
friend from Maryland saying, But you
raised the assessment to the full value
True; and why did we do it? Do you
want me to tell you why we raised 1t!
1T was because l know. and many
gentlemen on this floor know. that there
have been assessments against the small
home owner that were very nearly up
to the full value. or at least to the full
amount Of two-thirds, under the law,
while some of these houses OF multi