Evening star., 1922-07-18

wise found due either legally or
morally from the one to the other,
on account of loans, advancements
or improvements made upon which
interest has not been paid by either
to the other, then such sums hs have
been or may be found due from one
to the other shall be considered as
bearing interest at the rate of per
centum per annum from the time
when the principal should. either
until actually paid. And the COM
mittee shall also ascertain and report
what surplus, if any, the District of
Columbia has to its credit on the
books of the Treasury of the United
States which has been acquired by
taxation or from license fees
And the said committee shall re-
port it's findings relative to all the
matters hereby referred to it to the
Senate and House, respectively, on or
before the, first Monday in February.
1923.
You have suggested that an ex-
animation of fiscal relations of the
District and the United States from
June 20, 1874, to June 80, 1911. has
been previously made under the di-
rection of joint select committee of
the Congress, appointed under House
resolution No. 1854 and No. 200, Sixty
second Congress. first session, and
resolution No. 263, Sixty third Con-
gress, third session. and that the re
suits of such examination have been
reported to the Congress of the United
States and made the basis of subse-
quent action by the Congress.
Question of Time Period.
You ask my opinion as to what
period of time the investigation and
examination by your committee and
by accountGats which you expect to
employ should cover, and whether or
not it would be proper under the law
for your committee and your ac-
countants to use this previous audit
or any part thereof in making such
investigation and examination.
The act above recited is the source
of the power and authority of your
committee and is even the source of
its very existence. By such law your
committee must be strictly governed.
This act is mandatory in that by
it your committee is authorized and
directed to inquire into all matters
pertaining to the fiscal relations be-
tween the District of Columbia and
the United States since July /. 1874"
So that, without investigating all
such fiscal matters since July l, 1874,
your committee would not be dis
charging or performing its full duty
under the act which creates it.
Therefore. it is my opinion it is
your duty to investigate and report
upon the fiscal relations between the
District of Columbia and the United
States for the full period of time from
July /. 1874, to the end of the fiscal
year just passed. However, I am
also Of the opinion that by such act
it is necessarily left to the discretion
of your committee as to how you will
make such investigation, and If in
the exercise of that discretion you
feel after a careful investigation that
any part or parts or even the whole
of this previous audit is entirely ac-
curate and correct, it should be en-
tirely within your rights and in full
compliance with the mandate given
your committee by the Congress to
base your reports after full inves-
tigation upon the parts of such audit
SO found to be correct and accurate
and upon such further investigation
and accounting by your committee
and through your accountants as
your committee may feel necessary
to present the true status of such
fiscal relations.
should Investigate 1911 Audit.
I'm short, your committee should, in
its investigation, audit this audit of
1s11-to the end that your report may
assure the Congress, among other
things, that it's audit of 1911 is cor
rect and accurate in every particular.
If you do see At in making your in
vestigation to use this previous audit
or any part or parts thereof
am of the opinion that 1t is in
cumbent upon your committee, in ac-
cordance with the law under which
you are acting, to consider and de-
eide all questions Of law which were
such previous audit AZ you may see
at to use and in the event that you
disaSree with the conclusions upon
which such previous audits werA
based, that you require your account
ants te make such adjustments as
will make the result tn accordance
The opinion 10 being considered at
a meeting thia afternoon by Senators
Phipps and Ball and Representative
Hardy of the Joint committee.