Evening star., 1923-01-31
No Offset to Districts Credit
OF Accumulated Tax Surplus

I There should be a balancing of ac-
| counts on the half-and-half basis
during this period. Any money col
lected under the organic act to be
spent on the alf-and-half basis and
| actually spent on any other basis tas
| with full cost from District tax
money! should be restored one-half
| to the Districts credit, and entered
in the Treasury account
In the period since 1873 tnere nave
not only been violations of the letter
and spirit of the half-and-half pro-
| vision of the organic act by compel
| ling the payment of certain munich
pal expenses, not half-and- half but
solely at the expense Of the local COM
| munity; but there have also been vfo-
lntiOns of the equitable spirit OF that
law by compelling payment on the
| haIf-and-half basis of an increasing
list of heavy expenses, primarily In
principle and originally I'm fact ma
| tionaI expenses, paid for at hrst equi-
| tably, solely by the nation.
Unlawful Diversion of Tax Money.
The only District Of Columbia tax
, alton authorized and directed by law
is that given to the Commissioners to
raise one-half of the amount of Dis
trict appropriations previously made
| by Congress. If the law is followed
there is no possibility of a surplus of
District money, unmatched by United
States dollars. Indeed, the latter are
| under the law put up first. But In
practice Congress has repeatedly COL
lected more in District taxes than il
has matched either before or after
the levy, and has often expended this
| surplus without duplication. in viola
ton or the law. The account of such
| expenditures should be stated; and
the amount found in equity to be due
/ the District should be credited to it
AS the words of Controller Dow
| hey $ decision Of 1914 suggest, the or
! ganic act OF 1878 clearly contemplated
| That the primary responsibility of
! District financing was upon the ma
| tional government: that the capital
expenditures for the fiscal year, being
the Com missioners' estimates SO far
as thcy were approved by Congress,
should be made from the national
| treasury the nation paying its own
half in full in advance and advancing
the Districts half, and reimbursing
itself for advances of the Districts s
half by levying the taxes necessary
to raise this amount upon the prop
erty and privileges in the District.
The nation was to be the primary and
responsible contributor; the District
was to be the incidental and delayed
contributor of a fixed amount Of re-
! imbursement. That the District should
be on a cash basis or a ''pay-as-
yougo" basis was abhorrent to every
principle at the foundations of the
organic act. Law and equity, a S ex-
pressed in the organic act. com bin ed
i to direct the national government TO
make the necessary advances to the
! Elstric. governm ant, and to raim-
! burse itself through the local govern
ment by local taxation suficing to
| pay the Districts half. Until the law
| of 1922 changed this relation of Dis
trict and nation, any alteration OF
procedure which made the District
the primary contributor and Cncle
Sam the incidental and voluntary
contributor of underlined or self-de-
fined deficits would have violated
! both law and equity. The fact that
| the United States between 1878 ana
| 1922 made these advances within the
! current year to the District without
! interest charge raises no equitable
! claim for rpimbursenents today even
! advances. These advances were made
/ in exact accordance with the law and
! were justified by the highest con-
siderations of equity. If without
| spe cific change of substantive law by
| Congress the District had been de-
| prived of the benefit of these ad-
! vancCs without interest within the
current year the District would nave
| had claim both in law and equity
/ of injury, for which fair compensation
Equity Augments District Surplus.
! In the relations which existed be-
! tween nation and capital. the mn
ti0n aIl-powerfuI. with despOtic con-
| troll Of all District assets, and the
District inpotent. voice1ess, neEligi-
| bIe any failure of the nation to meet
the >cIf-imposed obligation OF the or
sko& Iaxw
/ mitted to remain uname nded among
| the statutes was a violation of law
and equity, raising an equitable credit
! In favor Of the District, which Ii is
/ the nvOwed purpose of this inquiry
/ to ascertain and readjust.
| The omnipotence of the nation and
! the impotence Of the capital in the
! handling of the capitals assets and
/ affairs render it Impossible to raise
an equitable credit in favor of the
nation against the District based on
| affairs have been managed or mis-
| managed If the nations agents. in
! handling District affairs, have blum
dered or violated law, the nation. and
! not the impotent, helpless District, is
! responsible. If these blunders and
/ law violations have injured the capi-
tai. the nation. in readjustment of
| the kind in which the joint committee
| is engaged. should remedy the injury.
| If these blunders or law violations
! by the nations agents have been to
| the disadvantage of the nation, as by
preventing the collection of just debts
| from the District taxpayers of some
year in the remote past who owed
| the indebtedness. the nation should
i remember that il is responsible for
| the neglects or blunders of it's agents,
! and that it should bear the resulting
I loss rather than the District taXpay-
ers of today, who were not respon-
! sible in any way for the fault of
many years ago. who have not in
any way profited by it. and who are
| staggering under the war and recon-
struction tax burdens of today. ma
! tional and municipal.
! In the relations of nation and Dis
trict. in handling the affairs of the
| capitaI, it is almost incOncefvable
that there can develop from any past
mismanagement or blunderinE me-
Iects i'm respect to District affairs an
! Indebtedness. rooted In equity, for
| which today's taxpayers are morally
! indebted.