Evening star., 1923-02-10
Practical Injuries Threatened.

The practical effect of the Cramton
bill. destroying the 60-40 relation be-
tween the national and the capital
community contributions toward ma
uonal city upbuilding, is to place
maximum limit on the contribution Of
The United States and to remove the
limit entirely from the contribution Of
the local taxpayers
Indeed. the announced purpose of
the proposed legislation is to enable
taxing body in which the District is
not represented to increase the local
burden of taxation at its pleasure un.
checked by the existing requirement
that every such increase be reflected
. In some measure in national taxation
for capital upbuilding.
The maximum national contribution
is made definite during the time in
which Congress refrains from dimin-
fshing it; but all limits are declared
OF in respect to the local contribution
and it remains definite only in the GER
tainty that the local tax burden will
be largely increased; and that the To-.
cal taxpayers will not participate at
any time in the decision of the amount
OF the increase, the methods of taxa
tion by which the increase is secured,
and the purposes for which the tax
money is spent.
Under the 60-40 ratio of contribution
every dollar of increased taxation of
the unrepresented District means
some increase of national taxation for
capital upbuilding. Under the pro-
. posed legislation every dollar of in
creased taxation Of the District means
corresponding reduction of the
amount necessary>to be devoted from
national taxes to capital upbuilding
- Under the 604O ratio plan there is an
equitable self-imposed check upon ex-
cessive and unjust taxation by the ma
tional legislature of the unrepresented
and impotent capital. With this self
imposed check removed and with
every tax dollar exacted from the
District reducing the necessary tax
dollars to be spent upon capital up
building by the nation, the obvious
purpose of the proposed legislation is
to decrease the national dollars of
capital contribution eventually to
nothing.
The proposed legislation obtrudes
annually upon the attention Of Con-
gress the suggestion of a large cash
donation to the capital as if the pri-
mary obligation of national city up
building were upon the local taXpay-
ers, and the nation were only an in
cidental contributor. a voluntary and
benevolent donor. Since the nation in
1878 recognized and assumed it's Ma.
tonal Capital power and obligation, it's
responsibility in respect to the capital
has been primary. dominating, exclu-
sive. AS late as 1915 this relation of
nation to capital was fully recognized
and clearly set forth in the report of
the joint select committee of Congress.
which made the most thorough. ex-
haustive and able study of the fiscal
relations Of nation and capital that
statesmen had given to the subject
since 1913. AS long as all the assets
and revenues of the national and local
joint contributors toward capital up-
building are in the hands of the ma
tional joint contributor, and as long
as all decisions concerning the
amounts to be paid by the joint con-
tributors, respectively. and concerning
the expenditure of the joint revenues
! are to be made by the national con-
tributor the latter must in equity.
and will in fact, bear the primary re-
sponsibility of capital upbuilding, and
the local taxpayers will be recognized
in their true relation as merely Incl
dental contributors of tax money, not
f1xed in amount by themselves, but
exacted at the pleasure of the other
Joint contributor.
Another practical effect of destroy.
ing the 60-40 ratio will be to reduce
to minimum any chance of equitable
proportionate contribution by the
United States when our accumulated
tax surplus comes to be expended.
This tax money was collected by ati-
thority Of the halfand-half law solely
to apply upon the Districts half of
District appropriations. Whenever it
is expended it would be equitable to
spend it under the half-and-half law,
the United States duplicating it. If
when the surplus comes to be used
the proportionate contributions are on
the 60-40 ratio, the nation through
Congress will either apply, as equity
seems to demand, the $3.50 ratio, or
will make the existing 60-40 ratio retro
active and add to the Districts surplus
only 40 per cent from the national
Treasury. But il both the $3.50 and
the 60-40 ratios are destroyed, and
when the surplus comes to be expend.
ed there is no definite prOpOrti0nate
contribution by nation and taxpaying
capital, then the chances are hun.
dred to one that the nation will not
participate at all under any percentage
Of obligation to enlarge the surplus
fund for the upbuilding Of the capital.