Evening star., 1923-01-20
CITIZENS STATE CLAIMS
TO DISTRICT SURPLUS


| counts on the half and half basis DUR
ing this period. Any money collected
| under the organic act to be spent On
the half and half basis and actually
spent on any other basis, (as with full
cost from District tax money!. should
be restored one-half to the Districts
, credit, and entered in the Treasury
account.
An equitable restatement of the ac-
count between the United States and
rectS:
l. Items which, should be stated on
the half and half basis and which are
charged full cost against the Dis
trlct, including the cost OF street ex-
tension and. In part. of street i'm
provement outside OF Boundary Street
OF the original city. This inequity in
wolves an unjust limitation of the
$pplication OF the act of 1873 to the
bounds of the original Washington
and a resembling of il In certain par
| ticulars so far as all of the District
| outside or the original city is con-,
III. Items which should be stated
wholly as national expenses, but
which are actually stated on the half
and half basis. or with the unjust i'm
position OF even moro than half cost
| upon the District as taxpayers or
/ of this ineQuity is the division of the
cost OF the capitals water supply sys-
tenn. for tho collection, filtration and
distribution of Potomac water be-
tween the United States as part
owner and consumer on one side and
the District as part-owner and water
consumer, as taxpayer and water rent
payer on the other.
Controllers Decision in 1914.
Controller Downey in his above cited
decision OF January 8, 1914, GO compt.
Dec.) says:
'dTha nrara~ y,xo~a~.i1- u-~
priations having been determined by
the act OF 1873. as contemplated, by
the act of 1874. the pledge became
| pledge to appropriate so per cent out
| OF the Treasury OF the United States
| and fifty per cent out of the revenues
| Of the District.
1T must be observed that under
| this plan, as outlined in section three
| Of the act OF 1878, there Is no con-
| temptation that the Districts part of
| necessary and approved expenditures
/ is to be paid out of a purse already
| sufficiently filed and with some to
| spare. On the contrary, the provision
is that after the estimated expendi-
| tures for the next fiscal year have
| been approved by Congress. and to
| the extent that they have been so ap-
| proved the remaining fifty per cent
| of such approved estimates shall be
| levied and assessed upon the taxable
| District
THE extent to which the levying Of
| taxes on the property and franchises
! in the District was authorized was
! thus defined and thus limited. This
| was So-called organic act. 1t was
| an act which provided form Of gov
! ernment. created the governing body
! and defined its powers and IL is ele-
nentary that the created governing
body could have no power except that
! specifically delegated by its creator
! or necessarily incident thereto.
| : The organic act provided for
| the levying Of taxes for the fiscal
year ending June 80. 1879. and subse-
! quent years and fixed a maximum
taiRs NO authority TO levy any taxes In
| excess Of that necessary to produce
! fifty per cent OF the approved eStt~
mated expenses. the levying OF which
| is to be on the taxable property and
the privileges in the District.
The sundry civil act of June 90.
! 1875. provided that the
Commissioners Of the District shall
| taxes for the fiscal year 1879 upon the
basis OF their estimates submitted to
| Congress, meaning necessarily in
| connection with the provisions OF
the organic act itself. to the extent
| of fifty per cent of those estimates,
Taxes were to be. collected during
each fiscal year with which to meet
the Districts part OF the expenses
not be levied TO produce actually and
! exactly this fifty per cent: the result
might be surplus or deficit :.
Whether in fact a large sur
| plus or q. deficit resulted lin any one
year could have no bearing on the
| construction Of a statute which .au-
! thorized taxation only to the extent
! OF fifty per cent of specified
amount"
Districts Contentious Supported.
| Every vital contention Of the Dis
| trict concerning the construction Of
/ the act OF 1873 finds powerful support
, in these words Of Controller Downey's
decision.
The only District of Columbia taxa
| tion authorized and directed by law
I is that given to the Commissioners
! to raise one-half of the amount of
District appropriations previously
made by Congress. If the law is fol-
lowed there is no possibility of a sur
! plus of District money. unmatched by
! United States dollars. Indeed, the lat
But in practice Congress has repeat
/ edly collected more in District taxes
than IL has matched. either before or
after the levy. and has expended this
surplus without duplication in vio-
lation Of the law. The account OF such
4
amount found In equity to be due the
District should be credited to it.
In the relations which existed be-
tween nation and capital, the nation
all powerful, with despotic control
Of all District assets, and the District
| impotent, voiceless. negligible, any
failure of the nation to meet the self
imposed obligation OF the organic act,
while that law was permitted TO re-
main unamended among the statutes,
was q violation of law and equity
raising an equitable credit in favor
of the District, which it is the avowed
purpose OF this inquiry to ascertain
and readjust.
fThe District auditors figures show
in detail violations of the half and
half principle since 1873, aggregatlng
two millions outside of the sums in
volved in Reputation by the nation
OF its share of the cost OF suburban
| street extension.)
ACCOUNTS AND EQUITIES OF THE
PERIOD BETWEEN 1874 AND 1873.
/. All District expenditures between
| 1874 and 1878 whether met tempo
rarily and tentatively by "a local tax
alton, or (2) by unconditional appro-
priations from the Treasury. or (3) by
Treasury appropriations to be treated
later as part of the proportional contrt-
button of the United States toward
| capital maintenance, OF (D to be reirl-
oursed by the District to the Treasury
are to be restated and readjusted on
the half and half principle.
When the fifty-ffty ratio became the
law in 1878 it was inserted retroactive
/ ly in the blank to be filed Gas IL
were1 in the law of 1874 applying to
| all expenses Of the District within this
GIG ElGE