Evening star., 1924-04-12
Petition Declares Unanimous
Will of District Disregarded
by Congress.
INSISTS ORIGINAL AIM
OF LEGISLATION LOST
Bill Sought Reciprocity, But Was
Converted Into Revenue Meas
ure, President Told.

President Coolidge has been asked
to withhold his approval of the auto
mobile gas tax bill and to exercise the
executive privilege of returning this
legislation to Congress disapproved.
The appeal is contained in a petit
ton signed by representatives of the
leading civic and trade bodies Of the
District, which was brought to the
White House late yesterday after
noon by Edward F. Colladay presi-
dent of the Washington Board of
Trade. one of the signers of the petit
ton
The claim is made in the petition
that the bill, as passed by Congress,
is Objectionable to the majority of
citizens of the District because it is
unfair and unjust and fails to provide
the remedy sought and which would
have been provided had the gas tax
/ reciprocity bin originally drawn up
by the District Commissioners been
fpassed. 1t is claimed also that the
bill is ambiguous and so loosely
drawn as to make possible a con-
/ struction of the law that would cause
it to be violative of the existing fiscal
relation between the federal govern
ment and the District of Columbia,
and, as is set forth in the petition, IF
for no other reason than this, the bill
should not become law
Petition in Full.
The petition in full follows:
Mr.. President:
THE District of Columbia and Mary
land are the only two jurisdictions in
the United States which do not ex-
change reciprocal automobile privi-
/ leges. To remedy this unparalleled
condition the Commissioners of the
District and the Governor of Mary
! land entered into negotiations for
reciprocity which resulted in the
| Commissioners submitting to Con-
eress a bill providing for cents
| gas tax and a 81 registration fee in
! lieu of other taxes on motor vehicles.
| Maryland would benefit under this
proposed bill in that her 2-cent gas
revenue would be protected on the
! District borders and the District and
| Maryland motorists would derive the
! benefit of reciprocity.
This bill was designed for the sole
! purpose of effectuating motor vehicle
reciprocity with Maryland and pro-
vided for a registration fee of 81 and
a tax of 2 cents a gallon on motor
, vehicle, fuel in lieu of the existing
taxes on automobiles 1t was esti-
mated that the revenue derived under
| this bill would equal or slightly ex-
ceed the revenue collected under the
existing law. This bill was not de-
signed to raise additional revenue,
but merely to change the method of
raising revenue so as to conform to
the wishes of the state of Maryland
and insure motor vehicle reciprocity.
| ~ 1Nf1 he r-.l
of and was indorsed by the people of
| the District of Columbia.
Added Taxes Unneeded.
Congress has seen fit to convert a
measure, remedial in it's nature, into
| a means of raising an amount exceed
| ing by s25O,000 the average yearly
appropriations made by Congress for
all street and road work in the Dis
| trict and by $5eo,o the amount paid
by local motorists.
This has been done in utter dis
regard of the unanimously expressed
will of the people of the District. In
I the bill now before the President the
provision for reciprocity with Mary
| land has been eliminated and the
measure has become merely one pro-
| viding for exaction, by taxation of
| one special of personal property, of
revenue for which there is no neces-
: sity. AS evidence of the lack of need
| for increased revenue attention is di-
rected to the fact that during the
past fiscal year Congress failed to
| appropriate within $2,000,000 of the
| amount raised by general taxation in
| the District of Columbia.
Believing that Congress should re-
| spect the only political right vouch-
| safed the people of the District-that
of petition--by enacting the Commits
| sioners' bill to effect motor vehicle
reciprocity with the State of Mary
| land. the undersigned representative
bodies, together with the general
public, have, with united voice, urged
| upon Congress the enactment into
| law of the Commissioners bill
| Asks for Veto.
Besides containing the objection
able features enumerated, the bill
now before the President is so loose
1y drawn as to make possible a con-
struction that would cause it to be
violative of the existing fiscal rela-
| ton between the federal government
and the District of Columbia The
| bill is ambiguous. If for no other
| CONTINUED on Page 4, Column A.