Evening star., 1924-12-04
Recognize and Appropriate the
Districts Accumulated Surplus
Petition by Citizens Joint Committee for
Use of Unspent Tax Money ON
Fifty-Fifty Basis.


the Congress at its next regular ses.
sion detailed report of the result OF
his determination and action as au-
thorized herein"
| x 4
The congregational joint commit
tee ON District surplus finds and
reports Cd the existence OF a free
surplus I'm the Treasury to the credit
of the District of S4,8zI, 1867. CD the
| existence OF certain District credits
| amounting to $8G5.48 to be added to
this surplus, CD the existence of GER
tain credits of the United States
amounting to $233.7O7.51 to be sub
| tracted from this surplus and "a the
| existence of n net balance of $4,43s,-
154.82 legally and morally due the
District from the United States after
| all legal and equitable additions and
| subtractions have been made.
| The finding by the joint congress
! sional committee that the District tax
surplus is not a myth but a concrete
| fact, raising a distinct obligation not
| to be waved aside, IS based upon and
! sustained by
G The authoritative certificate of
the controller general of the United
States.
t2) The report of the official ac
| countants of the congressional joint
committee. of the Treasury account
| ants and of the auditor of the District
of Columbia
(S) Analysis of the conditions ere
ating this surplus demonstrates It's
| concrete existence and the definite
obligation, legal and equitable, at
| tached to It,
(D Analysis of the District audi
| tors figures of net surpluses or def
| icits in District tax revenue under the
organic act of 1878 for the fiscal years
1900 to 1920, inclusive. makes the
same conclusive demonstration.
(5) Congress. in 1903, recognized
! that there could be and would be
such things as surplus revenues of the
/ District by directing that the ad-
vances which it was then making to
! meet District tax deficits should be
reimbursed to said Treasury from
| time to time out of the surplus rev.
| enues of the District Of Columbia"
| (6) After District deficits had been
| converted into surpluses. Congress
recognized the existence of such sur
pluses in the Treasury by applying
portions of these surpluses to the
| payne of alleged ancient indebted
! nesses of the District to the United
States. by law specifically transfer
ring to the United States sums from
| "the amount in the Treasury of the
| United States to the credit of the Dis
| trict of Columbia"
! ca The United States has recog-
| nized credit items in It's favor accru-
| ing from deficits in District tax rev.
! half -and-half law and has reimbursed
| itself from District revenues with in
| terest for advance S to meet these def
| icits. 1t cannot, legally or equitab bly,
| refuse to recognize the corresponding
| debit items in the shape of surpluses
of collected and unexpended District
! taxes.
(s) The United States recognized
! this equitable principle in dealing
! with surpluses or deficits in applying
|
| 1929 the temporary sixty-forty ratio
| in District appropriation bills by car
rying over surpluses or deficits into
the succeeding year.
4 x x x
The legal obligation thus created
and thus demonstrated to exist is
not weakened, but strengthened by
/ equitable and moral considera tions.
There ore no offsets in the shape
of United States credits, either in the
period since 1878 or the period be-
tween 1874 and 1873, other than those
! found and reported by the congress
siona1 Joint committee. to make a net
| reduction OF the reported amount of
the Districts present tar surplus.
! The legal and moral obligation thus
| demonstrated to exist, is euuitabIy
| satisfied only by the application of fbe
! surplus in accordance with the half
| and half law, under which it was az
| cumuiated TO meet the Districts half
i of the expense Of neglected mupIcInaI
needs OF the war time, which negIects
permitted its accumulation. AppIica-
| tton OF the surplus under any other
ratio fs unequitable.
! For the reasons above recited your
| petitioners urge enactment of Senate
| bill 7o3 to the end of securing action
| by Congress, which will, as The
| joint congressional committee re-
| ports, "definitely and finally set nj
ficts between the District and Fed
eTal Eovernments."
THEODORE w. MOVES,
Chairman Executive Committee of
Citizens joint Com ittee ON Dis
trict of COlumb bia Fiscal ReIa tions:
L. r. COLLADAY.
President Board of Trade;
ISAAC CANS,
President Chamber of Commerce.;
ANTON STEPHAN.
President Merchants and Manufac-
turers' Associations;
CHARLES A. BAKER,
President Federation of Citizens
Associations:
STANTON G. PEELLE,
President Bar Association:
HERBERT l.. DAVIS.
| President Columbia Heights Citi-
zens' Association;
EVAN III. TUCKER.
President Northeast Citizens As
sOcfatiOn:
| j. A. OLIVER,
President Georgetown Citizens
Association;
III. Il. STRINGER,
President City Club;
III. v. HAYNES,
! President District of Columbia
| Bankers Association;
j. C. WELDON.
| President the Real Estate Board;
ARTHUR ID. MARKS,
President Rotary Club;
| HARRY G.. KIMBALL,
President F<iwanis Club;
JAMES VI. PROCTOR,
President Civitan Club.