Evening star., 1924-01-23
Commissioners Want Senate
Committee to Add Sum,
Making Total $5,263,758.
ACCOUNTANTS ARE HELD
TO BLAME FOR DEDUCTION
Maj. Donovan's Report Sets Forth,
in Detail, Items Believed
Due City.

The bill now pending in Congress
fixing the surplus revenues of the
District at s4,43s,154.92 deprives the
city of sS25.603.69 to which 1t is en-
titled, the Commissioners declared in
report to the Senate District COM
mittee today.
The city heads ask the committee
to add an amendment to the bill un-
der which the District would get
credit for this additional sum, there
by bringing the surplus up to s5,-
263,75S.61.
The Commissioners transmitted
with their report a statement from
Maj. Daniel j. Donovan. auditor, In
which he sets forth clearly the items
that make up the ss25,6o36s and the
reasons why they should be credited
to the District
Sees Accountants Mistake.
The joint select committee" wrote
Maj. Donovan. employed certain ac-
countants for the purpose of making
the accounting investigation into the
nscal relations between the United
States and the District of Columbia
pursuant to the requirements of the.
District appropriation act referred to
1t VIII be shown that the report
OF these accountants, through a mis-
understanding by the accountants of
the character of certain items in
Guided by them in their report to
tne joint select committee, tended to
mlslead that committee into reaching
a conclusion that deprives the Dis
sricf snS CO OF Golumbia of the sum of 1925,
surplus revenues of the District in
the Treasury on June so, 1922, and
added to the amount of surplus reve-
nues found by the joint select COM
mittee as belonging to the District
on that date"
After presenting his detailed argu-
ments in defense of each of the items
that make up the disputed sum, Maj.
Donovan told the Senate committee in
conclusion that if the bill passes In
BILE for the District auditor and the
controller OF the Treasury to correct the
discrepancy.
Must Credit Items Now.
III it were the case" he said, that
the transactions represented by that
amount occurred at dates later than
June 80, 1929, the situation would re-
solve itself into certain bookkeeping
entries that it would be within the
authority of the controller generals
Office and the auditor of the District
to make in order to bring about
proper adjustment.
But this is not the case, as the
transactions all took place on or be-
fore June 80, 1922, and the legal pre-
sumption would be that the conclu-
sions of the joint select committee, If
adopted into law by Congress in the
form of Senate bill 703, disposed of
the Districts right to this sum of
S825, 5,60369, as a part Of its surplus
revenues in the Treasury on June so,
1922"
Following is Maj. Donovan's analy-
sis of the sS25,603.69 and why 1t be-
longs to the District:
Reasons Sum Is Claimed.
'The total of ss25, 5,6o3.6s is made
UP as follows:
a. The sum of S169,50S.S5. This
amount represents revenue collected
by the District of Columbia and de-
posted in the Treasury of the United
States during the fiscal year 1922
over and above appropriation and
other charges against the revenues
of the District for that year.
In other words, the District of
Columbia collected and deposited in
the Treasury of the United States in
the fiscal year 1922 $169,50SS more
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