The Washington times., 1925-08-25
With The
Abb Artists
Capitals independence
Must Come Through
Peoples Grasp of
Own Finances
Recall British History
BY DONALD McDOUGAL

We can't help feeling that
Washington's custom Of begging
permission from Congress for
every move it makes Is not only
degrading. but expensive, too.
With coal-strike regularity q
group of notwithstanding legis-
lators toss their annual monkey
wrench into the Districts finan-
cial machinery for paragraph or
so of publicity with. the folks
back home and leave the Conn
missioners to clean up the mess.
Asking for the ballot as de-
tense against this legislative
sabotage seems to us like put
ting the cart before the horse.
As long as Congress has con-
troll of our financial affairs, Con-
gress is bound to gain and we
are bound 10 lose. why else do
these publikity hounds want to
control our financial affairs?
The ballot would be of little use
to us il Congress continued to
butcher our budget. On the other
hand, when we attain budgetary
independence, political indepen-
dence will necessarily follow.
Congress can grant no real re.
lief to us that does not include
our right to levy and spend our
taxes to suit ourselves.
With that power we can get
every right that belongs to US.
Without that power we can be
deprived of every right. How
can we expect to get anywhere
with our income perpetualIy gar
nished by Congress-
The British yeomen Of the Mid
die Ages, with all their ignorance
and superstition, were quicker to
grasp this principle than we So
phisticated ones OF twentieth CEN
fury America.
They saw what we still have TO.
learn that political independence
is not gained by agitation, but by
first establishing financial indie
pendence.
Since the year 1896, and through
specimens as Richard III. Henry
VIII. and Charles 4, the people
who paid the British taxes had
more to say about how those
taxes should be spent than we
wise ones OF Washington in the
year of enlightenment 1925 have
to say about how ours shall be
levied
About the flag end Of the Thir-
teenth Century, so the story goes.
King Edward l., finished a war
with Scotland. He was victorious
but bankrupt-flat broke. And he
had taxed the people so unmerci-
fully that he didn't dare tax them
any more without their consent.
So he sent OUT word for every
village in the kingdom to send
couple Of delegates to London,
and with authority to approve lis
new taxation scheme, If they con.
sidered it advisable.
His idea was to scare them to
death with a war tale, AMI let
them go back and explain to
their constituents how necessary
the new taxes were for the public
safety. But the delegates had a
different idea.
Before approving any plan Of ac-
ton whatever, they said, the king
must add to the Magma Charta q
clause securing the. nation forever
against all impositions and taxes
without the consent of parlia-
ment, which was always to con-
tain two delegates from each
town.
The Government agreed, and
from that day to this, no money
has been granted to the King
without the consent of those
delegates.
That consent has been used as
a lever to gain liberty for the
British people.
!, IF you enact this law for us,
we will approve the appropriation
you ask. II you don't, we won't.
"And so by manipulating their
financial power, they have worked
up from a practically unlimited
monarchy to a form of govern
ment in many respects as free
as the United States, and GER
tainly freer than the District Of
Columbia.
There is no particular reason
why the majority Of Congress
should either give or withhold
the ballot in the District. There
is nothing in it for them either
way. Accordingly, some will fav-
or it and some will oppose it, and
we never will get anywhere on
that basis.
But there is a very good rea-
son why the majority Of decent,
road-minded Congressman should
favor giving the District control
of it's own finances, and that is
+ha nhiectiVe we should work for