Evening star., 1926-04-03

OF the future population of the Dis
tIlct. The Capital was to be primarily
center of Federal action, and the
occupation of the ground by settlers
was merely incidental to this great
purpose.
1t was TO be "A meeting place for
the use, convenience and entertain
ment of the people of the entire
Union and the expense of its support
ana adornment was not to be limited
by the scanty resources of what per.
nlanent population IT might acquire.
The original owners of Washington
donated five-sevenths of the city's soil
and yielded the right of self govern
ment to the Nation on the understand
ing and implied agreement that the
Nation was to build up here a mag
nlflCent Capital at its own expense, re
lmbursing itself from the proceeds of
the sale of donated lots. a preten-
tlouS city was planned and lots were
sold by the Government on the
strength of this understandings For
three fourths of century the Nation
violated or neglected the obligations
which it had thus incurred. In 1878
the Government, which had in the be
ginning impliedly undertaken to meet
all the expenses of capital making
and then shifted that burden, in the
main. upon private citizens, decided
that justice required it to pay one half
of the Districts expenses
Washington's Equities.
Study of the equitable foundations
upon which proportionate contribu'
tion toward capital maintenance by
the Nation is based brings the con
viction that no fixing of that proper.
riou can be just which ignores ma
tonal neGlects of obligations in the
past in determining the equitable
measure Of proportionate contribu-
tion for the future.
As an annual contributor to mu-
nicipal maintenance in definite and
liberal amount the Nation has since
1878. under the wise and fair legisla-
tion of that year, surpassed other ma
tionS in this form of patriotic eXpendi-
ture. The result has been to restore
the Nations self-respect as a fulfiller
of Capital obligations; and to build up
the Capital of today. in which every
American has d proprietary interest
and in respect TO which every Ameri.
can now feels a proprietary pride.
Obligation Follows Power.
The second obligation. that which
is coupled with and measured by the
degree to which the Nation controls
its capital, is. as | have noted, eN'
great in Washington
case.
The teaching of these comparisons
is that obligation is coupled with pow
er, lie. financial obligation is coupled
with political power. If the Nation
controls. it pays; and to the extent
that If poDtrpIG IL NAYS
Washington is the only capital IN
the world in which, if certain pro
po:ed policies prevail. the Nation
would do all of the controlling and
none OF the paying Paris wants
France to pay without controlling,
some men would have the United
States control without paying.
In Canberra, the new capital-to'oe
of Australia, a supreme national
control Of the capital may be eNem-
Dilied as in the case OF Washington
but if SO. this condition will result
from the fact that the Nation VIII Sc,
cure and retain fee-Simple title TO All
the land i'm the Federal district ana
will simply lease to individual resi-
dents. 1t will logically couple ma
tinnal Government ownership with
nationa! Government control IN an IN
tereat.n2 SJciaistic experiment. IN
il certain theories pre-
vail, the Nation viii retain exclusive
and complete control of the capital
equal 10 that of Canberra, without eA
by purchase all individual
title 10 property and without even
and meeting the opllSa'
rions which arise from partial owner
ship and full control
The assumption and exercise 0i aD-
goIute and exclusive legislative po"er
by the organic act were coupled "Hh
recoonition of a prp-eXisting and con
Timing financial oblig alton. The Ma
ton cannot eauitably repudiate or re-
duce to minimum its financial obii
ton and retain and exercise its full
despotic and exclusive power to tax
aud 20 govern.