Evening star., 1926-06-05
HOME ADVANTAGES BRINGING
RESIDENTS INTO WASHINGTON
Civic Virtues of Capital Also Prove Lure That Is At
tracing People Here in Steadily Growing Mum.
bers--Budng Bill Makes for Greater Things.

Washington. With all it's many ad.
vantaGes, it's beauty and attractive
ness will be still further enhanced
by additional handsome Fedora Gov
ernment buildings-more monuments
to the wealth and strength or the
Nation.
There is one feature. however, that
the Board of Trade and all local
orga niZationS are endeaNoflnS 10
abolish. and that Is the Borland law.
Request has been made by citizens
of all classes. expressed through
practically all civic and commercial
organizations. citizens associations
and otherwise for the repeal of what
is known as the Borland act. MAX
ing special taxation for street paw
ing.
From the time of the creation OF
the present form of government for
the District in 1878 up to the year
1915. the cost of paving and repay
ing streets and roadways with
asphalt or equivalent material was
paid for one-half out of any money
in the Treasury not otherwise APP
propriated, and the other half on.
of the revenues of the District de-
rived from taxes imposed on prop
erty of all kinds in the District.
TO the appropriation bill for the
District for the fiscal year ending
July, 1915. rider was attached
under which thereafter One-half OF
the cost of street paving was made
assessable against the property abut-
ting the street TO be paved. TO be
collected as other taxes were col
lected. and since that date this spe-
cial tax has been assessed and col
lected.
Change Not Made.
The change was not made because
of a shortage of revenues to meet
the needs of the District for street
oaving nor because of any neceS-
sity for the special tax. The Com
missoners i'm their estimates for
that wear had asked for a stated
amount TO cover the cost of paving
which they considered necessary and
which they believed the then exist
ing revenues justified.
The subcommittee of the House
appropriation committee for the Dis
trict decided to create an increased
fund for street paving by imposing
a special tax for that purpose on
the property abutting the street to
be paved by assessing one-haH or
the paving cost on such abutung
property. In that way fund for
having purposes would be created
and the general Government and the
District would pay less than 1t had
been paying; and if necessary twice
the area of paving could De done III
any one year by putting the addl-
tional cost on the abuttinS property.
On that theory the Borland act was
G y-i6o1
District appropriation BILL The cltl.
zens were not asking for an abnormal
area of paving and were not seeking
an increased appropriation in excess
of what the then existing revenues
justified. and no opportunity was al
forded the citizens to be heard on the
subject The trainers of the act lost
sight of the fact that the property on
which this special tax was placed had
for more than 81 years been confirm
uting annually its proportionate snare
by general taxation for all the street
having that had been done during that
period, and that under such new law
this property would get no return for
it's 81 wears contributions and would
have to bear in the future one-halt the
cost of paving and Ill addltlon, DE
general taxation, bear a share or the
other half to be paid for by the DIS
trict out of it's revenues ana Dy the
general Government.
Paving Cost OnerOus.
This paving cost thus became oner-
Gus special tax imposed without re-
gard and with no return for the con-
,ributions this property had made for
nearly 40 wears for paving the streets
of the District. If the revenues OF
the District were not sufficient to pay
for paving the streets which Congress
by positive legislation directed should
be paved. then the area of street paw
ing for any given year should be cur
tailed so as to keep within the reve-
nue. available for the purpose. The
revenues were sufficient to meet the
cost of paving the streets estimated
for by the commissioners. The citl-
Zens were not asking for an enlarge
ment of the area to he paved.
There was no necessity for creating
a special tax by assessing one-half OF
the cost on the particular pieces of
property abutting on the streets to be
payed. This property for years had
been waiting it's turn to receive some
return for its contributions made DUR
ing that period for street paving pur-
poses.
TO deprive it of the benefits for
which it had for so many years been
making contributions was inequitabie
and unjust. Because of the injustice
of this special tax the people or all
sections Of the District have been
clamoring for repeal of the Borland
act. With this repeal another step
will have been taken in the enchant-
noant of the National CAPITAL.