Evening star., 1926-10-06
Thirteenth City in Size.

into the stately and beautiful Capital
OF 1926.
Thirteenth City in Size.
Those who have come to you today
know. as did St Paul. that we are
citizens Of no mean city. We are
happy to be residents Of a community
which as the thirteenth city in popu-
iation in America has an important
place in the advancement OF those so
c:al and business and professional
enterprises which make American
cities notable the world over.
"A city speaks to a city.
Where greatly the fathers wrought,
And pledges again allegiance
To the things for which they
fought
Hono- and freedom and service
And strength in the hour of storm.
a city speaks to a city
OF a nation they helped to FORM
Looking to the future of Washing
ton. DR.. Lewis urged the carrying out
of the plan for the erection Of a
group of State buildings and suggest
cd 1t would be most appropriate If
such structures could be erected In
time for the celebration to be held In
Washington in 1882 to commemorate
the 200th anniversary OF the birth OF
George Washington.
DR., Lewis had been outlining the
facilities for education that exist In
Washington and advocated the state
building project as great educa
tional possibility for the hundreds
who visit the city.
TvneS or Construction.
These edifices." he said. might
be constructed of building materials
found in the State represented. Their
rooms could contain valuable displays
of the products of those States, pic
lures Of their historic achievements
relief maps and much other material
These buildings, properly planned and
equipped, would constitute perma
nent exposition unmatched in interest
and instructiveness."
Turning to the subject of what
Washington has done for the Nation
the speaker continued
From its very inception, the per.
manent residents Of Washington have
contributed largely to the successful
building OF a National Capital. Al
though Virginia and Maryland ceded
their right to the land which was
originally the District OF Columbia. II
was the land owners who actually
gave the land for streets and for Gov
ernment building sites
"In the World War the District OF
Columbia saw S314 of her youth vol
UNFAIRLY enlist, greater number thar
that contributed by any one of sever
States Nine thousand six hundred
and thirty-one entered by registration
The relative response Of the youth OF
Washington to the opportunity for
voluntary enlistment was one-thirC
greater than for the United States n
general.
Exceeded Loan Quota.
1.-The liberty loan quota assigned
to the District for the four loan:
totaled approximately $40, 900
The amount actually purchased was
S119 ,373.0 900.
I'm 1924 the citizens Of the Distric
paid $1s,oO0,000 in Federal taxes
These are some Of the things Wash
ington has done for the Nation.
And what has the Nation done for
Washington? 1t has given it the
prestige inseparable from the capita
city plan, comprehensive and practi
cal beautiful public structures, parks
and museums. and countless Other
advantages. But it has not giver
certain things which the public n
large thinks that we have. There il
widely prevalent notion thai ths
people of the District of Columbia are
exempt from taxation. 1t is true tha1
the National Government bears a Ger
tain, but constantly decreasing, pro
portion of the expense Of maintaining
the city. But ii is likewise true thai
because of the amount of property
free of taXation-the property occu
pied by Federal stablishments-and
because Of the magnificent scale upon
which the city is laid out, the ex
penses of government are higher
than elsewhere.
Chief Justice Taft's Views.
, Chief Justice Taft, when Presiden,
of the United States. said in referring
to the residents of the District: While
they have to pay but half OF the ex
penses of the city government, that
half is greater than most cities OF
Washington's class impose upon THEN
people.' And after explaining the