Evening star., 1927-10-09
and Humanity Combined in Government Of Distuic:

! trict of Columbia ana the FC' |
! Government and the much d5cr' J
/ and "cussed' intanSibles tax have
come in for special study. lie also is
| trying to improve the method OF
| handling tax bills. so that when a cIl'-
| zen comes TO the District Building toi
| his account he can learn at once Jus
| how much he owes the local govern
ment At present he merely is handed
| his bill for the present year. He may
! have skipped a six-month period two
years ago and forgotten all about H.
| But this remains on the books aga INST
! his name. He wakes up to the sltua.
| ton when his property is advertised
| for tax sale
| The preparation of tax bills. consid-
ering the fact that property changes
hands so frequently, is highly COM
| plicated business and is becoming
| more and more complicated every
| year. The tax commissioner Is heir to
an extremely heavy burden. the car
! rying of which requires the major pOr
ton of his available energy.
In carrying out its function as nm
| imposer and collector of taxes. the
| District government, or for that mat
| ter any other government. often seems
| harsh and oppressive. OF course. taxes
must be collected, but this Is bound To
| be the most unfavorable light in which
| the local officialdom appears TO the eyes
of the great majority OF the citizens.
| There is no room for Generosity--little:
indeed. for tact. And hundreds of
complicated situations arise which re-
quire the application of considerable
| ingenuity. On top Of all this the prob
lem of taxation. especially municipal
| taxation. is probably the most dreary
that ever engages the attention OF
| human beings.
| Most Of the complaints over tax
bills are attended to before the COM
plainants reach Mr.. Taliaferro. Never
theless, he has many visitors in tho
| course of the average day, with tales
Of woe and charges that they have
been subjected to an injustice. 1t is
particularly hard. for instance, for
elderly people who have owned theiN
homes in Washington for many years
to understand why their assessments
suddenly should be increased. and
often they demand a personal ex-
planation from the Commissioner.
10Th Mr.. Dougherty and Mr.. Talia-
ferro are presidential appointees.
The third member of the board, Col.
William B. Ladue. is an officer Of the
Corps of Engineers detailed by the
Army. Under his direction come all
the engineering activities of the Dis
trict government - streets, sewers,
bridges, parks, alleys. reservoirs, etc.
Col. Ladue is the junior member of
the board, and has been able to do
little except to study the situation
placed before him. But he Is very
hard-working man. He Is methodical
in military fashion and goes to the
bottom of every problem.
The Engineer Commissioner Is
constant pipe smoker. He Is usually
too busy to eat lunch. He receives
more complaints than the two others
together, and these cover AL sorts or
subjects The motorist bumps over
rough spot in the street and hastens
to tell Col. Ladue about 1t. He doesn't
always speak in the pleasantest OF
| terms.
| In addition to his other duties the
Engineer Commissioner Is member
of the Public Utilities Commission,
which meets twice a week, and of the
National Capital Park and Planning
/ Commission, which takes up considera-
BILE Of his time. He also has great
many applications for jobs, which find
| their way to his desk only to be re.
ferred to various subordinates.
Board meetings are held twice
week. Previously it has been the Gus
| tom to open a meeting at 10 am. ana
adjourn shortly after noon. Now the
Commissioners sit through the day un-
til 4:30 pm. A few weeks ago one
board meeting lasted a day and half.
The greater duration of the meet
ings is due in part to the increase IN
business. But it is due also to the
thoroughness with which each ques-
ton is examined. Citizens are invited
to appear before the board and unbos-
ON themselves of what they believe
are lust complaints. Traffic has be-
come an especially burdensome prop.
lem. Ordinarily, of course, the recom-
| mendations Of the director OF traffic
are followed, but sometimes mem.
ber of the board will make personal
| investigation. This promises to be-
come more and more of burden as
| the number of automobile owners in
| creases. The parking situation has
placed the Commissioners in some dif-
| ficult positions, certain merchants de-
| manding that the space in front or
| their own stores be kept clear. but
also insisting on the right OF their Gus
| toners to park in front of somebody
else's store.
| The three Commissioners also con-
stitute the District Zoning Commits
| sion and the duties Of this body re-
quire frequent hearings and personal
| investigations. A change of zone in
any neighborhood seldom Is effected
without bitter opposition and often fine
points must be weighed before a jtst
| decision can be reached.
| Although they are not legally re-
quired to do so. the Commissioners
often strive to sound public opinion
on vital problems-such as a new loca-
| ton for the Farmers Markedly pub
lie hearings. These enable them at
least to get the benefit Of what the
people are thinking and the viewpoints
| of those most interested.