Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-27
Capital Sidelights

| Inc decision OF the CO0ITOuSE
General on Friday releasing more
than $35. 100000 of the 1928 appropri-
atoms for payment of pensions dur
| ing May and June to $4,000 Army
pensioners. relieves Representative
Allen T. Treadway of financing. as
he had intended, through the Ameri-
can Legion, the uninterrupted pay
ment of pensions to the needy in his
district. This is one of the unobtru-
sive and unheralded acts of service
| that this member of Congress is al
ways ready to perform for those who
| are in trouble.
Apropos of the long delay in
definitely locating some of the new
Federal buildings under the $780,
| 600, 900 program approved last year,
| we are reminded of the way in which
President Jackson himself, growing
/ tired of the long wrangle over the
exact site of the Treasury Building,
| marked 1t out with his walking stick
, BY act of Congress, dated July 4
1886, the President was directed to
cause a site to be selected. 1t was
the intention Of the committee In
| charge to choose a position such that
the proposed structure would not
interfere with an uninterrupted view
along Pennsylvania avenue from
the Capitol to the White House.
Through lack of unanimity of
| opinion, the choice was so long de-
| layed that President Jackson. be-
coming impatient one day, thrust his
walking stick into the ground at the
northeast corner of what is now the
eastern win, exclaiming, Here
right here, l want the corner stone
| laidr'
This story is cofroborated by testi
/ mony given by the architect, In 1886
| before a congressional committee tC
| the effect that the precise position
| of the building had been determined
by the positive directions of the late
President"
! Many witticisms have been wise
cracked" about the equestrian statue
| to Andrew Jackson in the center OF
Lafayette Park, some folks calling
| 1t a rocking horse" because OF its
| delicate balance on the hind hoofs
This statue was modelled by CLARK
Mills and cast by him at Bladensburg
| where he set up a furnace for this
purpose. 1t was the first large bronze
casting ever made In the United
| States.
The statue is cast from cannon
| captured by Jackson in his various
| battles, and was unveiled on January
| 8, 1853, the thirty eighth anniversary
of Jackson's victory at New Orleans
There are two bronze replicas. one
| in New Orleans, the scene OF jack
sons achievement; the other In
Nashville, Tenn. where he is buried
1t is generally stated that this
statue of a rearing horse is so dell.
cately adjusted that it stands poised
on hind feet without any pivot or an
| Choir. AS a matter of fact, 1t Is Sc
curely bolted to the pedestal as q
protection against the danger Of high
| winds or other casualty. But the
| statue does really balance, as Mr.
| Mills used to demonstrate to friends
with a miniature replica Of the horse,
| which balanced perfectly whether
| mounted or unmounted:
The recent historical oil lease cases
| before the District Supreme Court and
| the Riggs Bank case Of a few years
ago are but reminders that for more
| than a half-century this building,
! which was formerly the City Hall and
| which is the third oldest Of the Gov
eminent buildings. has been the scene
| Of many historic trials. These include
| the prosecution of DR.. Gardiner and
Richard II. White for burning the
Treasury Building, of Julian May for
killing a man in a duel, of Daniel Z.
Sickles for the murder of Philip Barton
| Key on the east side Of Lafayette
Park, and of Charles Guiteau for the
assassination of President Garfield.
In such historic atmosphere the ris-
| ing lawyers Of today are inspired to
emulate the honored antecedents at
| the bar.
know that a unique museum Is in the
Court of Claims, formerly the Cor
coran Art Gallery, across Pennsyl
vania avenue from the State. War and
Navy Building, at Seventeenth street.
This court, by the way, has been spe-
cially designated by Congress to ad
| just certain claims growing out of the
World War. estimated at $4,000, 000,.
900. It adjusted the French spolia
ton claims and those arising out of
the Civil War and the War with Spain
This court has a portrait gallery of
many noted jurists. The benches still
in use were those originally in the
Hall of Representatives, which is now
Statuary Hall in the Capitol. They
were once occupied by such states
men as Daniel Webster, Henry Clay,
John Randolph and John C. Calhoun.
Now that there is some talk of a
possible increase In the gasoline tax
here, following the lead Of Maryland
which will be bitterly opposed by the
people of the District as absolutely
unnecessary-it Is interesting to note
that 80 per cent of the gas tax col
lected in A. States, or all but in the
entire Union, goes for road purposes.
The tax collected by the various
States on gas sold within their
borders ranges from to 5 cents per
gallon.
Although a form of sales tax, 1t is
generally conceded that the gasoline
, tax is in essence a type of road toll
and that it's yield and earning reflect
more or less directly the use made
of the highways by motor vehicles
and measure to q certain degree the
benefits resulting therefrom.
The disposition of the funds COL
lected in this manner varies in diff
ferent States. An idea of the average
apportionment may be had from an
analysis Of the figures Of 81 States
made by Henry r. Trumbower, econ
omist of the Bureau Of Public Roads,
United States Department of Agricul-
ture. According to this analysis, 80
per cent Of the net gasoline tax re-
ceipts is used for the construction and
maintenance Of rural highways, 81
per cent being devoted to State high
way systems and % per cent to the
construction and maintenance Of local
roads. The remaining II per cent is
also used for the most part for road
and city street purposes The gaso-
line tax is a comparatively new meth
cd of raising funds for highways and
ia continuing to furnish a more and