Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-06

Launching renewed attack on the
| Objectionable lump-sunl plan of Fed
eral contribution toward expenses of
the National Capital, the Board of
Trade, urging that $5.250,00o be Topped
off the budgetary estimates of sac. $685.
0S2 submitted by the city department
| heads. strongly recommends that the
/ District Commissioners abandon their
| former practice of predicating the pro-
| posed budget for the fiscal year l929-30
! on the assumption of 50 900 900 Fed
j eral appropriation
| The trade body. in effect. thus urges
| that the city heads, after slashing ito
| the very bore" the appropriations to be
| sought for the next fiscal year. ask and
| expect of Congress an appropriation for
the District of Columbia amounting to
the difference between the estimated
District revenues and the total proposed
budget of SAL 288. 082---or total of
$40, TSSoS2 This would be an increase
OF about sl,788,00o over the Federal
contribution of 100000 TO- which
Congress has adhered during the past
several years,
Implied APPROVAL Is Seen.
The District Commissioners. the
Board of Trade believes, should def
l929-30 budget estimates on the basis
of 100000 Federal appropriation,
holding that so long as this figure is
written into the proposed budget the
Commissioners and the city are giving
an implied approval of this amount.
The only way that Congress can be con-
WINGED of the inequity of the 100000
lump appropriation. the board contends.
is for the city and its officials to re-
pudiate it.
The Board of Trade shortly will lay
its recommendations before the Com
missioners, following conclusive action
by the directors. officers and committee
chairman last night in the offices of
the board in The Star Building. at the
close of an intensive study of the pro-
posed budget,
Other outstanding recommendations
of the board are that the Commissioners
approve the present real estate tax rate
of Si,70 as being fair, adequately high
and comparing favorably with similar
taxes in other large cities. and urging
that the city government start at once
on plans for the adoption of a five-year
budget arrangement. to take the place
of the present system of year-byyear
budget planning.
During serious debate over the bud
get and tax matters last night, the Sug-
gestion was made that due to past prac-
tees of the Federal Government the
Bureau of the Budget might order the
District Commissioners to balance" the
l929-30 budget estimates by assuming
that Congress would continue the Fed
eral contribution at the $4,000 900 lump
sum.
Determined, however, to make fight
against the fixed contribution. the board
laid plans for direct appeal to Gen.
Herbert NJ Lord. director of the Bureau
of the Budget, and, if necessary, to
President Coolidge. II the 100000 600
lump appropriation should again be
written into the proposed budget before
it reaches Congress. and thus bear the
implied approval of the Budget Bureau
and the President. the case of the Dis
trict against this plan, it was felt, would
be prejudiced from the start.
Graham Expresses Views.
Edwin C. Graham. past president of
the board and chairman of the new
committee on municipal expenditures,
declared last night that 1t would be
difficult to convince Congress that the
Federal contribution should be larger
than $4,000. 600 after the budget has
been compiled, using that figure In esti-
mating the revenues of the District in
balancing estimates against appropri-
atoms. He pointed out that had Con-
gress at the last session increased the
Federal contribution to $l1 ,000, 900,
after the budget proper had been de-
cided. 1t would merely have been to
pile up a surplus of about s2.0o0,00o
in the United States Treasury.
He urged the Board of Trade to
recommend to the Commissioners that
they pare the budget estimates to the
very limit, to stand pat" on the sl.70
tax rate as being as high as the District
residents should be expected to bear in
all fairness and to leave to Congress
to make up the needed $40, 788,000.
Other officials of the organization
heartily approved the stand and the
recommendation we're unanimously
adopted.
Fred G.. Coldren of the National Capt.