Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-04

conferred. The District has been pro-
nounced State under a treaty with
France, a construction comforting priv
ilegeS on aliens. hut not State under
the Constitution. whose people can sue
in the Federal courts. The District is
a State when direct taxes are to he
collected, but not State when repre-
sentatives are apporti0ned, though the
Constitution couples the two things.
The District Is not State to make and
carry out through State Legislature
laws for It's own benefit, but 1t is now
repr0ached as a State because 1t es-
capes the tax burden incident to the
exercise of this privilege of a State.
The District is not to he a State to
enjoy any of the political. judicial and
financial benefits, privileges and rights
OF State, but is to be State to the
extent that the equitable tax burden of
its people must include State taxes.
When Washington is part Of State
and enjoys the expenditure within 1t
of its due share of the State fund to
which thousands of State citizens out
side Of its Limits contribute it will he
time to permit State taxation to enter
into its comparative per capita tax
figures. When WashingtonianS are
like BaltimoreanS, Marylanders again,
WIN al tuc NIdTytdHutFS TiSHtS dHu
privileges as citizens of State, it
will be time to charge against the
Washingtonian in comparison with
the Baltimorean the State tax which
the latter pays. not as Baltimorean
but as a Marylander. When Wash
ingtOn has Senators. Representatives
and State Legislature it will be time
for 1t to pay for such luxuries in the
shape of a State tax.
Vast Material State Benefits
Of course. the main consideration for
the payment Of State taxes is the en-
ioyment of the political power and pres
tige involved in participation in the
National Government on equal terms
with other Americans To be trans
formed through statehood from the
status of political aliens to that of full
fledged Americans. with all the powers,
rights and privileges appertaining to
that status, confers a benefit upon the
individual of value not to be calcu-
lated in dollars and cents; and depriva-
ton of this benefit involves loss which
is also incalculable.
Every one, therefore. will recognize
the Justice Of Washington's protest
against being taxed Ito correspond to
what other cities pay TO maintain a
State government, since the District
under the Constitution and the laws
enacted by Congress is not permitted
the right, privilege and benefit Of en-
joying and maintaining State govern
ment. But very few persons In the
whole United States appreciate the
scope of the material benefits In boun-
ties and subsidies which attach to
statehood of which WashingtonianS are
wholly deprived. Our citizens joint
committee brief in 1915 recited the mill
lions which in the past had been dis
tributed by the Nation among the
States. emitting the District of Column
bia. But these subsidies by the Nation
to the States are not confined to the
past, but continue in vastly enlarged
proportions in the present.
Subventions or subsidies paid by
Nation to States in 1924, none of which
was paid to the District of Columbia.
are analysed and discussed in Editorial
Research Reports, December l3, 1924
Amount of Federal Subsidies.
1.-THE total payments made by the
Federal Government to or on behalf
Of the States during the fiscal year
1924 was approximately Sl4S.000,0 0O-
This sum represented about 5 per cent
of the total expenditures during the
last fiscal year by the National Govern
ment." (See Editorial Research Report
1924. page 572)
THE purposes and amounts of the
principal subsidies during 1924 are
shown in the following table:
"a