Evening star., 1930-12-13
Declares Government Has No
Moral Obligation to Pay
City Lump Sum.
GRIFFIN SAYS ADOPT
BUDGET BEFORE TAX
New York Representative Says
Method of Procedure Here
Reversed.

Representative Thomas L. Blanton of
Texas appeared before the Mapes COM
mittee hearing matters relating to the
adjustment of fiscal relations between
the District and Federal governments
today and suggested greatly increased
taxation on real estate and everything
else in the District and said that, while
the Federal Government was under no
moral obligation to pay anything, he
thinks the Federal Government should,
"out of goodness of its heart" furnish
a gratuity each year to help the Dis
trict meet its bills.
He stalked into the room with a
bound copy of the Congressional Record
for 1924 under his arm and read from
it letter from Representative Ben
johnson of Kentucky, at that time
chairman of the District Subcommittee
of the Appropriations Committee, to the
effect that the result Of many years of
contributions by the Federal Govern
ment to the District was that the Dis
trict owed the Government upward of
so millions of dollars at that time. In
order to show that the District tax rate
Is low, which at that time had a tax
rate Of $1.10 per hundred, he read from
the Record a list Of the, tax rates of
comparable cities. The first was Peoria,
which had a tax rate Of Sc, and all Of
the others were higher than the rate
in Washington at the time.
Would Change Assessment.
He said that the law should be
changed so that real property here Is
assessed at rs per cent of its value
instead of the present 100 per cent and
that the rate should be raised to 81.
The assessor should be compelled to
assess each parcel at rs per cent or
else he should be impeached, Blanton
said.
How would you see to it that the
assessment was rs per cent?" asked
Chairman Mapes of the committee.
Put him in jail" suggested Tax
Assessor William P Richards, who hap
pened to be in the audience.
Warming up to the subject, Mr.
Blanton then suggested that our rate
on intangible property of SIS per thou
sand was "ridiculouSly low" and that
it should be raised to a fair amount, -
so that when people made million
dollars in States where the taxation
was high they would not be tempted to
bring it to Washington and lock 1t up
in safety deposit boxes.
He suggested that the cost of an
automobile tag be raised from 81 to a
fair price" and that the price of
drivers permits be raised.
Answers Newspapers.
Mr.. Blanton took up the first part of
his remarks In replying to newspaper
attack he said had been made upon
him in a morning newspaper. That
was the sort of thing he had been
subject to for 13 years and it had never
made any impre sSion upon him, he
said He devoted a good deal of his
attention to the newspaper men, re-
marking that In his home district he
was as highly thought of as any news
paper owner there.
Chairman Mapes asked Blanton how
he would enforce his proposed mandate
compelling the District assessor to make
assessments on rs per cent of the actual
valuation
There have been men forced out of
office in the District" Blanton replied.
I'VE could get busy and tell the assessor
that if he didn't do his work right we
would put him out"
Blanton then declared that the resi-
dents of the District were getting the
benefit of a modern sewer system and
extensive park land through the aid Of
the United States, whereas people in
other communities are required to pay
the entire cost Of these improvements.
Committee Adjourns.
How would we explain that to our
chambers of commerce back home?" he
asked. We'll. the only way I could do
1t would be to tell them that we voted
for the money because the Washington
newspapers gave us hell"
The committee adjourned when Blan-
ton completed his testimony and will
meet again Tuesday morning at GAS
O'Clock. At that time it will hear
Grover Washington Ayres of the Ten
Mile Square Club.
Representative Grimm OF New York,
member of the House District SUBJ
committee on Appropriations, appeared
today before the Special Committee and
suggested a change in budget-making
procedure for the District as one method
of solving the fiscal relations problem
Mr.. Grimm said he believed that the
budget should be framed before the tax
levy is determined, but under the pres
ent procedure of fixing a tax rate in
advance of determining all of the neeos
Of the municipality constitutes huge
Joke"
IF Congress modified the present
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