Evening star., 1932-01-05

Of the fiscal relations cOnTODeTSD ana
ho,D the problem has been dealt 10tth
in the past
TTHOUGH the events of 1885
n demonstrated how heavily the
II burden of building up Capital
y City had fallen on the local
taxpayers up to that time, ap
nroximately 40 more years elapsed be-
fore a permanent and definite basis of
dividing the expense between Nation
and local community was established
with the enactment of the half-and-
half plan in the organic act OF 1878.
THE report of 1885 had proclaimed in
forceful terms the Obligations OF the
Federal Government and suggested
National definite proportion contribu-
ton. but from that time until 1873
those obligations were only meageriy
met and without regard to any equit-
able apportionment OF the relative re-
sponsibilities of the partners.
Appropriations were made by Con-
oress from time to time for specific
nurposes, but. as in the days prior to
I935 the people of the District in
their desire to see the Capital City I'M
proved. continued to outdo the stronger
national partner by assuming a greater
financial burden than should have fallen
on them. considering the dominating in
terest and control which passed to the
Federal Government when the Capital
was established here. The people OF the
city went on shoulderlng national our-
dens in the matter of improvements.
and, in re-creating the city after 1870
agents of the National Government,
| the so-called territorial government,
| increased the city'S debt until 1t
| amounted to some $20,000,000.
In sketchily presenting this period in
! the history of fiscal relations the MapeS
| Committee report apparently chooses to
| find only one point worth emphasis, to
| wit: that self government for the
| District was an abominable failure that
only plunged the city into staggering
debt. The Mapes Committee chooses
several brief excerpts to support
| its theory that the people of the
! District we're responsible for the diff
| culties into which they and their city
had fallen in 1874. One of them is
| from the Poland report of 1874-"There
| never has been, since the location of
the Capital at this place, any consis-
tency, or even intelligence, in the ad-
! justment of these expenditures. An
! other, from the Allison report of 1874
"The testimony discloses that the Dis
| trict treasury is practically exhausted
in all its departments" Another, from
the same report-"Your committee have
unanimously arrived at the conclusion
that the existing form OF government
in the District is failure"
Again, the MapeS report errs in not
giving all sides or presenting the pic
ture in full.
What Really Was Demonstrated.
If this period in the history of the
city demonstrated anything regarding
American principles of government
or of the ability of the people them
selves to run their own affairs, the
| demonstration was of the fact that the
so-called territorial government was
| not elf-government. Before it ex-
isted, municipal self government was
| permitted, but this self-government was
| destroyed by the territorial government
and not restored by the temporary COM
mission government of 1874 or the per-
manent commission government OF
| 1878. The real power in the so-called
| territorial government rested In the
Board of Public Works, appointed by
| the President. The Upper House OF
| the Legislature and the Governor were
also appointed by the President. The
1
Delegate in the House and the members
of the Lower House of the municipal or
| territorial Legislature.
1t has been suggested in the past, and
| the same suggestion is inferred in the
Mapes report, that the shame and
scandal of the so-called Feather DuSter
Legislature should prohibit forever any
| thought of voting at elections for any
purpose in the District of Columbia, or
of giving to the people of the District
| the privilege of active participation in
the body which taxes them. But the
conditions referred to by random quota
tions selected by the MapeS Committee
have no relevant bearing upon the
kindred issues of political and fiscal
equity for the people of the District.
The real warning of the territorial
experiment Of 1914 is against the
kind of voting which then prevailed, a
voting not for American representation
| in House, Senate and Electoral College,
but for members of one branch OF a
So-called territorial legislature and for
a voteless delegate in the House.
Washington'S contention has been that
only full voting representation in Con-
greSs and in the Electoral College, with
permanency guaranteed by constitu-
tional authorization, should be desired.
AS Congress can only to limited ex-
tent delegate its exclusive power OF
District legislation, the warning OF
| 1874 is against such delusiVe repre-
sentation as that eXemplifed by the
Feather Duster Legislature and the
voteless delegate in Congress.
Another Warning.
There is also the warning that local
government is impossible for the
District until court decisions have been
modified, which in Voiding certain acts
Of the Feather DuSter Legislature de-
clared that Congress had no power to
delegate to anybody its constitutional
exclusive power of general legislation
for the District
The territorial government was an
obvious failure then and it would be
today But the Mapes Committee Is
not correct in reaching the conclusion
that even this form of substitute for
real self-government was, on the whole,
injurious to the District. 1t had its
features of humiliation, of shame, OF
injury and distress. But it also mad
the beneficial result Of developing into
J a positive force the national sense OF
obligation and duty in respect to the
! National Capital. 1t was the failure
Of this territorial form of government
@. that led to the organic act of 1873
based on recognition of the Nations
Capital obligation-under which Wash
ington has in a material sense so Won
derfully and justly proSpered.
The Poland report of 1874 was one of
the first signs Of this development:
Wien the so-called territorial form OF
government was being replaced in 1874
by the temporary commission form OF
government, fiscal relatiofs between
the Nation and Congress had again
claimed the attention of Congress.
The Poland Report.
In reviewing the subject in the Sum-
mer of that year the House Judiciary
Committee, in a report by Representa-
tive Poland, concurred in the funda-
mental thought which ran through the