Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-01-06

monize with the principles laid down
[ in the concluding paragraph OF the
! findings of the Joint Congresslona
| Committee. The Board OF Trade re-
port pointed out:
Indefinite contribution plans OF tnt
only type ever proposed In suoStltutlor
| for the half-and-half system are hos
| tile in four vital points to the prln-
ciples laid down by the Joint Commit
tee. First, they all contemplate IN
! creased taxation in some shape Tor the
District. which, the committee says, vii
! be ineouitable, since the present taA
| burden is declared to be already apun-
dainty heavy. Second, they all propose
| decrease or elimination OF natlonaI
support of the Nations City, whereas
the committee declares that to impose
| the whole burden upon the District
would be most negotiable and unjust,
and urges increased national approprla-
lions, which will not only continue the
City of Washington and the DlStrlct OF
Columbia in every respect as the Spleh-
did and beautiful central residence OF
this great Nation, but also cause II 70
become and be forever maintained as
a model for I'll the cities of the world.
Third, they all fail to propose any leg
islation which will make fixed and GER
tain the taxation of the District resi-
dent. They all leave the burden OF
taxation to shift from year to year IN
accordance with the judgment OF Con
gress as to what constitutes reasonable
taxation the opinion OF many members
of the last House being that no local
tax was reasonable and fair which left
anv of the expenses of the Nation
City to be borne by the Nation.
Fourth, they all fail consplcuouSly
and hopeleSsly to propose Legislation
which, in making national provision 1or
the Capital, shall cause Congress 70
pursue a definite policy OF regular ano
liberal appropriations, having IN view
not only the permanent moral ano
physical advancement Of the city, but
also its pre-eminent beauty and grand
uer as the municipal expression OF
the Nations home and its people
pride They all leave the national
Contribution to the Capitals upbuild-
ing, divorced from any definite policy
to shift from session to session in &C
cordance with the whim and caprice
of successive Congresses, huctuatlng
and uncertain instead of regular, often
misery instead of liberal, and reflect-
ing the peoples pride. g.
"Since the principles laid down by
the Joint Congressional Committee re-
port are hostile to all of the practical
and proposed methods of repeating the
half-and-half law, this report, instead
of recommending this repeal, in erect
prohibits it. The controlling equities
recognized by the Joint Committee are
better met by the half-and-half law
than by any of the proposed suosti-
tutes."
obviously the method of repeating the
definite proportionate ratio plan pro-
posed by the Mapes bill H. r. 6285
would be vigorously condemned by the
Joint Committee and the Congress OF
1915 as ignoring or violating In every
particular the stated requirements OF
a just and wisely liberal plan TO SUP
stitute for the definite ratio financing
plan of the 1878 organic act.
Fixed Ratio Retained.
No change was made by Congress In
the half-and-half provision then or
for number of years thereafter. But
during the more recent period OF years
in which the House has insisted on de-
parting from the 6O-40 substantive law
bv the process of writing a lump-Sum
Federal contribution into each annual
appropriation bill, the result proves
that, in the absence of a definite pro-
portionate yardstick, the task OF sup
porting the National Capital falls with
increasing weight on the unrepresented
local taxpayers. 1t was thought in ad-
vance by some friends of the District
in Congress that, unrestrained by a
percentage ratio rule, the National Leg
islature would be free to expend what
ever sums it deemed necessary to de-
velop a great Capital. When thus I'M
restrained, however, Congress, for the
six years beginning in 1925, kept its
Federal contribution rigidly at S9,000,-
900, despite the fact that in each Of
those years a larger total expenditure
for the District was needed. The only
unrestraint, therefore, was in the ad-
ditional dollars contributed to the main
tenance of the Nations City by the To-
cal residents.
Next Article-The Inquiry OF 1922
and Later DEVELOPMENTS