Evening star., 1932-01-05

penditures by the United States from
1890 to 1876 for local government
purposes and for purposes lin which
the people of the District had joint in
terests with the United States" were
$29,311, 1,950.66. But the general Gov
ernment," said the Commissioners,
realized about $2,000000, as far as we
can learn, from the sale Of lots in
Washington. Making this deduction, 1t
appears that the whole expenditure paid
directly from the United States Treas
ury amounts to S27,311 ,950.66. This
sum embraces, besides the usual aid t
the Police, Health and Fire Depart
ments, expenditures for improving the
public grounds-Capitol and presiden-
tial included-the Botanical Gardens,
together with their keepers, watchmen
laborers and all other current expenses;
the construction and maintenance of
hospitals, t1firmary and jails; the sup
port of prisoners at penitentiarieS; the
cost of courts; the whole expenditure of
the Washington Aqueduct, all appro-
priations for bridges, improvement Of
streets and avenues; for the Washing
ton Canal and filing up of the same,
the jail and the courthouse at Alex
andria, the City Hall in Washington,
I1OSpIIdl dIlu 1luiIGlOuS
other purposes. The only expenditure
for public institutions not included in
which the people of the District have
any interest, is the Hospital for the In
sane, and the reason for this omission
is that the District has paid for the
maintenance of its patients.
"a statement of the amount of tax
assessed upon property in Washington
for the years 1900 to 1876 has been
prepared by the officers of the District,
the aggregate amount, as reported, being
S32,007, ,255.70."
Districts Expenditures Shown.
To this amount the Commissioners
added collections for licenses, rents
etc, $4,078, ,626.12; Water Department
rent, 626,838.92: expenditures by
Georgetown, $3.500,0O0 expenditures by
county, $2,000000; expenditures by
Alexandria prior to 1846, date of retro
cession to Virginia, $1,25OOO0; out
standing District funded debt, $685.
400; outstanding 3.65 bonds, $13, TAB $50"
The total expended by the people of
the District was fixed at $65 ,569. $40. IA.
"Deducting the amount of the bonded
debt, above stated, from the $65 $685.
37O.74, there still remains an absolute
paid-up expenditure by the people of
the District of $43, 3,462, ,720.74"
This was compared by the Commits
sionerS with the $27, ,95066 expended
by the United States.
If an equal division of the expendi-
lures for the local government between
the United States and the District of
Columbia is a Just one, as is now ad-
mitted," said the Commissioners, then
the United States is In equity a debtor
to the District Of Columbia as above
shown"
Mapes Report Explanation.
In discussing the adoption of the
$3.50 ratio of appropriation the Mapes
Committee contents itself with the
statement that the proportion of $3.50
was reached by the unique method of
measuring the value of Federal property
with that of privately owned property
in the District" and by including in
the total valuation theoretical value
OF 80 cents per square foot upon Fed
eral-owned streets and avenues-"a
valuation for Government property
equal to the valuation of privately
owned property was reached and Con-
gress evidently was persuaded that the
cost Of operating the District govern
ment should be split evenly between
the United States and the District"
Basis of Federal Obligation.
But the true basis of the Nations
obligation Of proportionate contribution
toward maintenance and development
OF the Capital was not and Is not solely
or primarily untaxed ownership of Dis
trict real estate, though a substantial
and continuous obligation does arise in
connection with such ownership. The
strongest obligations resting upon the
National are equitable in their
nature and based primarily on the
circumstances of the Capitals creation
and the treatment of the Capital by the
Nation ever since the birth of the Ma
tion's city. This is an obligation over
and above that which is imposed solely
by the fact that city is a capital. 1t
is the obligation that was stressed,
broadly and specifically, in the reports
by the Southland Committee, discussed
at length In the preceding article, and
again In the Poland and other reports
mentioned In this and in later articles
to follow.
There is a second obligation, coupled
with and measured by the degree to
which the Nation controls it's Capital
extraordinarily great as it affects
Washington. This is the obligation
that is coupled with power: l. e., finan-
cial obligation is coupled with political
power. If the Nation controls, it pays;
and to the extent it controls, it pays.
Washington is the only capital in the
world in which, if certain proposed
policies prevailed, the Nation would do
all of the controlling and none OF the
paying.
The Mapes Committee fails to men
tion the fact that the assumption and
exercise of absolute and exclusive legis
lative power by the organic act Of 1878
were coupled with recognition of pre-
existing and continuing financial obli-
CATION. The Nation cannot equitably
repudiate or reduce to minimum its
financial obligation and retain and ex-
ercise it's full despotic and exclusive
power to tax and to govern.
The principle of fixed ratio in the
organic act is not sacred to Washing
ton, nor fought for by Washingtonians,
because it may have represented, nearly
SO years ago, an appraisal of Federal
real property. The fixed ratio, as we'll
as representing a fixed degree of Fed
eral responsibility to prevent such de-