Evening star., 1933-02-21

= The text of the report of the
Laws and Legislation Committee of
Federation of Citizens Associations
relative to Senate Bill $3.50 (and
identical House Bill 14503), propos-
ing authorization of $2,500,000 loan
to District of Columbia by Re-
construction Finance Corporation,
adoption by the federation Saturday
evening, follows in full:
"O the Federation of Citizens
Associations:
At its last meeting, held on
: Il February 4, the federation ois-
approved a report of the Fiscal
Relations Committee then submitted,
which report had favored Senate Bill
$3.50 (and identical House Bill 1909,
authorizing the borrowing of S2,500,00
by the District of Columbia from the
Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
The vote of the federation was taken
only on the ultimate question Of adopt
ing or rejecting the committee report,
without an opportunity being afforded
to reveal in any complete or thorough
manner the grounds upon which the
federation'S action was based, because
no minority report had been presented
to serve as a vehicle for such express
sion, and the hour was too late to draft
a special resolution setting forth such
grounds. Although a number OF such
grounds were clearly stated in the
course of the argument before the fed
Grafton, which made manifest the sound
policy and public spirit behind its ac-
tion, considerable misapprehension and
misunderstanding with respect thereto
have been created by articles appearing
in the public press. Accordingly, this
Io1iauoc ~ RI hn rr1nSf fitting
and timely and in the public interest
for a report to be submitted to, and
considered by, the federation, which
will deal with the subject so fairly and
thoroughly as to entirely remove such
misapprehension and misunderstand-
ing.
Not a Question Of Evading Full and
Ample Provision for the Needy.
Surely no one who has given mo-
nent's serious thought to the subject
can believe that District taxpayers have
the slightest desire to escape in any
wise the full burden of taking care of
the poor and the hungry in these un-
happy times. The report of the United
states Department of Labor for the
first six months of 1892 shows that
Washington holds first place among
the cities throughout the United States
for. voluntary liberality toward reliev
ing distress, in that SO per cent Of
such relief in the District of Columbia
was derived from private sources, and
only 10 per cent from public sources;
whereas in other cities much smaller
percentage was derived from private
sources and much larger percentage
from public sources; for instance, in
Oakland, Calf, only / per cent comes
from private sources and SO per cent
from public sources. On February 6,
1888, Mr.. Newbold Noyes, in charge of
the 1888 Community Chest campaign,
and also associate editor of The Star,
made the following statement before
the Senate District Committee:
People in Washington contrib
uted more in 1888 to the Chest than
they did in 1882, with the exception
of the Government employees, which
was an extraordinary showing. We
have over 114,000 subscribers. The
Chest was a success in every depart
ment of its operations, except for
the Government employees who, nat
urally, because of certain factors
that are obvious to all of us, could
r. not come across on the basis that
they had in 1882"
MIR. Noyes also stated that $4,000 600
had been raised from private funds in
the recent Community Chest drive, fur
ther that Congress had already appro-
priated an additional $625 900 in Janu-
ary, 1888, to be expended through the
Board of Public Welfare during the
first half Of 1888, and that there is a
proposal to appropriate a still further
sum of $625. 900 through the pending
District of Columbia appropriation bill
to be available for the last half of 1888,
which will make grand total of
$3,150, 900 raised from Washingtonians
for the year 1933-$1, 900, 900 by vol
. untary contribution and $1,250,000
through taxation, which has not been
opposed in any citizenship quarter. Not
withstanding this magnificent showing
In behalf of Washingtonians, one mem
bers of the Senate District Committee,
on February 6, 1888, Immediately after
, listening to these undisputed facts and
figures, made the following most re-
markable observation to the committee,
] In public meeting:
.'If Washingtonians believe they
are going to escape taxation to take
3 care of the poor and the hungry,
:. they are very much mistaken. They