Evening star., 1933-04-07

the QdClO0al contribution WHICH uQQeT
unrepealed substantive law the Nation
should contribute.
I 1.-THE Senate in acting upon the ap-
preparation bill for the fiscal year 1888,
after stating its view of the equitable
lump sum appropriation, agreed that in
recognition Of the national emergency
the national expenditure for the lump
sum then current might reasonably be
reduced by 10 per cent from $780,
600 to $8,550,00 The amount of the
lump sum for that year was fixed finally
by compromise at $7,750,00o.
THUS the lump sum of over $7,75c,-
600 for the fiscal year Of 1888 repre-
sented In itself heavy emergency re-
duction Of approximately 20 per cent
In national expenditure under this
viewed as rendering unnecessary any
further reduction of the lump sum at
this time.
1.-THE board urges that the President
and Congress should differentiate dis
tinctly between the national and the
local budgets, and in enacting the 1888
"a District appropriations bill into law
should bless the District with a wise,
just, well-balanced budget, framed in
view Of the Districts peculiar condi-
tions and relation to the Nation, meet
ing economically but adequately the
Districts vital municipal needs, and SO
! readjusting local taxation as to meet
without creating excessive, unusable
surpluses the municipal demands for
the Capitals suitable maintenance
and development.
Restoration Of Items
I'm order to accomplish this wise
and Just balancing of the District
budget the board urges Congress, with
the assent of the President, to restore
to the District appropriations bill items
for the adequate maintenance of es-
sential municipal functions either in
the shape Of current appropriations for
these purposes or in the shape of the
corresponding items concurred in by
the House and Senate conferences on
! the District bill in the last Congress
before the split occurred on the amount
OF the lump sum contribution. BY this
| action only unnecessary or extrava-
CANT appropriations will be eliminated,
vital municipal functions will not be
| crippled, the local army of the unen-
ployed will not be swelled by lmneces-
| sary discharges, and the creation Of hurt
ful surpluses of unexpended, unused
and unusable local tax money will in
part be prevented. In addition, neces-
sary municipal construction would pro-
vide work and eliminate that much in
appropriations for relief.
IF these adequate, but economical,
! appropriations for municipal mainte-
nance fall short Of using the available
revenue from local taxes, plus the ma
tional lump sum contribution as ap-
proved by Congress, the board urges
that excessive surpluses be avoided and
| the District budget be wisely balanced
by tax readjustments.
"The Board urges that, most I'M
| portant of all, the tax-burden on realty
and tangible personally be lessened.
| Outside of the urgency Of the immediate
emergency this tax Is unduly burden
some. Reduction in the standard of
assessment of realty for taxable pur-
poses, which has more nearly approx
mated the lawful 100 per cent actual
| value than the assessment in nearly
| every other city in the United States,
should logically be made. The de-
crease In the market value OF real estate
in the depression which cause such
property to be greatly over-assessed II
the old assessments are continued un-
changed should also be considered.
| Finally, the commissioners should
have and use the power to decrease as
well as increase the tax-rate in order
to make the general tax revenue ap-
proximately equal the expenditure OF
local tax money authorized by Con-
gress and thus to balance the local
budget and prevent the creation OF a
hurtful surplus In the general tax fund.
This power given them by the law OF
1873 should never even temporarily
have been withdrawn or limited"