Evening star., 1933-08-27
A|DREQUESTSGA|
AS CASH LIES IDLE
D. C. Funds Impounded by
Strings Attached by Of
fiCiaIs.
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appropriation bill on June 16 last its
members had heard from residents of
the local community their objections
to the policy of cutting local appro-
priations by 25 per cent along with ma
tional budget balancing efforts and thus
piling up large surplus of local tax
money that could not be spent. Part
OF this prospective surplus was reduced
when Congress gave-for the first time
in years-tacit permission to the Com
missioners to reduce the real estate
and personal property tax rate and the
Commissioners later set it at $1.50
instead of the hitherto prevailing $l.70.
But there remained unaffected by
this tax reduction surplus revenues in
both the gasoline tax and water tax
funds The prospect was that this
money, unusable for anything but street
and water system work. would lie idle
in the Treasury while men walked the
street in search of work and necessary
local improvements went by the board.
To correct that obviously illogical situ-
alton, the House provided that some
gasoline and water surplus funds could
be used to relieve unemployment,
through creating work, if the President
permitted it. The Senate changed this
language to allow the Commissioners to
exercise their discretion in the matter.
But in conference between House and
Senate this discretion was left with the
director of the budget.
The act stated. in relation to the
gasoline tax fund-and almost identi-
cal language was used in connection
with the water tax fund-that:
For additional street and road
repairs to aid in the relief of I'M
employment. to be allotted for such
projects and purposes and in such
amounts as the director of the Bu-
reau of the Budget may approve
including the ALLEGATION of addi-
tional sums to any or all of the gen.
eral items herein chargeable to the
gasoline tax funds), there is hereby
appropriated out of the gasoline tax
fund. and to be Immediately avail
able. such Items mot to exceed in
the aggregate S1.500000> as may be
deemed surplus in such fund >.
Cannon Added Conditions.
The only other provisos attached to
the appropriation were that S575,000 of
the gas tax funds should be used for
the Calvert Street Bridge. and S45, TAI
should be used. in conjunction with
Federal funds. to widen and pave Con-
stitution avenue from North Capitol to
Second street.
But String No. and String No 2
were tied to the appropriation of the
gasoline tax surplus and the water tax
surplus by Chairman Cannon of the
Subcommittee on District Appropria-
tions. who. explaining the bill to the
House said that
II wish to take advantage of this
opportunity to emphasize the terms
~. o,,tl zi~ nl
d:tional expenditure only in such
emergency. If. as it is expected,
there is no increase in unemploy-
mant in the District. these add
tionel funds are not available. and
the director of the budget alone is
authorized to determine when there
shall have been such an increase in
unemployment over present condi-
tions as to justify recourse to these
additional funds"
In other words, while Congress i'm
posed no such conditions. Chairman
Cannon laid down two conditions which
must be met before the surplus money
could ba used tor unemployment relief
by furnishing work on necessary local
r-Cicc.s The first was that there must
h increase in unemployment. which
h did net expect t. occur, but which
l2- occurred nevertheless; second, the
Budget Director was the only one en-
r5v'ared to judge when thsre had been
an increase of an extent to justify re-
course to the use of the money.
The Commissioners lost little time
in asking for the right to spend the
gasoline tax money. They pointed out
that it would give work to some $500
men, as well as prevent the early
discharge of more than 200 others who
were employed in the local highway de-
partment. They followed later with
similar request to spend S635,000 of
surplus water funds.
The Budget Director replied how
ever, by emphasizing the fact that he
must make relief of unemployment
the deciding factor in releasing the
money.
Third String Attached.
But he made no inquirieS-nor have
such inquiries ever been received at the
District Building regarding either local
employment conditions or public relief
expenditures. In the course of his letter,
however, he tied another string to the
use Of the gasoline tax-and presumably