Evening star., 1933-02-15
House Rejects BIanton Pro-
posaI for Cut From $6, $780,
600 to $1,5OO,0O0.
SIMMONS LEADS FIGHT,
APPEALING FOR FAIRNESS
Move to Reduce Tax Rate From
$1.70 to $3.50 Is Ruled
Out.

The Blanton amendment to the 1884
District appropriation bill, designed to
reduce the Federal contribution of So
100000 to $1,50o,0o0. was voted down
in the House today, % to 16.
The vote was taken after protracted
discussion of the fiscal relations between
the District and Federal governments,
during which Representatives Simmons,
Republican, of Nebraska, and Cochran,
Democrat, of Missouri made vigorous
fight against the Blanton amendment
Both of them appealed to the House
to be fair in its treatment of the Dis
trict.
Immediately after the result Of the
vote was announced, Representative
May. Democrat, of Kentucky intro
duced an amendment to cut the Fed
eral contribution to $4,000,000.
Doubts Eventual Decision.
Blanton accepted the defeat of his
amendment with the remark that il
appeared as though the question as to
the proper amount the Federal Gov
ernment should contribute to the ex-
penses of the District apparently never
would be settled.
After a short debate on the May
amendment, which then was defeated.
AZ to 26, Blanton unexpectedly renewed
his fight to cut the Federal contribution
by offering a substitute amendment to
reduce the amount to S3000,000. He
then took took the floor to defend his
substitute.
A proposal to reduce from $1.70 to
81 so per hundred, the tax rate on real
estate and tangible property in the
District, was made by Chairman Can
non of the subcommittee that drafted
the District appropriation bill.
The proposal, however, was ruled out
on point of order by Representative
Holiday.
Previously, with the House sitting as
a committee of the whole, the chair
had sustained a point of order by
Representative Smith, Democrat, OF
Virginia, against legislative restriction
which would have prohibited the Dis
trict Commissioners from making a
reduction in taxes during the fiscal
year 1933-34.
The chair also sustained the point of
order made by Representative Wood,
Indiana, former chairman
of the House Appropriations Committee.
against the proposal to increase the tax
on intangible personal property from IS
to Sc per thousand.
The Blanton amendment was vigor-
ously fought by Representative Sim
mons, who submitted minority report
on the subcommittee recommended
tons on the 1884 bill. He was joined
by Representative Cochran, Democrat,
of Missouri.
Asks Fair Treatment.
Simmons appealed to the House to
exercise good common sense with ref
erence to this bill" The House, he
pointed out, is on record as fixing the
Federal contribution at $6,500,000.
ITO say that $1,500,000 Is all that
the United States should contribute
toward the expenses of the District is
absurd" declared Simmons You
ought to be fair to the District"
Simmons also answered previous at
tack by Blanton on the expenses of Dis
trict officials who went on investigating
trips in the last fiscal year. Rlanton
had said those trips were more or less
'junkets" and should be stopped. Sim
mons, however, told the House the trips
had been very beneficial to the officials
Of the municipal government.
1.-The District government" he said,
''is as free from graft as any municipal
government in the United States. There
should be no question about these ex-
penses at this time
Cites Building Program.
Cochran told the House it should be
fair in its treatment of the District
since it had withdrawn from taxation
a large area of property south of
avenue for the public
building program.
In addressing the House earlier,
Chairman Cannon, in charge of the
bill, emphasized the great responsibility
In handling appropriation measures
and extolled the services of the three
District Commissioners. He appealed
to his colleagues not to increase the
in the bill as drafted,
that they would be forced
to record vote in the House itself.
He explained that his proposal to
reduce the tax rate would mean easing
the burden of the taxpayers by $4,000
900 to S2,500,000 during the coming
flscal year. He told the House his
Continued on Page 2, Column g.