Evening star., 1934-08-19


suggestions, Roberts recently broad
cast an appeal for citizens to Drtte
in their ideas.
Any plan for reorganization Of the
District government should retain the
present commission form with en-
larged powers for the Commissioners
and be based on full national repre-
sentation for the District, in the opin-
ion of Mrs. Harvey w. Wiley, presi-
dent of the District of Columbia Fed
Grafton of Women's Clubs.
Mrs. Wiley believes firmly the Dis
trict owes many of its difficulties to
the lack of real representation for its
citizens.
Il personally am strongly in favor
of the Capper- joint resolution
proposing a constitutional amend
ment empowering Congress to grant
the residents of the District voting
representation in the House and Sen
ate and the right to vote for the
President and Vice President" said
Mrs. Wiley. Our federation has in
dorsed national representation for the
District and at several Of the hear
ings held by the House Committee on
the Judiciary has been represented
by its president and chairman of the
department of legislation"
District Status Outlined.
But in favoring national representa-
ton for the District, Mrs. Wiley does
~ ha
local government organization. But"
she said, II do resent the stigma
which attaches to residents of the
District through their deprivation Of
rights to which they are as justly en-
titled as any residents Of the States.
AS suitor in the courts Of the United
States, the District resident has, the
Supreme Court says, lower standing
than an alien. In relation to the ma
tional as well as the local laws the
sole function of the District resident
is to obey. He or she has no part
in the making of these laws. The
people Of the District pay these taxes,
both local and national, just as other
citizens in the States, but unlike other
Americans, have nothing to say re-
garding the kind of taxes or their
amount and in addition have nothing
whatever TO say as to how the tax
money shall be expended" Mrs. Wiley
added that, strange as it may seem,
the average citizen of the States is
not aware such conditions exist at
the very heart of this great Nation.
Mrs. Wiley has been making some
what of study of District taxation,
both local and national, and finds
that District residents last year paid
eight varieties of taxes. Three of
these were Federal-income, dividend
and inheritance taxes. The five local
varieties were real estate, personal
property, automobile, water and gaso-
line taxes. To these latter might be
added other special assessments of
various kinds. Our real estate taxes, "
says Mrs. Wiley, ARE high by reason
Of the high assessment placed on the
property. The high rate of assess
ment operates disastrously to the Dis
tr1ct whenever comparisons of tax
rates are made with rates of compar-
able cities"
Real Estate Taxes Cited
She has become much interested in
some of the figures concerning the
spread Of the local real estate tax
burden. From these she learns that
the District contains 44,800 acres of
which 5000 acres are submerged; !;
5000 acres are embraced in the
streets and roads: $500 acres used
by the Federal Government; 750 acres
by the District government and $500
acres by tax-free religious, educational
and charitable institutions and by
headquarters of some large national
organizations and by the foreign gov
ernments represented at the National
Capital. From this layout she sees
that of the total A, 800 acres, %, ,750
acres are tax-free leaving 22,050 acres
or less than so per cent of the area
Of the District to bear the entire
real estate burden for the whole.
Further, Mrs. Wiley states that she
finds that the Federal property In the
District is valued at $3.50 000, 900 and
that during the last few years prop
erty valued at s32, 900 900 has been
acquired by the Government and been
consequently withdrawn from prop
| erty available for taxation.
The lump sum contribution Of the
Federal Government, in the last ses-
sion Of Congress, Of $4,539,295, Mrs,