Evening star., 1934-08-19

Wiley considers q very unfair amount
and she feels that the reasons given
by the Appropriations Committee for
the small amount are unsound. She
quotes Assessor Richards as stating
that If the Federal Government was
taxed at the same rate at which pri-
vate property is taxed 1t would have
paid last year $8,250, 900, to which she
added, instead of the miserable
$4,53s, ,295."
Heavy Federal Water Use.
Other items in this bill of inequit-
able particulars which she finds of
interest are that the United States
Government uses 40 per cent of the
water consumed in the District free,
the cost being borne by private users
of water, and that vast amount of
the time of the Supreme Court Of the
District In its criminal branches Is
consumed in the trial of purely Fed
eral cases. She finds that so per
cent of the business Of the Court Of
Appeals is Federal. This she hopes
is to be rectified in the recent legis-
lation changing the name of this
court with the probable assuming by
the Government of a large part Of
its support.
Reverting again to the inequality
of the tax burden on real estate, Mrs.
Wiley called attention to the fact that
Of the taxable real estate In the Dis
trict 5000 acres consist Of lowlands
of small value, while most Of the Gov
ernment holdings and the other prop
erty which Congress has exempted
from taxation is of large value.
Another evidence of unjust dis
elimination against the District"
says Mrs. Wiley, "is the way we have
been treated in being denied par
ticipation in the many Federal aid
appropriations Of which the States
have been recipients for years. OF
course, am aware that we have re-
Gently had recognition and received
aid through distribution Of some OF
the emergency funds. but these rights
have been reluctantly granted. The
81, TOO, 900 grant for sewer construc-
ton last year is required to be paid
back 10 per cent and in one year
while other municipalities and States
are given the privilege of spreading
their payments over term of years.
She feels that denial to the District
of the right to participate in the
regular Federal aid distribution of
funds is especially hard to bear when
one remembers that the District is so
large a contributor in national taxes
from which these funds are derived.
Franchise Seen as Vital.
''Now," she said, you may wonder
why drag all this long catalogue OF
grievances in when you ask for my
views regarding the reorganization of
the government of the District. Well
it is because that from my knowledge
Of conditions any system Of reorgani-
zation which does not contemplate
reaching these most vital and annoy
ing problems will fall far short OF
proving Of practical benefit. AS I see
it there is only one way in which
there is any hope of relieving these
burdens which I have enumerated.
That remedy is to be found through
the putting into operation in the Dis
trict those fundamental American
principles which are the only guarantee
of q square deal Our forefathers
found that the only escape from
tyranny was through voting repre-
sentation in the government which
made its laws, levied its taxes and re-
quired of it all of the other obligations
Of citizenship. This Is why I favor
national representation as the only
proposal holding out real hope to the
voteless and unrepresented citizens Of
the District of Columbia"
Mrs. Wiley opposes the idea of either
curtailing the power or abolishing any
Of the boards of citizens which have
supervised the schools, libraries and
the public welfare work. These, she
feels, are the only vestiges of citizen
participation we possess and substitu-
ton of other methods would be loss
rather than a gain. She also believes
that the District budget should be
entirely independent of the Federal
Bureau Of the Budget.