Evening star., 1936-05-27
Look at the Record!

Elsewhere in todays Star the accuracy
OF many of those statements relating to
the District on which have been based
most of the efforts to reduce the National
contribution and which are so well
known, through constant repetition, to
members of the House, has been sub
jected to close analysis through COM
parison with facts of recent record and
other established facts.
Members of Congress are respectfully
urged to study this analysis and to
supplement such study by further eX-
animation of their own into the records.
That is a modest enough request, it
would seem, to those who under the
Constitution are entrusted with the
power to rule and to tax the politically
helpless and unrepresented citizens of
this community.
Is it correct that District assessors are
delinquent in their duty under the law;
that property in the District is assessed
at about one-half or less than one-half
OF the lawful full value? If So where
are the facts to subStantiate that
charge? The assessor denies it is true
The official figures demonstrate it is not
true. Where is the supporting evidence?
Does it lie in recitation of the prices
paid by the Government in a few con-
demnation suits and comparison of
such prices with tax assessments? Every
lawyer in Congress knows the absolute
unreiability Of any such test of the
accuracy of assessment.
Is it correct to say that there has been
an arbitrary" reduction of $130000,000
in District assessments in the past two
years" when the figures of record show
there has been practically no reduction
in the past two fiscal years not attributed
to removal of land to the taX-eXempt
list or removal of improvements, and
that the only reductions, totaling $685.
100000. occurred during the depth of
the depression and were not arbitrary"
reductions but merely reflected the de-
cline in values?
Is it correct to contend that because
the District follows the practice, at the
direction of Congress, of applying low
tax rate to an extra ordinarily high as
SesSment standard, in contradistinction
to the cities which apply high rate
to low standard Of assessment, the
burden of taxation is low? Members of
Congress know that the tax rate stand
ing alone is wholly meaningless as a
measure of the tax burden. Then why
use it, repeatedly and enormously, as
measure of the tax burden when the
actual, official figures convey the cor
rect information as to the tax burden?
Is it correct to present to the House
statements that the citizens of Wash
ington pay nothing for certain municipal
services, merely because they pay for
these services out of general tax revenues
instead of by specially assessed tax
revenues?
Is it fair dealing or square dealing
to distort~ the actual conditions under
which the Washington taxpayer sup
ports expenses of the National Capital
aAOA45 NASAA eAAC ChkICIioCS VI G1lC NdClOlldl
Government by conveying the impression
that he not only lodges local taxation
but also escapes his share of the expenses
of his National Government? The fig
ureS are there to show his burden. What
is the purpose in ignoring them or
concealing them in misleading rhetoric?
Let members of the House examine
the facts and act in accordance with
what they show. The people of Wash
ington are not afraid of the facts They
do fear unjust penalties, levied as a
result of concealing the facts, misrepre-
sentation of the facts or lack of in
terest on the part of busy members of
Congress in searching out the difference
between truth and half truth.