Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-03-04
The District Bill.


For many years Representative Blanton
of Texas has been in favor of doing
away altogether with the National con-
tribution to Capital City expenses. Many
of his otherwise unexplainable actions,
so hostile and damaging to the local
community and it's half million residents
have been taken with that objective in
view. This year he achieved, through
the rule of seniority and inter committee
shifts, the Craftsmanship of the sub
committee on District appropriations,
which removed almost all limit from his
power to write the District bill for the
House as he saw fit. The resulting
measure is about what one would ex-
pect. 1t is clear case of cause and
effect and nothing is to be gained by
berating Mr.. Blanton, whose opinions
and purposes are so well known.
The serious question now is the dam
aging consequences of this bill, unless
It's manifest injustices and the vicious
principle on which it is based are cor
rected in the Senate. The consequences
might not be immediate. But they are
in the making.
The consequences are simply these:
Denying as the bill does practically all
National financial responsibility, the
burden of National Capital maintenance
and development will be shifted to the
shoulders of local taxpayers. That means
that they will be blistered by higher local
taxation, making their tax burden, in
view of the peculiar disabilities under
which they labor, intolerably hard to
bear. And as it is demonstrably a
physical impossibility to meet by local
taxation, no matter how heavy, the
extraordinary demands OF National
Capital maintenance and development,
municipal institutions will continue to
suffer greater neglect and orderly &C.
velopment of the Capital will be halted.
The immediate effect of Mr.. Blantons
bill is arbitrarily to take away $1,000 600
of local revenues-by cutting the lump
sum-while increasing above Budget
Bureau estimates the demands on this
local revenue There is thus created
potential deficit of more than $1,000 600.
which automatically calls for an increase
IN the tax rate on general property.
An increase in the tax rate on general
property, bearing down most heavily on
the small home owner and having its
immediate effect in higher rents, as
viciously unfair and uncalled for as 1t
might be, would not in itself alone
spell unacceptable calamity. But under
the Blanton principle and Budget
Bureau practice, surplus" revenues are
created through the misleading eypedi-
ert of cutting down the Commissioners
estimated needs The existence OF such
surplus" is used to decrease the lump
sum. Local taxpayers receive no dement's
from higher taxation in the form OF bet
ter municipal services. Higher taxes pay
for reduced lump sum- Mr.. Blsntons
next move is complete elimination OF the
lump sum, and unless this threatened In
Justice is prevented and the lump sum is
restored at least to the inadequate figure
of S5,700,000, blighting local taxation and
inadequate returns to over burdened tax
payers are inevitable.
The duty of organized citizens in WASH
ington is to fight this bill with the only
weapon they possess-which is appeal for
justice, through petition and presenta-
ton of the facts, to the Senate. Aside
from the damaging and unfair under
lying principle of the bill, which is re-
duction of the lump sum, there are other
inequities which should be corrected, and
which will be discussed later in these
columns The Commissioners are taking
the only course in deciding to make
fight before the Senate committee. They
must be joined by all organized citizens,
whose immediate interests and welfare
are at stake.