Evening star., 1937-03-18
Rate by Mail-Payable in Advance,
Member of the Associated Press
Illogical and Unfair.


1t IS to be doubted if any one seriously
proposes that Government property in
the District should be subject to ordinary
taxation But there is a tangible obliga-
ton on the part of the National Gov
ernment in support of the National Cap-
Nal which results from its vast ownership
or untaXed real estate and it's steady
"llndfaWalS OF property from the tax
list, together with the excessive amount
OF taX-eXempt property which exists here
solely by reason of the fact that this is
the National Capital.
To ignore the source of this obligation
Is Illogical and inequitable in any study
OF nScal relations. Yesterdays examina-
ton OF the Jacobs report by the House
District Committees subconmittees re-
VeaIed one OF the great weaknesses of
That report. The attempt was made. for
instance, to decrease the total of Gov
ernment exempt property in the District
subject to mythical tax valuation, bv
leaving out of that total certain property,
such as the Pan-American Building. the
Walter Reed Hospital and the Red Cross
Building, which is not used for strictly
governmental functions and including
only that property, such as the Treasury
Building, which is used for strictly gov
ernmental functions.
Nothing so clearly illustrates the curl
ously illogical conception Of the National
Capital, so true of the Jacobs report as
a whole, as does this odd selection of
Government property to be included in
the total of taX-eXempt property subject
to mythical tax valuation.
The whole argument for estimating a
Government contribution on the amount
or excess OF tax-eXempt property here is
based on the tremendous excess of such
property over that in other cities The
excessive extent of parks, for instance,
is not due to the desire of the National
Government to benefit local residents by
providing them with parks The great
park area here is due to the fact that
this is the American Capital, laid out
ana developed as the American Capital.
So 1t is with other types of exempt
property. The foreign embassies, the
great national organizations and such
institutions as the Pan-American Union
are located here, not because of any in
cidental benefits they may confer on
local residents, but because this is the
American Capital. To divide and sub
divide such property according to its use
is wholly irrelevent and begs the ques-
ton entirely.
With boundaries of the District fixed
and not extensble, the already limited
taxable area of the city is being con-
stantly decreased by Withdrawals of
valuable property to the tax-exempt list,
for use by the National Government, it's
agencies, or the semi-public and private
agencies and institutions which are
located here because this is the Capital.
A steadily increasing burden for support
OF this National Capital thus is being
placed upon a constantly diminishing
taxable area. A fundamental and reveal
ing weakness of the Jacobs report is its
curlously inequitable disregard of this
condition in the pursuit of it's own
unworkable and complex plan for placing
the financial responsibility for Capital
maintenance and development on local
taxpayers while leaving the exclusive
control of the Capital City with the
National Government