Evening star., 1941-05-01
Member of the Associated Press.
Fair and Square

The substantial increase IN MAIN
tenance funds for National Capital
parks contained in the Interior De-
partment appropriation bill reported
yesterday to the House is doubly
gratifying. The additional funds al
lowed were urgently needed to pre-
vent continuation of WaSteful form
Of neglect, through inadequate main
tenance, of the Capitals expensive
park system. And the House Appro-
priationS Committees fairness in al
locating to the National Government
a higher proportion of maintenance
expense is an encouraging indication
of willingness to apply an equitable
solution to this particular problem
after unprejudiced study of the
facts.
The facts were ably presented to
the committee by A. E. Demaray, as
sociate director of the National Park
Service, after careful study by the
National Capital Parks Office of OBJ
vious inequities which in their cumu-
lative effect we're reflected in the
present unsatisfactory conditions
which prevail in many areas
throughout the National Capital
parks system. These conditions" he
said, could be largely corrected II
the Federal Government would con-
tribute more equitable share
toward the operating expense
A study of the parks system
showed that, while the local COM
munity was defraying about 83 per
cent of the cost of National Capital
parks expense, including salaries of
park policemen assigned to Federal
duty, a large portion of such ex-
penses was incurred without any
local benefit whatever. The park
system was broken down, parcel by
parcel, to show what portions of it
were of some direct benefit to the
community and what parts were
purely national, in the sense Of en-
bellishing national buildings or mon
uments or in other purposes served.
The result indicated that approx
mately 36 per cent of the park Sys-
tenn was for national use entirely,
and the committees decision was to
increase from II to 36 per cent the
Federal participation in the mainte-
nance appropriations. This increase
will wipe out a long-standing inequity
in National Capital park financing
and will furnish the funds to remedy
many conditions due to grossly in
adequate maintenance of the Capital
parks system.
Why cannot this remedy be ap-
piled in principle to other funds
which go into National Capital de-
velopment and maintenance? The
conditions, in inequitable division of
cost and in inadequate maintenance,
recognized as existing with respect
to the parks system, are repeated
manifold in other branches of the
municipal government. Local tax
funds are laviShed on the National
Zoo, developed and maintained as
national institution, while such
pressing municipal needs as health
centers and schools go unmet. Local
taxpayers are furnishing all of the
heavy cost of maintaining and de-
veloping a water system that must
furnish water without cost to the ex-
panding Federal agencies of Wash
ington. The burden of developing
and maintaining one of the most
costly street systems in the world is
borne by local tax funds, with the
Federal Government having with
drawn entirely from any participa-
ton through general fund appropri-
ations. Local undertakings are
planned on a standard designed for
the American Capital, not the re-
QuirementS of a normal community.
And as in the case of the parks,
the scope of the services demanded
has grown far beyond the ability of
the community to finance them. AS
in the case of the parks, the remedy
hes in an equitable assumption of
the national obligation.