Evening star., 1945-10-06
Letters to The Star
WouldRepresentation in Congress
Help Local Budget-Makingp
(See Editorial. Our Source OF
GoDernnent

(See Editorial: Our Source OF
GoDsrnn1ent
To the Editor Of The Star:
Your editorial of September % rela-
tive to the Commissioners budget hear
ing is quite appropriate. Those of us
who are working for the right of the
citizens and taxpayers of Washington
to have some say in the expenditure of
their tax money appreciate your COM
ments. But haven't you let us down In
your last paragraph? What is the con-
nection between city budget making
and representation in Congress-?
Elsewhere in the United States city
budgets are made up by city officials
who are chosen by and responsible to
the people whose tax money they ap-
propriate. They are not made up by
State legislatures in which the citizens
of the city have only few representa-
tives among many from other places.
State legislatures frequently prescribe
limitations of municipal taxes and debts,
but they do not make up city budgets
in detail. Our difficulties arise princi-
pally from the fact that our legislature
the Congress of the United States-ir-
sists on controlling the details of our
municipal budget, although its members
have but little knowledge of the needs
and desires of the citizens whose tax
money they appropriate.
Believes Farce" Would Continue.
The presence in Congress of elected
representatives from the District of Co.
lunlbia, desirable as it would be for
other reasons, would not cure this
situation. The budget still would be
made up initially by the Commission
ers, who are neither elected by nor
responsible to the people of this city.
The Commissioners still would go
through the annual farce" of pretend
ing to let the citizens have some say
in the matter. The budget which they
would make up still would be consid-
cred and revised by committees of Con-
gress composed of representatives from
other parts of the country, or largely
so, because 1t is inconceivable that the
committees would intrust the consid-
Grafton of the budget entirely to the
few representatives from the District.
1t would still be voted upon by the
entire membership of Congress, in which
the District representatives would be
in minority of about per cent. Pos
sibly, they might influence Congress
to give more consideration to the wishes
of the citizens than is now given. But
what method would they have of ascer-
tanning those wishes that is not now
available to the committees of Congress?
But Congress Is IN Control.
Would you have the District repre-
sentativeS hold hearings and make I'D
budget of their own? If so, what as
surance would there be that Congress
would accept that budget in preference
to the Commissioners budget? Or would
you eliminate the Commissioners from
budget making altogether? After all, the
Commissioners still would be our city
officials. and city budgets should be
made up by city officials, not by the
legislature, whose function is to control
c'NA tAAAiAtdu4oilo CStdUlloil Doll.
cies. The election of representatives in
Congress from the District of Columbia
would not make the Commissioners any
more responsible to the. citizens than
they now are, nor would it give the
citizens any more participation in budget
making than they now have, which is
practically none at all.
National representation is desirable
objective, and we all are for it. But
it does not help the cause to represent
1t as substitute for the right of the
citizens to make up their own city
budgets through officials of their own
choosing, subject only to such limita-
tions as Congress-which is our legis-
lature, not our city government-may
prescribe.
KENNETH P. ARMSTRONG,
Chairman, Committee on Fiscal
Relations and Taxation, FEEDER
alton of Citizens Associations.