Evening star., 1946-07-16
Tax Crisis Seen
.|nHospita| Bill,
Up Tomorrow
Dirksen Substitute
Puts D. G. Costs at
About $10,500, 900
By HoroId B. Rogers

The revised $35,OOo,OOO, five-year
hospital construction bill comes be-
fore the House District Committee
for action tomorrow, with the Dis
trict Commissioners In a quandary
over the prospect of raising revenues
of about $1o,5oo,oo0 to pay 80 per
cent of the cost from local taxes.
The new bill, offered to the Dis
trict Committee yesterday by Repre-
sentative Dirksen, Republican, of
Illinois as a substitute for the long
pending Senate-passed Tydings-
Bilbo bill, was prepared by the Fed
eral Works Agency. 1t was designed
to solve the financial problems which
had begged down the bill for months
Mr.. Dirksen has insisted District
taxpayers should share in the cost
of any hospital construction here
for which Federal aid was provided.
The District Commissioners, on the
other hand, have insisted they had
liz 1NlldO lOI oQNll q Pul POCC.
Already Faces Deficit.
Commissioner Guy Mason, who
attended yesterdays session of the
committee, said today the District
government already faces the pos
sibility of running into the red"
He indicated no further action
would be taken by the District offi-
cials on the measure. Their posi-
ton already has been made clear
to Congress, he said. adding that
responsibility for what happens to
District financial affairs now rests
with Congress itself.
The measure provides for $35,-
100000 project, to be handled
through the FWA. The proposed
center would cost about 10000 900,
and another $15,ooo,00o would be
needed by other hospitals for reno
vation or rebuilding.
Cost of the program would be
borne by three different agencies,
the District government, 30 per
cent: the three participating hos
pitals in the center to pledge their
physical plants, estimated at 20 to
80 per cent, and the Federal Gov
ernment to supply the remaining
40 to so per cent. Grants to hos
pitals outside the center would not
exceed half the cost of the COM
pleted jobs.
Other Grants Cited.
Under the Tydings bill as it
passed the Senate the three par
ticipating hospitals would have been
obligated to repay 30 per cent of
the cost of the center, at 2 per cent
interest, over a period Of so years.
The Federal Government made
grants to the two local universities
here for construction of their hos
pitals, now under way, on the basis
of 70 per cent of cost, Alan john
stone, general counsel of FWA, told
the committee. Building Of the new
George Washington University and
Georgetown University hospitals Is
now well advanced.
Referring to the pending Hill
Burton hospital bill for a five-year
construction program throughout
the country, including the District,
Mr.. Johnstone declared even II 1t
became law, reliance on it for re-
lief of the hospital problem in
Washington requires departure from
reality into the realm Of fantasy"
The Districts share under this bill.
over a period of five years, he
pointed out, would be s1,170, 600, and
the required contribution from the
local community would be $685.
900 under recent amendments by the
House Commerce Committee. The
Senate-passed bill now is before the
House.
Need Put at SAC, ,o00, 900.
"And that" exclaimed Mr.. john
stone, "in the face of a demon
strated need here of $4,000 ,000."
This is not even a suggestion of
the solution of the Districts prob
lem," he asserted. 1T feils to recog-
nize that constitutionally and his
torically the District of Columbia is
not a State but the Federal City,
and that iG is the duty Of Congress
to provide for it as such. No escape
from that duty by classifying Wash
ington as a State or a politically free
city, when it is not, solves any mu-
nicipal problem here, but only ac-
centuates It,"
Stressing the share which he
recommended be carried by the Fed
eral Treasury, Mr.. Johnstone de-
clared: 1T is the concern of the
Government to see that personnel
whose duty brings them here-mem-
bers of the Congress and of the ex-
ecutive and judicial establishment
and whose permanent ties are in the
States have real claim on the
Treasury to insure that they should
be supplied with hospital and other
facilities comparable to those in
their home communities. And that
without undue cost or double tax
alton or duplicate appeals to their
philanthropy"
Apparently referring to the COM
prehensive survey made by the FWA
itself, and the recent metropolitan
health and hospital survey of hos
pital conditions here, the witness de-
clared. by common consent, the
condition is bad"
Cites Three Factors.
Mr.. Johnstone pointed out "the
principle of the responsibility of the
local taxpayer to defray part of
the cost OF necessary hospitals is
sound and may well be stated in a
statute" But he suggested this
decision "can best be made when
the Congress shall have settled the
fiscal affairs of the District by a
more deliberate examination of ex-
penditures and a fuller and more
adequate consideration of revenues -
Celebrating on the long pending
controversy over the size of the
Federal payment and the current
proposals for increased local levies
Mr.. Johnstone asserted: Three facts
stand out. First, the present ex-
penditures of the District govern
meY1t ff,r the care nf tho Sirk opS