Evening star., 1947-03-16
Probe Ordered
Into Districts
Doubled Costs
OfficioIs Must Justify
10-Yeur Rise Before
Tax Plans Come Up
By Don S. Worren

District officials were told yes
terday they will have to justify
the doubling of city expenses in
the last 10 years before the ques-
ton of $4,000, 900 in proposed
new taxes Is taken up by con-
gressional groups.
This course of action on the Dis
trict revenue hearings, opening
Tuesday morning, was charted yes
terday by Chairmen Bates and Cain
of the Fiscal Subcommittee of the
House and Senate District Commit
tees, respectively
AS they set the stage for several
weeks of joint hearings, Senator
Cain and Representative Bates join
ed in letter to Commissioner John
Russell Young stressing that reasons
for mushrooming District costs
would be the first subject of inquiry.
Key District officials were told to
be prepared with explanations.
Setting to work at once, District
department. chiefs began assembling
Data to show that the record-break-
ing $95,000,000 budget, now before
Congress, resulted from a great
backlog of needs untitled during war
years, increased costs of wages and
materials and expansion of services.
VIII Study District Revenue.
At the same time, the heads of the
House and Senate fiscal groups
made clear they are going into the
adequacy of all present sources Of
District revenue. Listed as major
basic items are the realty and in
come taxes and the size of the Fed
eral payment toward District ex-
penses.
Mr.. Bates. while promising a very
searching examination" of all rev.
enue sources and use, denounced
the rule under which the District
must give free tuition to nonresident
pupils.
This question has been brought
before Congress several times in
recent years but proposals to ban
free tuition to- nonresidents regu-
lally have been defeated. Mr. Bates
has called on school officials to fur
nish an up-to-date report.
It has been estimated the free
tuition given children of parents
who work here but live beyond the
District lines runs more than $780,
900 year.
II can see no Justification for the
children of parents domiciled else
where to be given free education in
the District schools" said Mr. Bates.
Arlington Water One Subject.
This subject, he indicated, is but
one of many which will be raised
during the hearings. Another, he
said, will be the cost of the Dis
Srict's water service to Arlington
County. Mr.. Bates said he was
calling on the District office of the
Army engineers for report on the
District-Virginia contract.
Mr.. Bates, while withholding
judgment as to any of the new
revenue plans of the Commissioners,
commented yesterday that the Fed
Cl Oh pdylllCliO UOWd1 u oLobilCU CA
penses now was fixed by arbitrary
judgment" 1t was boosted for this
year from the old $6,000,000 level to
$8,000,0 900 as a result of drive led
by Senator O'Mahoney, Democrat,
of wyoming, former chairman of
the District subcommittee of the
Senate Appropriations Committee.
Among the bills before the House
and Senate District Fiscal Subcom-.
mittees are those sponsored by Sem
ators O'Mahoney, Cain, ,Overton.
Democrat. of Louisiana, and Rep
resentative Hebert, Democrat, Of
Louisiana, to provide a fixed for
mula for measurement of the Fed
eral Governments annual share Of
District costs. This would be based
generally on the extent of tax-free
Federal land holdings in the Ma
tional Capital.
Mr.. Bates said the joint fiscal