Evening star., 1952-11-09
|U..S.Is Cheating
d. {. on Fund, !
|Dono|1ue Says :
Retiring Commissioner
AssoiIs Congress for
Lack Of Support

Iu~N W SuppVIt
Commissioner r. Joseph Dono-
hue lashed out again last night
at Congress financial treatment
of the District.
District budget officers, how
ever. looked hopefully toward tho
new Republican Congress for .
more generous attitude.
Mr.. Donohue. who has an
nounced his intention to resign
on January 20. raped the Federal
lump sum payment Of only 8 per
cent Of the Districts $139 million
budget.
Uncle Sam deliberately and
Intentionally has cheated the Dis
trict since 1926" he declared in
his weekly radio broadcast over
radio station WWDC.
Gives Arbitrary Sum.
He scored the Federal Govern
ment for dropping its 40 per cent
contribution in the annual Dis
trict budget in 1925 and substi-
tuting the present arbitrary
amount.
Mr.. Donohue also attacked local
building laws which are controlled
by Congress. He classed present
regulations limiting structures
to 100 feet and IL floors as
archaic"
/ He pointed out that 80 per
cent Of the revenue to meet
District expenses Is concentrated
in the downtown commercial area,
asserting:
IF the United States wants to
buy ground to make parks and
then contribute what the land
would bring in taxes. all right. II
not. I, for one. think they should
let the people make their own
building regulations.
The Commissioner reiterated his
intention to resign. He said he
thought President-elect Eisen-
hover should have the privilege
Iof appointing his own man. He
expressed little hope the new chief
executive would ask him to re-
main.
Hope for Better Plan.
District budget officers based
their hopes for a better financial
plan from the new Congress on
two points:
First. there are recently an
Inounced pledges Of the probable
Ichairme1 Of the Senate and House
District appropriations subcom-
mittees to support an adequate
Federal share in city expenses.
Second. review of congressional
latitude toward the Districts
financial plight in the last quarter
century shows that, generally.
municipal budget estimates Jared
better at the hands of Republican,
Nominated congresses.
AS one city budget official put
1t yesterday: We've had rough
deals from the Democrats"
He recalled a reduction from
$9.5 million to SIT million in the
Federal lump sum payment to the
District for fiscal 1898 by a
9. O. P.-controlled Congress.
But in fiscal 1884, Democratic
guidance led to cutting back the
Federal share to $5.7 million. This
lower sum prevailed for two more
years, then shrank to SIS million
for fiscal 1887 and the next two
fiscal periods.
Raised in 1910.
The Democrats had a change
OF heart. however, when the 1910
District budget came before
Congress. The Federal payment
was increased to $6 million. That
rate remained until fiscal l947,
when largely through personal
efforts of Representative Coffee.
Democrat OF Washington and
chairman of the House District
appropriations subcommittee, the
Federal share was raised to 50
million.
BY that time. budget authorities
noted, inflated costs made this
virtually mandatory.
Z Under Republican leadership.
the Federal payment in fiscal 1948
was raised to $12 million. That