Evening Star Newspaper, February 5, 1929, Page 2

LARGER TEMPORARY LUMP SUM FORD.C. UPKEEP NEEDED Obligations of Uncle Sam as Municipal Taxpayer Demand Substantial Contribution. s St ABSOLUTE CONTROL BY CONGRESS IMPOSES DUTY Great Park and Street Areas for Federal City and Heavy Tax Exemptions Make for Larger| Liability by Nation. Editorial Correspondence of The Star. BY THEODORE W. NOYES. The interesting proposition is now under discussion of measuring Uncle | Sam's financial obligation in Capital maintenance and development—first by figuring what he would pay as a mu- nicipal taxpayer on his real and per- sonal property, and secend by adding what he would equitably contribute, personifying the Nation, to offset ex- cessive expenditures made and abnor- mal losses suffered solely by virtue of | the fact that Washington is not a self- | developing commercial city, but the National Capital. A few items to be considered in this connection are (1) loss of tax revenue on account of ex- cess above ordinary real property ex- emptions; (2) cost of excess park ac- quisition and maintenance; (3) cost of improving, maintaining and pelicing an extraordinary excess of street area; (4) the equitable obligation to pay liberally and te assume primary financial re- sponsibility for the District, based on the absolute and exclusive control of the District's fiscal zffairs by Congress, on the principle that fiscal obligation fol- lows power, and (5) the fiscal obliga- tion of the Nation to the Capital that springs from the circumstances of the creation and upbuilding of the Nation's eity. When all of these items have been thoroughly studied and converted into dollars and cents a very large increase, amounting to millions, in the national contribution for Capital upbuilding will be disclosed as equitable, whether that just contribution takes the shape of a Jump sum or of a definite proportionate contribution in obedience to substantive law. (1) Loss on account of excess of real property exemptions. ‘Table 5 of the Bureau of Efficiency Report gives for 13 cities and Wash- ington total exempt property valuations, assessed valuation of taxable real proper- ty and ratio of exempt to taxable real property. Washington (a) includes as ! exempt all the real property holdings of the Federal Government. Park prop- erty owned by the Federal Government and Federal property used for the ex- clusive benefit of Washington are in: cluded under Other Public Property. In Washington (b), the park property owned by the Federal Government and the Federal property used for the ex- clusive benefit of Washington only are included as exsmpt under Other Public Property. The remaining Federal Real Property, valued at $320,751,015, consti- tutes the item to which the real prop- erty tax rate has been applied in other tables of the Buresu of Efficiency Re- port. In this table of 1928 the Bureau of Efficiency demonstrates vividly the great excess of tax-exempt property in Wash- ington, due solely to the fact that ‘Washington is the National Capital, the Nation’s city, and indicates convincingly the many millions of loss suffered nually by taxpayi ‘Washington on ac- count of e: of exemptions, to | be equitably considered (the Bureau suggests) as a necessary item in fixing | an adequate contribution by the Na- tional Government toward the mainte- nance and upbuilding of the National Capital. The following table of a few columns of figures taken from Table 5 of the Bureau of Efficiency’s report shows in Iespect to each of 13 cities and Wash- ngton the total valuation of exempt real property, the assessed valuation of taxable real property and the ratio of TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1929.' purpose of this hypothesis is not to mlde for the actual taxation of Uncle , but to ascertain with approximate accuracy the loss of revenue which these vast exemptions of property cause to the remaining taxpayers, and for this purpose the loss of revenue from the exempted intangibles of those who would own Washington's great indu: trial plants, if Uncle Sam did not, mu: of course, enter into the calculation. The Bureau of Efficlency’s figures concerning Uncle Sam as an exempt taxpayer demonstrate convincingly the very great losses, which the actual tax- payers of the District must make good, that result from these extraordinary and excessive tax exemptlons, caused solely by the fact that Washington Is the National Capital. (2 Cost of excess park acquisition and maintenance. Table 1 of the Bureau of Efficiency Report compares 14 cities and Wash- ington in park area (acres) and in pop- ulation to one acre of park. The bureau's figures of Table 1 pic- ture vividly the excess of park area in washington when compared with similar areas in the 14 citles. Washington's parks exceed. in area 13 of the 14 cities. Minneapolis alone surpassing it. Wash- ington park area, 3,753 acres; Cleveland, 2,975; St. Louis, 2,945; Baltimore, 3.440; Boston, 2,647; Pittsburgh, 1,887; Buffalo, 1,665; Milwaukee, 1257; Newark, 795; Minneapolis, 4.771; New Orleans, 1,885; Cincinnati, 2,807; Indianapolis, 2,723; Rochester, 1,777; Jersey City, 289. The showing is even more striking when the population of the citles is taken into account and the population to oné acre of park is figured. Thus Washington has an acre of park to every 140 of population, Cleveland one acre to every 340, St. Louis 286, Baltimore 241, Boston 302, Piftsburgh 357, Buffalo 332, Mil- waukee 433, Newark 596, Minneapolis 96, New Orleans 228, Cincinnati 147 Indianapolis 140, Rochester 185, Jerse City 1,125. Cleveland has 778 more acres of park and has one acre of park to every 140 of population, whereas Cleveland has only one acre to every 340 persons. If Cleveland had park area in proportion to its population on the Washington ratio its park area would be 7,214 acres, or 3,461 acres of park area more than Washington instead of 778 acres less. The same kind of showing is made in comparison with other cities; for exam- ple, St. Louis on Washington's ratio would have 2.261 acres of park more than Washington instead of 808 acres less, and Baltimore would have 2,176 acres more instead of 313 acres less. The Bureau of Efficiency figures demonstrate that Washington is already supplied with a great excess of park area over that with which the largest and richest of our great self-developing, self-sustaining, commercial cities have supplied themselves. This excess of park area, representing millions of expend- iture in acquisition and maintenance, is due solely to the fact that Washington is the National Capital, the Nation's city. The pending grand projects of future park development, which thrill the Washingtonian and all Americans who take pride in the Nation's city, are unmistakably national in scope and | cost and are entirely outside of what according to the precedents, a self- controlled, self-sustaining city would undertake at its own expense. Unjust Financing of Park Development. The Bureau's report thus exposes the gross injustice of the present plan of financing park development at the Capital, which throws nearly all of the expense of this development upon the payers to pay for condemning areas now taxable and revenue-producing and to convert them forever into park land exempt from taxation. This financing does the local taxpayer a double injury in thet it deprives him of his tax money, sorely needed for municipal pur- poses, and spends it on a national| project, and in doing so adds millions taxpayer by removing forever from taxation the increasingly valuable areas which by condemnation are converted into tax-exempt park land. A separate and distinct increase of the basic nine millions should be made to prevent Congress from vio: Iating its own statutory provisions that and definite proportion te the appro- priations for certain great National or semi-National projects, as for example the appropriation for expendi- National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The law provides in re- spect to appropriations for this con- fessedly National project that the Na- If Congress of total expenditure. this National makes appropriations for forty basis, which is the existing statutory ratio of substantive law, or by making a specific lump-sum in- crease of the basic lump-sum appro- priation in lieu of the definite propor- tion which the law directs, both the letter and the spirit of the law will be violated and the inequity will result of exacting entirely from the local tax- | payers funds for a National project, which may, in the discretion of the commissicn, be expended outside of the District in Maryland and Virginia. The thoughtful Washingtonian, eager for the quick development to perfection of the Capital as the “City Beautiful,” is ready to bear his full share of the outlays, losses, and additional burdens involved in the immediate condemna- parks or the sites of public buildings. At the same time he petitions urgéntly exempt to taxable real property: SCHEDULE OF EXEMPT PROPERTY VALUATIONS, 1928. that the equities be observed in appor- Total Valuation of oITY. Exempt Cleveland, Ohio. St. Louis Mo Boston, Mass Property. $253,533,285 191,202,100 398,835,158 207,45 104,27 Milwaukee, Wis. Newark, N. J... 40,057,272 111,202,720 83,196,818 50,029,690 75,962,354 63,372,870 604,742,615 : 283,991,600 exempt taxable real property Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Ind. Rochester, N. Y. Jersey City, N. J Washington, D. C. (a). ‘Washington, D. C. (b)..... Average ratio of not including Washington, D. C Ratio of Exempt_to Taxable Real Property. 17.50 per cent 18.26 per cent 22.41 per cent 17.26 per cent. 17.33 per cent 25.89 per cent. 15.29 per cent 15.06 per cent 31.00 per cent 10.99 per cent 11.45 per cent, 11.97 per cent 11.16 per cent. 54.09 per cent 19.74 per cent Real $1,448,797,450 1,046,957,570 1,779.654,400 1,108,842,440 1,031,770,390 801,371,698 681,934,423 266,066.076 358,716,256 756,841,360 436,766,170 634,374,993 567,850,289 1,118,093,162 1,433.844.177 ,700 8,175 . 17.35 per cent. (a) Washington includes as exempt all the real pmpehy holdings of the Federal Government in Washington, D. C. Park property owned by the Federal Government and Federal property used for the exclusive benefit of Washington, D. C., are included under Other Public Property. In Washington (b) the park property owned by the Federal Government and the Federal property used for the exclusive benefit of Washingion, D. C., only are included as exempt under Other Public Property. valued at $320,751,015, constitutes the item to which the real prop- real property, erty tax rate was appl the schedules showing These figures show that Washington has exempt real property of the value of $504,742,615 and taxable real prop- erty of the value of $1,118,093,162, the ratio of exempt to taxable real property being 54.09 per cent. Washington's total of exempt property and ratio of exempt, to taxable property far exceed those of every other city, Boston, the mearest city to Washington in this table, showing $205,907,457 less than Washington. So great is this excess of exempt property in Washington that $320,751,015 in value of certain Gov- ernment pi y imagined as taxable under Washington (b) may be with- drawn from the exempt list and still leave Washington's exempt property in excess of mearly all the other ciles, with & ratio of exempt to taxable real property of 19.74 per cent as against 17.35 per cent average of all the other cities. In figuring Uncle Sam as & hypotheti- cal city taxpayer the Bureau ap- raises the properly taxable part of gis actual real estate and tangible per- sonalty holdings, and estimates his intangible personalty on the basis ‘of the amnu?tt?‘mblblylt?nérlhl‘j’::ld b{-flm owrters of the great indust: E nts The remaining Federal lied in the second section covering Washington, D. C., of assessed valuations, tax levies, ete. tioning the expense of these grand projects. (3) Extraordinary Excess of Street Area. Consider for cne moment Washing- ton’s original street plan and the bur- dens involved in paving, maintaining and policing it. It represents the hard bargain driven with the original proprietors of the soil. John Law, a K\-omment citizen, who came here at the city's birth, charged in 1820, voicing a general complaint, that the city has been made vast by the politicians merely to gratify their cupidity and tempt as many farm- holders as possible to give up half their property. Even more bitter complaints were made concerning the area appro- priated for streets and avenues, not merely one-half, but all of which was taken by the Government without com- pensation. ‘The property owners do- nated one-half of the lots and all of the streets and avenues to the Nation; and shrewd appreclation of the terms of the benefaction by sett! apart as streets more than one-half of face t] 4n other cities, for whom in Wi he is the substitute. Of course, the imegining a street 100 feet Wi V| Thus Washington in comparison with local taxpayers, thus using local tax | revenue against the will of the tax-| to the future tax-burden of the local| the Nation shall contribute in large tures under the jurisdiction of the tion shall pay its definite promrtlnni project without providing for National | ipation in the cost on the sixty- | tion of areas needed in the future fi)rl the national representatives showed the total area of the city, 3,606 acres out of a total of 6,111, a greater percentage of street sur- han in any other city in the world. Its vastness has been well pictured by o ing from Washington to New York to be graded, asphalted and supplied with gutters, curbstones, sidewalks, drains, sewers, lamp posts and shade trees, As the Senate District committee jsaid in its report of 183b: “The plan of the city was formed by the public authorities; the dimensions of the streets determined by them with- out interference by the inhabitants or regard to their particular interest or convenience. It i a plan calculated for the magnificent capital of a great Na- tion, but oppressive from its very dimen- sions and arrangements to the inhabi- tants, if its execution to any consider- able extent is to be thrown upon them. No people who anticipated the execution and subsequent support of it out of their own funds would ever have dreamed of forming such a plan. At that period neither the Government nor the pro- prietors contemplated that the whole or even a large proportion of the burden should be thrown upon the inhabitants of the city. * - “The streets were not only oppressive from their size and exient in their orig- inal formation, but they will from the same cause continue to be an un- ending source of expense in their repair, ‘They must_annually cost nearly double the amount of streets of the same length of moderate dimensions. The Govern- ment which created this condition of things ought not to be very deaf to the complaints of those upon whom such burden has fallen.” Under the roysl street plan designed by the Nation for the Nation’s city every avenue and every street was an imperial highway, made broad and magnificent by deliberate policy and with title in fee simple in the Nation by gift of the original proprietors, who also gave other lands to the Nation to be de- [voted in part to the improvement of these national streets and avenues., The Nation shirked its obligation in respect to the streets and avenues given to it, and endowed by the donors. For more than thirty years, during which period $700,000 had been realized from the sale of lots pledged in part for the benefit of improvements, its expendi- | tures upon streets and avenues, which were its exclusive property, were less than $700 per year, and its annual ap- propriations since that time until 1878 had been widely varying in amount and at the best inadequate. In other words, having secured the magnificent dona- tion of more than 70 per cent of the soil of Washington on the promise that part of the proceeds of the sale of do- nated lots should be applied to street | improvement, it practically abandoned the work of street improvement to the scanty resident population. Up to 1871 it expended on street improvements only | $1,000,000, while during the same period | the local, government expended cn streets more than nine times that amount. The flagrant injustice of the Nation in this regard was one of the reasons for the enactment of the “or- ganic” act of 1878. (4) Fiscal obligation based on abso- lute and exclusive control of District | and upon circumstances of creation of | Nation’s city. In considering the character and amount of the Nation's expenditure ; of nine or ten millions annually for Capital maintenance and development it appears that the Nation pays in subsidies to some of the small States more in proportion to their contribu- tions to national taxes than to the District of Columbia; that other cities | receive substantial _subventions from | the State corresponding to that which Washington receives from the Na- tional Government in the relation to it of State, and that Washington con- tributed to the fund of natioral taxes, from which the Capital maintenance money is derived, more in 1924 (even | after the subtraction of an abnormal | payment of nine millions of back taxes) than 23 of the States and more than nine States combined. All Nations Foster Capitals. Not only does the Natiop contribute to a number of the States a greater per- centege of the money paid by these States in Federal taxes than it pays from the District’s Federal taxes in up- building the National Capital, but these expenditures upon the Nation's City are more un kably constitutional, more distinctly appropriate as national outlays, and more in accordance with | the precedents set by other nations than { most of the subsidies paid to the amount | of hundreds of millions to the States. Most of these subsidies have been vig- orously opposed as national outlays not contemplated by the Constitution and ot justifiable on their merits as ap- | propriate national expenditures and not in accordance with the precedents set | by any other of the highly clvilized | nations. The United States, however, is not peculiar among nations in providing | liberally as a proper national expendi- ture for the maintenance and upbuild- |ing of the National Capital. All the great na‘ions of the world appropriate { largely for their capitals without de- nying the residents of the capitals any rights or privileges, political or ju- dicial, which are enjoyed by other na- tionals. [See table and comment in argumen’ before joint fiscal comn}n.- te in 1915, Hearings, Vol. 1, pages 299 to 313.1 Nation’s Peculiar Obligation. There is a special equitable obliga- tion upon th2 Nation to maintain and develop the Capital. This peculiar na- tional obligation is a double obligation, extraordinarily heavy in relation to Washington under each head: (1) That arising from the circumstances of the | creation of the Capital, and (2) that which is coupled with and measured by the Nation’s absolute control of the Nation's city. The Nation’s cb- ligation to Washington under the first head is not duplicated in the case of any other of the world’s capitals, ex- cept Canberra, the capit: hat-is-to-be of Australia, which has just begun to ex- ist, In respect to a few other capitals (Mexico, Paris, Rio, Buencs Aires, Athens, Rome) a national obligation of the second kind is recognized, meas- ured by the degree of peculiar control exercised over them in each case by the nation. This equitable obligation is substantial in the casz of Mexico and of Paris and much slighter in the case of Rio, Buenos Aires, Athens and Rome. But even Mexico and Paris fall far behind Washington in the height and breadth of this obligation. The true basis of this Nation’s obli- gation of proportionate contributior toward the maintenance and develop- ment of the Capital is not solely or pri- marily untaxed ownership of District real estate, though a substantial and continuous obligation does arise in con- nection with such ownership. The strongest obligations resting upon. the Nation are equitable in their nature and based primarily on the circum- stances of the Capital's creation and the treatment of the Capital by the Nation ever since the birth of the Nation's city. By this special obligation I mean an obligation over and above that which is imposed solely by the fact that a city is a capital, The Nation’s Intention. The general Government, by the fact of planning & magnificent Capital, covering & large -area and character- ized by broad streets, avenues and reservations to an extent unsuitable for a self-supporting commercial city, and by founding the Capital in a place comparatively uninhabited, as well as by the terms of the bargain with the owners of the soil, and by the declara- tions of its representatives at the founding of the city and afterward, showed an intention to build up & na-| tional city, at the Nation's expense, on a grand scale, irrespective of the future population of the District. The Capital was to be primarily a center of Federal action, and the occupation of the ground by settlers was merely incidental W this greal purpose. It was to be a meeting place for the use, convenlence and entertainment of the people of the entire Union, and the expense of its support and adornment was not to be limited by the scanty resources of what permanent population it might acquire. ‘The original owners of Washington I tions in this form of patrictic expendi- The Community Chest BY EVELYN W. JON ES Honorable Mention in The Star's Community Chest Essay Contest. the banker, the merchant, the butcher, the baker, nér the candlestick maker. The very word community im- THE Washington Community Chest concerns not alone plies that it is the business of every man, woman and child encompassed by the boundaries of the District of Columbia. Success or failure o f this project will touch every member of the community, for the happiness, health and welfare of the city as a whole its individual citizens. depend upon the condition of The social agencies, dependent in large measure upon the generosity of the people, are bearing no small part, of the brunt of maintaining public welfare through their assistance to the less fortunate of our city family. The Community Chest has been selected as ti he most ‘efficient method of financing this work. “The Chest is filled by one appeal to cover all agencies and its careful budget will be administered s%stemaucally and with a minimum of overhead. Relieved of the arduous task of money raising our social workers can go about their task unharassed b; energies. Never before in the history y this dissipation of precious of Washington has there been opportunity for the giver of the mite to contribute as im- partially and as widely as the millionaire. By one gift to the Chest, no matter how small, he can do his bit for every worthy charity in the city. It is not the large gifts that will make the Chest full. ‘What counts is community giving, the multitude of modest gifts gathered into the common coffer— common because all give and all may receive. It has been said that Washington has no community sgiflt. Let us put our shoulders to the wheel and prove that S| e will care for her own, extended to help the needy at all times. —save that there is no more The hand of the social agency is It makes no excuse money. Can the citizens of Washington do less? It is asked that we supply that money in amounts commensurate with our resources. No one is asked to give till it hurts—only to give till it helps. FORTUNE IN ART 1S LOST IN FIRE Otto Marx’s Favorite Paint- ing Saved by Girl, 15, in $1,000,000 Blaze. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, February 5.—A paint- ing of her mother, which 15-year-old Audrey Marx saved because she knew it was her father's favorite, was vir- tually all that remained today of the Marx Mansion on the Hudson. The 25-room frame and brick dwell- ing of Otto Marx, financier, filled with valuable paintings, tapestries and books, was destroyed by fire last night, with a loss estimated at $1,000,000. The portrait of Mrs. Marx as & child was the work of her father, Henry Mosler, noted American artist, who died in 1920. He probably is b2st known for his painting of Beisy Ross and her friends making the first Ameri- can flag. Among the paintings destroyed were 50 of Mosler’s work, a Rembrandi and others by Nicholas Mayes and Perier. Mr. and Mrs. Marx and their two sons were at a theater when the fire broke out, arriving on the scene when the roof was falling in. Mrs. Marx told the police she had jewelry worth $150,- 000 in & safe in the house. The house is located on the banks of the Hudson River in the Riverdale sec- tion of the Bronx and firemen were handicapped by its isolated location and low water pressure. ENVOY TO U. S. NAMED. Prof. Pitametz Is Appointed Jugo- slav Minister. BELGRADE, Jugoslavia, February 5 () —King Alexander yesterday signed a decree naming Prof. Leonid Pitametz of the University of Ljubljana as the new Jugoslavian Minister to Wash- ington. Prof. Pitametz is an authority on constitutional law at the university and has been an administrator there for some time. He was Jugcslavian dele- gate on many occasions to the Assem- bly of the League of Nations and par- ticipated in all the international con- gresses on minorities. —_————— of the sale of donated lots. A preten- tious city was planned and lots were sold by the Government on the strength of this understanding. For three- fourths of a century the Nation violated or neglected the obligations which it had thus incurred. In 1878 the Gov- ernment, which had in the beginning impliedly undertaken to meet all the expenses of capital making and then shifted that burden, in the main, upon private citizens, decided that justice re- quired it to pay one-half of the Dis- trict’s expenses. Washington's Equities. Study of the equitable foundations upon which proportionate contribution toward capital maintenance by the Nation is besed brings the conviction that no fixing of that proportion can be just which ignores national neglects of obligations in the past in determin- ing the cquitable measure of propor- tionate contribution for the future. As an annual contributor to mu- nicipal maintenance in a definite and liberal amount the Nation has since 1876, under the wise and fair legisla- tion of that year, surpassed other na- ture. The result has been to restore the Nation’s self-respect as a fulfiller of Capital obligatens; and to build up the Capital of today, in which every American has a proprietary interest and in respect to which.every American now feels a proprietary pride. Obligation Follows Power. The second obligation, that which is coupled Wwith and measured by ihe degree to which the Nation controls its Capital, is, as I have noted, extraordi- narily great in Washington's case. The teaching of these comparisons is that obligation is coupled with power; i, e., financial obligation is coupled with political power. If the Nation controls, it pays; and to the extent that it con- trols, it pays. Washington is the only capital in the worta in which, i certain proposed policies prevail, the Nation would do ull of the controlling and none of the paying. Paris wants France to pay witnout controlling; some men would nuve tne United States control without paymg. in Canberra, the new capital-to-be of Australia, a supreme national control of he capital may be exemplified as in the ) cf of Washington; but if so, this con- dition will result from the fact that the Nation will secure and retain fee-simple title to all the land in the Federal dis- trict and will simply lease to individual residents. It will logically couple national Government ownership with national Government control in_an ipteresting soclalistic experiment. In Washington, if certain theories prevail, the Nation wlill retain exclusive and complete con- trol of the Capital, equal to that ol Canberra, without extinguishing by purchase all individual title to property and without even recognizing and meet- ing the obligations which arise from | partial ownership and full control. The assumption and exercise of abso- lute and -ufuuvn Ieghslai be ‘r by donated five-sevenths of the city's sofl and ylelded the right of self-govern- ment to the Nation on the understand- ing and implied lsreempnl that the Nation was to bull nificent Capital at its own expense, the organic act were coupled with recog- nition of a -existing ‘and continuing financial obligation. The Nation cannot equitably repudiate or reduce to a. mini- nd ive exercise its full despotic and ¥ gt LNBERGH HALS NEV AR WAL LNE Says Large Area Can Be Developed Only by Airplane. BY LEMUEL F. PARTON. Special Dispatch to The Star. MIAMI, Fla, February 5—A few hours before Col. Charles A. Lindbergh hopped off here for his trail-blazing flight to Panama he was asked whether the Diesel engine would be adapted to airplanes. _“It is quite possible that the Diesel will be used in aviation,” he said. “Ex- periments and tesis are under way and definite progress is being made.” Planes Almost Foolproof. Col. Lindbergh spoke of the research in safety problems now being made by the Daniel Guggenheim Foundation. Questioned as to whether airplanes could be made foolproof, he said: “They are almost that now. The hu- man equation is not the most important in making airplanes absolutely safe. I should say that the emphasis is on the machine, and in this steady progress is being made. The Guggenheim Founda- tion, in its experimental work and in its offer of prizes in a national safety com- petition is making every possible effort to solve the safety problem.” Col. Lindbergh spoke with eagerness of air transportation to South America and of his flight to Panama. “There are large areas of this region,” he said, “which can be brought into de- velopment only by the airplane.” Air Depot Completed. Miami—all Southern Florida, in fact —was buzzing with air talk yesterday as_Col. Lindbergh hopped off. i Florida has' just begun to realize that it is the inevitable air take-off for the Central and South American routes which have -been projected and some of which will now be regularly flown. The Pan-American Airways, a $100,- 000,000 corporation, has just completed here the first international air depot, with daily flights to and from Havana. The planes arrive and depart promptly on schedule, making the trip in two and a half hours. They carry 12 passengers on each trip, and are booked to capac- ity days ahead of sailing dates. At the air depot are customs and immigra- tions inspectors, functioning exactly as they do in ship transportation. (Copyright, 1929, by North American News- puper Alliance. TOKIO NOT WORRIED BY U. S. CRUISER BILL Naval Ministry Holds Time Clause Does Not Disturb Japan's Pres- ent Building Program. By.the Associated Press. TOKIO, February 5—Tentative ap- proval by the United States Senate of the three-year time clause in the pend- ing cruiser bill aroused some comment in Japanese naval circles today. A spokesman for the naval ministry expressed the opinion that the Senate’s approval of the cruisers, with the time clause, would not affect Japan's present naval program, although it might affect building plans arter 1931. He saild much would depend upon the outcome of the conference.on naval limitation which. is due to convene that year to revise the Washington confer- ence agreement. He was asked if he thought the Sen- ate action might accelerate the date of convening of the new conference. He answered it was impossible to tell, re- marking that it was probable Great Britain and Japan would welcome an carller date to facilitate their making plans for the future. BRITISH MAY POSTPONE - PLANS TO BUILD 2 SHIPS Ministry Has in Mind Disarma- ment Gesture to U. 8., New- paper Announces. By the’ Assoclated Press. LONDON, February 5—Two cruisers scheduled to be built for the British navy this year may be deferred as a disarmament. gesture to the United States, said the Parliamentary corre- spodent of the Evening Standard today. The article stated that this measure was likely to be taken soon by the cabinet. . \ It was pointed out that Sir Austen Chamberlain, the foreign secretary, in replying to recent questions in the House of Commons respecting the progress of the limitation of armaments, has adhered rigidly to the answer that the problem was receiving close con- sideration. He has added that the government was studying the question in all its aspects, but that it was not ready to make any fresh proposals to £ | the United States, WALES ACTS FOR KING. LONDON, February 5 (#)—Acting as King George's deputy for the first lime since his majesty's illness, the Prince of Wales today received a number of distinguished visitors at York House, including various public officials. A big crowd stood in the ambassador’s | up here a mag- | mum its financial obligation and retain | court at St. James during the morning | cause the motion was made at a late | ploy Dr. Maltbie to supervise the new distinguished following the watching the visitors Ve, - o i i Y .them $60,000 a vear, and a provision DF RIVERA DENIES REVOLT REPORTS Says No Shots Have Been Fired, Practically All Troops Loyal. By the Assoclated Press. MADRID, February 5.—Premier Pri- mo_de Rivera, in response to & re- quest by the Associated Press for a statement on ‘the situation in Spain, today denied that the recent revolu- | tionary movement “was of importance and declared that there has been no fighting whatever. His statement follows: “Reports broadcast about bloody re- volts in Spain are absolutely untrue, There: has béen no bloodshed in Spain, Not a single shot has been fired, whether by. the rebels of by the local troops. Practically all the troops are loyal, the exceptions being very few artillery officers who have ordered their men to leave their barracks in Ciudad real and to stay within their barracks in Valencia. “These orders were strictly obeyed by the men who are noted for their discipline and obedience, but as soon as they found out that the orders were subversive, they disobeyed their officers. “The entire country has piled ap- probrium upon these disloyal officers. ‘The government will energetically pro- ceed against the responsible parties for these disorders, which have been utter failures. EMBASSY GETS REPORT. Restoration of Complete Tranquillity Claimed in Messages. Restoration of complete tranquillity and order in Spain following the recent public disturbances in Valencia were reported late last night to the Spanish cmbassy here by its government. The message from Spain minimized the seriousness of the events of the past day in that country. *“You can affirm categorically,” the advices stated, “that the disturbances of the last few days have already disappeared com- pletely. They failed to give rise to a single shot in the whole of Spain, either by one side or the other, and not a single wounded was reported.” “The failure of former Premier Jose Sanchez Guerra has been notorious, but as the captain-general of Valencia, Gen. Castro Girona, was inept in the fulfill. ment of his duty and inactive in making arrests he has lost his post, and he has cen submitted to due process of law. “The army, the navy, the civil guards, the coast guards, the security force and the militia have at all times been loyal to the government,-without allowing the | politicians and other discontented ele- ments, who do not amount in the whole of Spain to more than 1,000, to influ- ence them into abandoning their duties. “This is the truth of what is happen- ing in Spain, and whatever else might be said is nothing but a dream of those rvhn are interested in propagating the es.” MERGER FAVORED IN REPORT MADE BY SENATE BODY (Continued From First Page.) and the Washington Railway & Elec- tric Co., amounting to nearly $7,000,000, should stand to the account of the new company and made available for rein- vestment in the property for improves ments and betterment, but that at no time could it e added to the valuation for rate-making purposes. More Than Hcur's Debate. ‘This amendment was voted down after more than an hour of debate, in | which a majority of the committee agreed with the view of Dr. Maitbie, the subcomryittee expert, who held that since the fixed valuation of $50,000,000 provided for in the original merger plan has been eliminated, there was ndthing to be accomplished by setting up a cer- tain amount as the depreciation fund at the present timé. Senator Blaine, who supported all the profosed amend- ments and who voted against reporting the merger, argued that there is noth- ing in the plan to determine what the company shall do with the accrued de- preciation. Blaine's second amendment was de- signed to prevent the companies from claiming a perpetual franchise, while provided that if Congress should repeal the authorization at any time, the fran- chise rights would terminate one year following such repeal. Blaine Announces Alteration. Just before the committee voted down the prudent invesiment amendment, Senator Blaine announced that he had altered it to provide that the companies c‘fluld 80 into court following a valua- tion to contend that it was confiscatory, 3\‘:: Xtiimlting‘ v.lile court to passing upon stions of law with vn’lll‘l:uom regard to lhev e committee also had a len v discussion over a clause which g&’k:\'t: inserted several weeks ago stating that all of the constitutional rights of the companics are preserved under this legislation. Senator Blaine argued that the merger resolution is in the form of a contract and that the language referred to might prevent Congress from altering or amending the terms at a later date. Other committee members contended that the constitutional rights of the company could not be interfered ::alshlel;‘t a::y e:e{n whether the clause or i it aken out. It vms_fimlly l';;:»posed Amendments Voted Down. e committes voted down proposed amendments suggested at mepnegnnzt last week to direct a reduced fare for school children and to require free transfers between street cars and busses. In the general debate on the merger question as a whole, Senator Blaine argued that the public gets only free street car transfers, estimated to save against a higher carfare for two years, but giving the companies the right o apply for an increase and have its case considered before the two years expire. ]‘le argued that the companies are re- {uv“t,zd “g{lcs}-‘:sg%o mro‘uxh Tepeal of the requires the [ors et‘ev:.al.nvnrset ;ark.’ ey nator Vandenburg took issue witl Senator Blaine, declaring that tner‘;; are much greater advantages than that for the publlc. He sald the general benefits of unified operation means more to Washington than the detailed arithmetic in the agreement. He fur- ther declared that it is probable an in- crease in car fare cannot be avoided if a merger is not brought about, and that the . saving in operating expenses resulting from merger, estimated at} from $500,000 to $1,000,000 a year, is the best guarantee the ple can obtain against an increase in car fare. Bankers Declared Opposed. In the course of the debate, Sena- tor Blaine said he had received infor- mation to the effect .that the bankers of Washington are not in favor of the merger. There was also a brief tilt over the question of how the Federation of Citi- zens’ Assoclations stands on the modi- fied merger. Senator Blaine pointed out that last Saturday night the federation laid on the table a motion to indorse the modified merger. Senator Vanden- burg replied that that action was not a fair ‘test of the federation’s stand be- hour, and in his opinion should have been’'laid on the table, Senator Capper He Who Got Slap On Cheek Catches Jay Walking Girl Officer Grabs Her Arm As She Orders Him to “Let Go” and Strikes. NEW YORK, February 5—Times Square traffic police are becoming more proficient at catching woman jay walkers. Where it took 10 policemen to run| the first one to earth, the second was | caught single-handed, but not until the lone captor had his face slapped. A fashionably dressed young woman | started across Broadway at Forty-fifth street against the traffic lights. Patrolman John Brennan seized her arm. “You can't cross now. Wait for the lights,” he sal “Let go my arm.” the young woman ordered. The policeman held on and her free hand smacked sharply against his cheek. He arrested her for dis- orderly conduct. At the station the prisoner at first refused to give her name. She sobbed in a cell for three hours before she identified herself as Margaret Frey, 29, a companion to an aged woman resid- ing on Riverside Drive. She was re- leased under bail. [TALY NOT 0 PAY MORE THAN DEBTS Refuses to Give More on War Account Than She Gets From Germany. By Cable to The Star and the New York Herald-Tribune. ROME, February 5.—The which Italy's delegates will pursue dur- ing the forthcoming Paris conference of experts to fix German reparations will be simply a reiteration in modified form of this country’s previ- ously published doctrine of the insepa- rability of repatations and war debts, it was disclosed today. This statement of Italy’s attitude was contained in an address which Premier Mussolini made at the last meeting of his cabinet a| few days ago and which was given to the press today. The only modification, and that only by inference, of the previously an- nounced policy lies in a hint that the Italian delegates will go to the meetings with no preconceived notions, which, of course, can only be taken to mean that Italy will maintain an open, that is to say, a bargaining, attitude. Adamant on Debt Balance. In other words, Italy will be ready to -entertain any equitable proposals so long as they do not violate the princi- ple of Italy’s willingness to pay in war debts not one lira more than she re- ceives from Germany. On this point Italy, according to Mussolini, is ada- mant. His statement follows: “The problem of reparations con- tinues to dominate international polit- fcal life. A committee of experts in- trusted with the duty of presenting pro- Is for a complete and definite set- tlement of the reparations questions has been constituted. It will meet within a few days'in Paris. Its constitution has been a long undertaking. It cost four months of time. It is to.be hoped that its labors will proceed more ex- peditiously. “Inalienable Requirements.” “The Fascist government hopes for a great degree of success for its labors. Before other. creditor governments and before Germany it intends to continue | to be as it has been in all the preced- ing piases of this question—en element | of reality for economic reconstruction and stabilization of Europe without any preconceived thesis and open to any equitable and reasonable possibility. “In turn Italy expects from others that in the new development of the new systematization of reparations due from Germany they will find a solu- tion in accordance with Italy’s inalien- able requirements, based upon the principles of linking debts with repara- tions, according to the indications re- peated in the last msmorandum of November 12, wherein Italy set forth its own viewpoint concerning the delib- erations in Geneva. To no other con- dition will she be able, in Yustice to herself and to the clause of European reconstruction, to give her consent.” (Copyright. 1929 CAPT. BURLINGAME DECLINES TO REPLY T0 BLALOCK STORY ___(Continued From First Page.) group of newspaper men when Bur- lingame came to Police Department headquarters with his reply. The cap- tain attempted to evade them and tock refuge in the office of the chief clerk of the department, but the reporters cornered him as he left the police gu- perintendent. Asked whether he had submitted his answer and what it contained, Bur- lingame declared, “I have nothing to sa; Whereabouts of Palmist Mystery. Several of Washington's leading at- torneys and a number of other pro- fessional and business men, it is re- ported, have come to Burlingame's as- sistance and have proffered their serv- ices without charge to aild him in fight- ing Mrs. Blalock's charges. In the meantime the whereabouts of the palmist continue to remain a mystery. Maj. Hesse said he had been told that she came to Washington from Baltimore last night. He renewed his offer to give her police protection if she revealed her hiding place. ICE ISOLATES PATIENTS. Doctor Plans 25-Mile Journey Over Frozen Lake. CROSS VILLAGE, Mich., February 5 (#).—To minister to two pneumonia pa- tients and others on Beaver Island, storm-bound and ice-locked for several ‘weeks, Dr, Russell Palmer of this village planned today to cross the 25 miles of Lake Michigan ice that separates the island from the mainland of Michigan. e will go primarily to treat Mrs. Charles Gallagher and Mrs. Fred Nackerman, suffering from pneumonia. Charles Tilley, another island resident, died of the discase yesterday. Dr. Imer will follow the trail broken Sunday by Joseph Left and Charles Gallagher, mail carriers; Miss nurs:, m;ld . made the trip in 13 hours and re) that twice their horse broke through the ice. then recalled that during the “hearings last week President Havenner of the federation testified that® while there were some amendments that might still be made, he.though the sentiment was that if further amendments would jeopardize the merger the plan should be acted on in its present form. ‘The full committee also adopted the report of the subcommittee requesting the Public Utilities Commission to em- valuation to be made et 2 policy | slightly | NOTED EUROPEANS HIT BY INFLUENEA Cold and: Storms Contifue Unabated, Bringing Suffer- ing Over Wide Area. By the Assoctated Press. LONDON, February 5—Thousands were ill in Europe today as a result of an epidemic of influenza from which few localities were spared. In France some of the most notable “figures of public life were among those afflicted. In Paris the viétims included Presi= dent Doumergue, Premier Raymond Poincare and his ministers, Aristide Briand and Georges Leygues. Their cases were mild, but there was a more serious aspect to that of Marshal Foch, where influenza had complicated a prior heart and kidney ailment. Marshal Foch's general condition was described as stationary. While the physicians were . extremely giiarded in their discussion of the case, it was learned that new kidney complications which might. bring on_a new crisis are feared: S. Parker Gilbert Recovering. -Others on the sick list in Paris were Marshal Henri Petain and Sir Willlam G. Tyrrell, British -Ambasador. 8. Parker Gilbert, agent general of repa= rations, was better after an attack of the disease. In England, -Dame . Nellie Melba, famous prima donna, was recovering from the malady. 3 Hospitals in Paris were taxed to capacity with influenza patients: Ber- lin's public works and department stores reported heavy sick lists. ‘This was the case, too, in London. In Prague, Czechoslovakia, the epidemic was on the wane after striking low. more than one in every five. Although there have been deaths, most centers reported that mortality had been com- paratively low. The epidemic was accompanied today by continuation of the bitterly cold weather which has gripped Europe and Asia from the Yellow Sea to the British Isles. 4 Twenty Feet of Snow. Some parts of Central and South- castern Europe particularly were suf- fering. Several deaths were reported from the Balkans, Constantinople and South Russia. At Belgrade, Jugoslavia, the temperature reached 25 degrees be- Jow zero, and a passenger train which. left the city Sunday for Zigazar was buried under 20 feet of snow. Another avalanche buried a rescue train, while two other trains were unreported. The Danube and Sava Rivers were frozen over so solidly (n}at horses and carts vere crossing safely. by At Pfi;gue‘g Czechoslovakia, the lowest temperature in 157 years was recorded. | The whole country was covered with a { planket of snow and relief expeditions | were organized for a number of vil- lages. Famished wolves attacked iso- lated towns. In Constantinople the heavy snow occasioned much suffering. Ttaly saw considerable snow, and Rome recorded the lowest temperature since 1895—21 degrees. France had clear, sunny weather, although it was bitterly cok}: | even the Riviera held no charm for ifs Winter visitors. Denmark was fce-, bound. and temperatures below freezing prevailed in England and the British Isles. Asia Also Hit. Asia was _not spared. Northern Chinese ports reported unusual cold. with fce hindering shipping at Tientsin and Chinwangtao. and’a number of | deaths in Shanghai. Baluchistan and Northern India ex- perienced very low temperatures, al- | {though few details were available. Bom- bay reported a reading of 52 degrees | Fahrenheit, the lowest in _near‘.y a cen- tury, Cotton-clad Indians suffersd greatly from whet to them is bitter ffl]d. | _ Anomalously, the weather in Northern ! Furope was much milder. Points in Siberia reported temperature of 40 de- grees Fahrenheit. while in Spitzbereen the reading was 3 degrees higher than in London, where it was 27. Greek Villages Isolated. 1t was reported from Athens that all of Greece was suering from a wave of intense cold. Railway communications have been interrupted in several places by snow which lies 6 feet deep in some localities. Several villages are isolated {and some ore sufferng from a food shortage. The. River Maritza has over- flowed, destroying stock and seed which had been planted. At Florina yester- day the temperature was 9.3 degrees below_zero. In Italy several weather victims were reported todey. An old man and old woman succumbed to the cold at Udine. The cook on the steamer Cari- tas in the sunny Bay of Naples came out of his hot kitchen into the draft unexpectedly and died on the way to a hospital. An old woman died simi~ larly at Naples, while still another death was reported from the Romagna. VENICE CANALS FROZEN. Iceboats and Skiis May Replace Gondolas If Cold. Continues. ROME, February 5 (). —Iceboats and may b2 necessary to replace Venetien gondelas if the weather in that Italian city does not moderate soon. Icz has clogged up the canals and lagoons, which serve Venice as streets, and traffic there by means of gondolas has become most difficult. The tem- perature has been as low as 158 Fahrenheit. Traffic on the River Po has become virtually impossible since that river frozs over. Dante’s own Arno is also {rozen over. COURTS BECOME SEVERE. Chicago Judges, Once Lenient, Adopt Stern Policies. CHICAGO, February 5 (#).—Criminal court judges, who during the first three. months of 1928 dis yed what the Chi- cago Crime Comm characterized as “startling lenienc stern and severe during the fingl th menths of the year, the commission’s, annusl report said today. “Energy was almost doubled. as indi- cated by hours on the bench,” tha re- port said, “and trials by jury were al- most tripled.” A marked decrease in felony waivers was noted by'the commission, An earlier report had criticized the courts for waiving felony charges in many cases, ® Your Income Tax. No. 2. Income tax returns are re- quired of every single person whose net income for the taxable year 1928 was $1,500 or more; every married person, living with husband or wife, whose net in- come was $3,500 or more, and every person, single or married, whose gross-intome was $5,000 or more, regardicks of net income. Hi and wife, living . to- gether, must include the income of each in a single joint refurn, or each must file a separate re- turn showing the jncome of each. In the return of married persons must. be included also the income of dependent minor children.