Evening Star Newspaper, December 8, 1930, Page 4

- SI0183391 SHOWN 1.5, SHARE FOR 193 Bureau of Efficiency Fixes Amount as Contribution Under Lump Sum. (Continued From First Page.) comparison of Washington’s tax sched- ules with 14 other leading cities. The is_similar_to the one prepared for the House Subcommittee on Ap- ropriations in 1929, but it has been Bmught up to date by using official 1930 census figures and_other later data. The 1929 report, however, did not set forth the amount which the bureau believed should be contributed by the United States Government. The bureau found in its study that while Washington has a lower tax rate than any of the 14 cities, when their tax rate is adjusted on the basis of the District's assess>d valuation per capita, with Federal holdings included, the tax levy is actually higher than the average adjusted tax rate for the other citles. ‘The bureau also found that Wash- ington’s assessed real property valua- tion, when the Federal holdings are in- cluded, was nearly twice the average for the other cities. and its assessed |Agr personal property valuation per capita was over three tim-s the averags of nine comparable cities. Levies Are Found High. Excluding the Federal buildings, the bureau said, the tak levies per capita for Washington were $40.02 for real property and $9 for personal property, and including the Federal holdings they were $£51.50 ard $13.19, =s comnared with averapes for the oth~r cities of $48.64 and $11.52, respectively. “Therefore, in snite of the fact that Washington has the Iowest real and personal propertv taxes in a1l 14 cities.” the report declared. “(with a single exception in the ease of personal nroo- erty), its high assessments considered in connection with the Federal Gov- ernment’s property holdines of a tax- able nature resnlted in levies which on per cabita basis were actvally hizher than the average of the other citles.” In it 1979 renort the bureau com puted the Peders] Governme for the 1928 fiscal vear. so] tax Vabititw s a municinel tax paver. at $7.440939. The new report fixes this amount at $8.865.722. No attempt wes made in the 1929 report, however, t7 comnnte the liabil- itv on account of ernenditures of the District as ocrasined hv the fect that Washington #s the Nations Cavital Neither did the bureav p'ace a valua tion on the real pronerty for park nur- poses used exclusively bv the District. Both of these factors b been taken into consideration in the latest report. Revenue Loss Figured. = loss of revenue occasioned by the wegf that Washington is the Naticnal Tapital was placed by the bureau at $1317.669, which when added to the Governm-nt’s tax lability e amount, the ‘bureau recommends as the-Federal con- tribution for 1932, Three different items make up th> $1317.669 total of the loss in revenue occasioned by the fact that Washington is the Nation's Capital. These are an item of $773,581 representing the tax on excess ordinary real proverty exemntions; another item of 8466500 representing. the -cost of excess vark maintenance. and a third item of $77.588 representing gne-third of the cost of excess park develop- ‘ments. In computing the Federal Govern- ment’s tax liability the that the tax on_ real amount to $6.877.550, the the tax on intangible personal to_8$451857. In order to compute the tax liabil- itv of the Federal Government for the 1932 fiscal vear. on the same basis as 1t was computed by the burcau in 1928, property at the present time, to add the value of land and buildings to be hased during the current fiscal year and the value of buildings to be constructed during the present fiscal year and the first half of the 1932 fiscal year. and then deduct the value of bulldings to be wrecked or disnosed of during this period. This treatment of the value of buildines. the burean said is In conformity with th~ practice of has an excess over the average of the other 14 cities by reason the Capital City. Method of Comparison. “Comparison of the burden of real property taxes in different cities,” the report said, “cannot be made by using the tax rate alone. Such comj are meaningless unless it can be es- tablished that the bases of assessed valuations are the same. Two cities may have the same tax rate, but the actual burden in one may be twice that In the other because of a higher basis for assessments. Conversely cne city may have twice the tax rate of another, but the actual burden may be the same because of a lower bass for assess- ments. Therefore, attempts to compare ‘Washington's tax rate of $17 per thou- sand on real property with Baltimore’s tax rate of $24.13, or Minneapolis’ tax rate of $73.89, as is so frequently done, results in hopeless confusion. To make such comparisons mean something, at- tempts have freguently been made in taxation stud'es to establish compara- ble adjusted tax rates for the various cities. “The usual method employed to ad- just such rates is to apply the ratio of assessed valuation to fair or market value to the actual tax rates; for ex- ample, in a city, where the actual tax rate is $25 per thousand and the as- sessed va'uation of property is 50 per cent of its fa‘r value on the average, jthe adjusted tax rate would be shown as $12.50 per thousand; in a city where the actual tax rate is $20 per thousand and the ascessed valuation of property is 80 per cent of its fair value on the average, the adjusted tax rate would be shown as $16 per thousand. ‘As to what this ratio is in the three ties cited above no two authorities The Bureau of the Census in 23 of its report on financial sta- of Cities for 1928, lists the re- ported basis of assessmedt in practice in_terms of per cent of estimated true value as follows: Ratio Used by Cities. ‘Washington 100 per cent. Baltimore 90 per cent and Minneapolis 40 per cent. The Detroit Bureau of Municipal Research in its 1928 report on com- parative tax rates of 235 cities, which is published annually and has ot va- rious times been printed in the Hou: hearings on the District appropriation bill and in the Congressional Record, gives the following rat'os of assessed to market value: Washington 90 per cent, Baltimore 80 per cent and Min- neapolis 34 per cent. “In_a memorandum on the District of Columbia tax rate prepared early in 1930 by the assessor of the District, he offers still a third set of ratios as fol- lows: Washington 90 per cent, Balti- more 65 per cent and Minneapolis 30 1 | jper_cent. “These widely varying results, ob- tained by the use of the same method, indicate rather conclusively that the method is unsatisfactory. The Bureau of the Census states that its reports showimg the ratio of assessed to trus valu: ere Dbased upon estimates ob- tained from city officials and that the figures are only approximately correc The Detroit Bureau of Municipal Re- search frankly admits that ‘until cities give more attention to the problem of determining the ratio of assessed to true value exact information relative to n_:e tax burden will remain a mys- “In collecting the data for the bu- reau’s veport it has been found that generally no records are maintained from which reliable ratios of assessed valuation to fair value can be deter- mined. Ratios which have been used in adjusting tax rates on this basis are, for the most part, mere guesses, and the resulting adjusted rates are of no specific interest, but are useful only in indicating general trends. Adjusted Tax Rates. “For the purpose of establishing ad- justed tax rates for the cities covered by the bureau's survey, which constitute a limited group in the same populal class, it is believed that an adjustment of asscssed valuations of property for the other cities on the basis of Wash- ington's assessed - valuation per capita would produce comparable results. ‘Washington’s assessed valuation per capita was, therefore, applied to the population of each city to determine its adjusted assessed valuation. Then, by dividing the actt tax levy by the adjusted assessed valuation, the adjusted tax rate was established. This method meets the objection that consideration is not given to the varying price levels of property in the several cities, which is often made to the first method de- bed above. “Furthermore, it is manifestly unfair to compare tax rates and tax revenues in Washington with those in other cities without taking into consideration the large property holdings of the Fed- eral Government which are exempt from taxation. To establish comparable tax data for Washington it is necessary to determine .and include the amount the District Tax Assessor Willlam P. Rich- ards, who readjusts the tax on bufld- ings on the basis of their status at the middle of each tax year. Formula Is Flexible. The formula used by the Bureau of Efficiency in arriving at the amount Federal Government should con- tribute is a flexible one and would re- sult in raising the Federal Govern- ment’s contribution from vezs to year during the period of buflding cnstruc- in the Mall, and also in the event of an increase in the tax rate. In other werds, the $10,183,391 which the bureau the United States should contribute in the 1932 fiscal year would be in- creased materially in_the .subsequent year, when additional Federal buildings constructed and the holdings in- in value. Future acquisitions of property under tHe Federal program are not included 4n the figure arrived at as the value of the Pederal Government’s real property. eover, in all cases of real property aequired since 1928, and to be acquir tHe valuations used are those assessed by He assessor of the District. The pur- < price paid Zor the property already uired averaged nearly 50 per cent higher than the assessed valuation, bus Federal Government would pay in taxes to the District of Columbia on its prop- erty holdings used for the transaction of the Nation's business if it were sub. ject to tax. Therefore, two computa- tions of adjusted assessed valuations and tax rates were made, the first on the basis of Washington’s assessed va uations per capita exclusive of all Fed- eral property haldings, and the second on the basis of Washington'’s assessed valuation per capita, including the property holdings of the Federal Gov- ernment other than park property and property used.for the exclusive.benefit of %fie District government.” - n the Pederal property holdi e included, Washington's aaseseeq real property valuation was nearly twice the .average for the other citles ($3,029.15 eomrwd with $1,522.33), and its assessed personal property val- 'lf']‘lllun per c-;;m’ ‘was over three times e average of nine comparable citles ($1,646.96 compared with p'523.77). o Tax Levies Per Capita. “Excluding the Federal holdings, the tax levies per capita for ‘Washington were $40.02 for real property and $9 for personal property, and including the Federal holdings they were $51.50 and $13.19, as compared with averages for xml icreases were made on this ac- t. In all cases where improvi ts were removed or are to be re- ved during the next year, their value was deducted. And new buildings that be under roof January 1, 1932, are at one-half their estimated cost as the assessor levies taxes for only one- hplf year against such buildings. The Bureau placed the assessment on property owned by the Pederal vernment in the District at $404.- 1,886, which at the prévailing tax rate of $17 a thousand would yield $6.877,- 580. The value of the tangible personal pfoperty of the United States was at $90,317,480, which would pro- duce in taxes a total of $1536,315. The lxitlnxflfle personal property was valued 2t $90,317,480, which would yield a tax of $451.857. The total, amounting to $8.865,722, the Bureau said, covers the Hability of the Federal Government 2§ a municipal taxpayer of Washington 18 conmection with the ordinary costs of gpvernment of the municipality. ! Comparisons Are Made. {In determining the Federal Govern- ment’s liability on account of the loss revenue and on account of extraordi- expenditures occasioned by the 1 that Washington is the Natlonal filhl‘ the Bureau took into considera- the loss of revenue on account of ess ordinary real property exem; fi, and the cost of excess park acqui- n and maintenance as shown by the gue experience of the group of 14 ble cities. tax. * vdllue of S T 644, which Tepresents 20.11 per the other cities of $48.64 and $11.52, re- spectively. Therefore, in spite of the fact that Washington had the lowest real and personal property tax rates of all 14 citles (with a single exception in the case of personal property) its high assessments’ considered in connection with the Pederal Government’s property holdings of a taxable nature resulted in levies which on per capita basis were actually higher than the average of the other cities. “Mast cities seem to prefer a low basis of assessment with a high tax rate, al- though obviously a $40 tax rate on s $5,000 assessment is the same as a $20 rate on a $10,000 assesment. and the amount of taxes paid is the same in either case. Consequently, in many clties tax rates have risen more rapidly than have assecsment values. But in Washington assessments have been gradually rising during recent years, while the tax rate has remained iow. Although Washington has a lower tax rate than any of these cities, when their tax rates are adjusted on the basis of Washington's valuation per capita, Federal property holdings being included as they should be, Washing- ton's tax rate is actually higher than the average adjusted tax rate for the other cities. “As to rates on personal property, ashington’s average tax rate on tan- gibles and intangibles is lower than the corresponding rate of 13 of the 14 cities. But its average rate is only $1.99 less than the average rate for nine of the cities not havi an income tax ad- Justed on the of Washington's as- uulod valuation per capita when Fed- eral t of the total value of taxable real g. ‘The total assessed valuation real property, 1932, including | adj ‘Federal consider property holdings red as taxable, to the Bureau, is eptimated at 31,648,724,494. District municipaily owned property, walued at $60,000,000, the Bureau de- is largely local in character and mmu;twmmmw‘ citizens of Washington. However, mmmwuu,mt B mia, Vashingion andoygiedy the blaze. of its being tion | ommended THE EVENING on the general property tax for their revenue, but to an increasing extent other forms of taxes are being used to supplement this source. Among these are income taxes and various types of business and non-business license taxes. “Tables in the bureau's report cover- ing assessed valuations show that ‘Washington’s total revenue receipts per capita from all sources in 1928, includ- ing the Federal Government's contri- bution, vas $6.694 less than the average per capita receipts of the other cities— $88.919, as compared with $93.616. These tables also showed that for operation and maintenance of all gen- eral departments, other than State highway departments, the 14 com- paroble cities spent an average of $55.390 per capita in 1928, while Wash. ington spent $58.710. The detalled e: penditures indicate that Washington spent a greater amount per capita than the average of the other cities under operaton and maintenance, for the pro- tection cf persons and property, for highways, for charities, for hospitals and corrections, and for recreation, hich_includes parks and playgrounds. The District, however, spent less for operation and maintenance under gen- eral government, conservation of health and sanitation and education. “On the other hand,” the report de- clared. “the per capita expenditures for capital cutlays in 1928 was $5.436 less thon fcr the other cities—$21.270, as comparad with $26.6¢ High Exempt List Here, In computing the tax liability of the Federal Government for the 1932 fiscal year, the bureau found that Washing- ton has a higher retio of tax-exempt property than any other city in the list, the value of the non-taxable property in 1928 having been $604,742,615. Since 1928, however, the bureau said there have | increased « by the a cessor. In addition, it was pointed ou Congress has appropriated more than $8.000,000 for the current fiscal year for parks, schools and the Municipal Center. The bureau recommended that the Federal Goverrment contribute one- third of the total of ecost of a~quisition of prk property on the ground that the park arca in Washington is one- 1 1$15,000.000 for 1930 was larger than| STAR, WASHINGTON, INTERNAL REVENUE | . PAID BY D. C. HIGH Receipts From Local Sources Surpass Those of 25 States and Three Territories. The District of Columbia last year paid into the Federal Treasury mor: internal revenue taxes than most of the States of the Union, and with only 40 per cent of the total population of the couniry it paid 52 per c:nt of the total Internal revenue collections, according to the annual report of the collector of internal revenue, made public today. ‘Twenty-five States, Alaska, Hawail and the Philippine Islands each fell be- low the District in their total payments. There was a 3 per cent increase in total collections from the entire. coun- try for the fiscal year endsd June 30, 1930, over the previous fiscal year, ac- cording to the commissioner’s report, but the District of Columbia, to the contrary, showed a decrease of about | 6 per cent during the same period. Despite this decr:ase, the National Capital turned in a total of internal revenue receipts of $15724,675.72 for the fiscal year 1930, including $14,784,- 495.31 income tax, and $940,180.41 mis- cellaneous taxes. 'This compares with a total of $17,094,719.09 internal revenu receipts from this city in the previous year, 1929, Payments From States. This city’s contribuiion of more than contributions from 25 States and Terir- tories, as follows: Alabama, $7,161,054.98; Alaska, $138,- 356.31; Arizona, $2,965,710.01; Arkan- sas, $3,156,507.34; Colorado, $12,468,- 450.77; Georgia, $12,520,618.54; Hawaii, $5,515,914.45; Idaho, $£68,067.52; Iowa, $13,368,635.48; Louis:ana, $12,199,672.94; Maine, $8,670,81309; Mississippi, $2,- third greater tban in the other com- parable cities. ““The Klrk land of Washington in 1928,” the bureau sald, “was 9 per cent of its total area and that of the other cities was 6 per cent of their to- tal area. This report proposes that two- thirds of the appropriation for 1932 for park development be charged to the District of Columbia as the normal out- lay, and that one-third be included in arriving at the total contribution of the Federal Government. Theose fractions represent the par karea and the excess of Washington, respectively, as shown 4b‘ym'.he experience of the c-mparable citles.” .. SHIP YARD WORK SEEN AS AID TO LABOR 099,915.16; Montana, $2,610,739.32; Ne- braska, $5,705.779.81; Nevada, $1.879.- 68; New Hampshire, $3,758,973.25; New Mexico, $924,647.51; North Dakota, $556,292.43; Oregon, $5.744,794.79; Rhode Island, ~$15307,494.16; ~ South Carolina, $3,018,204.30; South’ Dakota, $887,611.88; Utah, $3.225,694.42; Ver- mont, $2229,514.73; Washington, $14,- 303,280.31; West_Virginia, $12,139,82: 37; Wyoming, $752334.55, and. Philip- pine Islands, $324,815. The total internal revenue collections for the entire country for the fiscal y:ar-1820 amounted to $3.040.145,733.17, compared with $2,939,054,375.43 in_the previous year. The income tax collec- tion showed an increase of 3 per cent from $2311274428.64 to $2410250,- 230.28, Tax Refunds for Year. ‘Tax refunds during th+ year totaled $241,526,816, th> commissioner reported. Rejected claims for tax overassess- Modernization of Three Warships, if Authorized, Will Prevent Lay-offs at Navy Yard. If Congress authorizes the moderni- zation of the U. 8. 8. New Mexico, Mis- sissippi and Idaho at this session, the Washington Navy Yard will obtain a large work order that will tend to stem any lay-offs the Navy Department may deem advisable under its retrenchment program. Secretary Adams sald in his annual report today the department had rec- the modernizing of these battleships, but this work awaits con- gressional lmevnl. Meanwhile, the U. S. 8. Pennsylvania, at the Philadelphia avy Yard, and the U. S. S. Arizona, at the Norfolk, Va., Navy Yard, are now being modernized at a cost of approximately $14,800,000. Both ships are scheduled to completed by "l_;fi:l 1, 1931, iy gun fac at the navy yard here would get the bulk of the zurll on the three crafts’ modernization pro- gram. s S BELLEVUE RESEARCH COVERS WIDE RANGE Nearly All Governmental Radio Experiments Carried on at District Laboratory. Nearly all the governmental re- search and experimental work in radio has been carried forward at the Naval Research Laboratory, at Bellevue, D. C., Secretary Adams said today in his an- rual report, but the service has done a wealth of other research work, in ad- dition. This has ranged from the ef- fect of phosphorous on steel to the dan- ger of hydrogen gas in submarines, The Navy's research work is done at Bellevue, at the engineer experiment station at Annapolis, Md.; the fuel-oil testing plant at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and the laboratories at the va- rious navy yards, under the directicn of the Bureau of Engineering. “The N“‘é Research Laboratory at Bellevue, D. C, has been maintained in approximately ‘the same status as the fmemnu year. By reason of a small | ha increase in appropriation an increase in staff without increase in overhead has been possible,” said the report. MAJ. FRANCO BOOMED FOR SPANISH CHAMBER Republicans Support Aviator for Post That Would Give Him Im- munity From Arrest. By the Associated Press. fizamnmfi.fle'oe% Maj. Ramon nco, mi aviator, who escaped from a Madrid prison, is being boomed as a Republican candidate to the Chamber of Deputies in the March elections. His candidacy is being advocated by Republicans, advanced Liberals and Liberal-Socialists in Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona and Bilbao, These citles usually return large Republican ma- Jorities, Election to Parliament will permit return of Franco to Spain under the cloak of immunity given Congressmen against arrest for political offenses. Franco's arrest resulted from newspaper writings in which he crif the government. SECRET CHI.EF IS DEAD Frank C. Reilly, U. 8. Agent, Suc- cumbs After Operation. ST. PAUL, December 8 (#).—Frank O. Rellly, 41, chief of the Northwest ments totaled $164,093,902. Of the overassessment granted, $124,019.820 represented amounts not collected. A total of $35,819,633 was credited against taxes due in other years, while $87,687,363 was refunded or paid in cash. Interest Bggregating $36,515,874 was paid on the amounts refunded or credited. During the year, 44,166 claims azainst the Government wer: adjusted. Of the number, 31,317 were allowed in full or in part, while 12,849 were rejected. ‘The miscellaneous tax collections dur- ing the fiscal year 1930 amounted to $629.886,502.89, as compared with $607,- 779,946.79 collected during the fiscal year 1929, an increase of $22,106,556.10, or 4 per cent. The principal increases in the revenue from miscellaneous taxes for the fiscal year 1930 were from to- bacco manufactures and documentary stamp taxes. Costs of Operation. The amount expended and obligated in administering the internal revenue tax laws for the fiscal year 1930 was $34,352,063.41, not including the amount expended for refunding taxes illegally or erroneously collected, which is in no sense an administrative expense. The aggregate receipts of internal revenue were $3,040,145,733.17, which makes the cost of operation for the fiscal year 1930 $1.13 for each $100 collected, as com- pared with $1.17 for the fiscal vear 1929. During the year a reduction of 149 employes was made in the personnel in the income tax unit, of which 104 were from the Washington force and 45 from the fleld. This reduction was made possible as the work has been brought to a more current condition, and was accomplished by the unit not being re- quired to fill all vacancies caused by resignation and separation. “The work of the Special Advisory Committee over a period of approxi- mately three years has proved con- clusively the contention of the Bureau of Internal Revenue that Federal tax- ation is a matter of administration and not litigation,” said the report. “At the close of the fiscal year ended June 30, 1926, there were pending be- fore the Board of Tax Appeals more than 20,000 appeals. The number of new appeals filed was considerable in excess of the number disposed of. To meet the situation there was adopted in 1927 an aggressive settlement policy, particularly with respect to cases which appeared destined for litigation rather than settlement through administrative processes. The activities of the com- mittee in this direction have been or- derly, with the settlement procedure given effect so that the result in each case disposed of by the committee shall ve been consistent with the proven facts and the law thereto applicable, with every endeavor to maintain the completed work on the highest possible standard of excellence. The results of the committee’s intensive efforts in this direction are shown by the fact that cases comprising 16,230 docket numbers which had been carried to the Board of Tax Appeals were recommended for closing by the committee up to June 30, 1930. Following negotiations with the petitioners, settlements were ob- tained by the committee 9,840, or 60.6 per cent, in such cases. MIKE IN SUBMARINE THRILLS RADIO PATRONS Swish of Sea and Word Picture From Under Water Figure in Coast-to-Coast Hook-up. By the Assoclated Press. NEW YORK, December 8.—Sounds from a submarine far beloy the sur- face, the swish of the sea And a word picture of underwater craft in action gave a coast-to-coast radio audience a nex‘ t;xrfll }'e!(e’rdl:‘ wo submarines speeded along 10 miles off the coast of New London, Conn., two announcers of the National Broadcasting Co. and naval officers depicted for listeners what they saw as one submarine went below and the other stayed on the surface. 1t was the first broadcast from a sub- mersible as it sank below the waves. It was made through the co-operation of the United States Navy, with the O-8 going below and the O-4 staying on the Division of the United States Secret Service since April, 1928, died here yes- terday. He was operated on a week ago for a ruptured nprendlx. This district includes Minnesota, North Dakota and Western Wisconsin. Pleasure Boats Burned. MINNEAPOLIS, December 8 (#).— Thirty-one pleasure boats, stored in the boat house of the Minnesota Marine Carporation, and two cottages at Orono, Lake Minnetonka, near here, were de- belief a faulty may have a stovepipe - g surface. Englishman Will Speak. Maj. Charles H. Moore, retired - lish Ag! officer, will deliver an ad- ight “What America Owes the World.” ‘The meeting will be open to the pub- lic, and at the conclusion Maj. Moore's remarks will be discussed in open meeting. One Killed, One Hurt in Auto Crash GREENVILLE, 8. C., December 8 (#). Bishiop seriously njired yesterday When the car in which they were riding eol-l lided with another on a highway south of Greenville, Both men ‘here, 1), 74-Cent Remittance On Warship Figures In Report by Adams By the Assoclated Press. Only 74 cents, but it had a place among figures in the mil- lions today in Secretary Adams’ annual report. Here's the story: Construction of the battleship Massachusetts was '11_per cent completed by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass, when it was scrapped under the Washington treaty. The Navy could not pay the bill until 1928, when it sent $3.907,636.32. Bethlehem found the cost to be only $3907,635.58, however, and remitted 74 cents. ‘The refund just missed being counted in last year's report, but it has at last been included with sums aggregating $50,000,000, VALUATION METHOD ON U. S. PROPERTY IN D. C. EXPLAINED (Continued From First Page.) cost of th: machinery, equipment and other tangibles in the Federal buildings which amounted to $180,000,000. ‘This figure was divided in half as an allow- ance for depreciation, leaving a balance of $90,000,000 es the amount on which the United States should be tax:d. Some Moperty Excluded. Mr. Murphy told the committee that in determining the cost of tangible property in the Federal bulldings, the bureau did not take into consideraticn such historical equipment as contained in the New National Museum, the Med- fcal Muscum and the Smithsonian In- stitution. He sald it would be difficult w;lace any value on these historical and medical exhibits. The $96,000,000 figure used by the bureau es the amount property owned by the United State, on which it should pay a tax, Mr. Murphy expiained, was arrived at after an examination of the intangible tax returns of the principal private busi- ness concerns in the District. The bureau found, he said, that the values of the personal property of thess business es.ablishments corresponded approximately with the amount of the _ | intangibles, 0 the bureau used $90,- 000,000, the same_amount as the value of the Federal Government's tangible personal property, as the amount of the tangible perscnal property on which it should pay a tax. “The bureau,” he declared, “feels that this basis of determining the amount of intangibles is not unfalr to either the United States or the District. It merely puts th> Pederal Government in the same position in the District as a private business concern.” View on Park Areas. Mr. Murphy explained that the bu- reau’s recommendation that the United States should contribute one-third to- ward the cost of property acquired for park purposes because it found in iis investization that there was an excess park area in the District in comparison with 14 other cities which the bureau studied is due to the fact that Washing- ton is the Nation's capital. Questioned on Charges. Representative Davis of Tennessee Guestioned Mr. Murphy about charges he said had been going arourd Wash- ington to the effect that owners of prop- erty purchased by the Government had been getting two or three times too much money in condemnations. Mr. Murphy replied that it no doubt was true that many property owners had re- celved higher prices than the assessed value, but did not undertake to pass jugn;em on the market values refer- Ted to. Representative Davis then inquired as to the methods followed by the Bureau of Efficiency in determining whether quoted sale prices were bona fide when they were offered by owners as evidence of the value of property subject to con- demnation proceedings. He said that it was a common practice in many cities for real estate men to transfer property to their secretaries or other business associates as a means of boost~ ing apparent market values, for the purposes of resale. Mr. Murphy explained that the bu- reau had considered this matter and that careful investigation was made to determine if and when reported sales were nct bona fide, Aided Justice Department. In this connection, Mr. Murphy brought out that for about three years the Bureau of Efficiency had been at work, tracing down reported sales, used 2s evidence of current market values, for the benefit of the Department of Justice in its handling of condemnation cases in connection with acquisition of Federal building sites. Mr. Murphy said that in cases where an exorbitant sale price was found, careful investi- gation was made to determine the rea- sons for such reported sales and that the resulting information was turned over t> the Department of Justice for its guidance in handling the condem- nation cases. Mr. Davis then asked Mr. Murphy if he thought any Government building in | Ad: Washington could be sold on the mar- ket for any price comparable to the assessed values given by District Tax Assessor Richards in evidence he sub- mitted to the committee last week. Mr. Murphy said he doubted if that would be the case, since it was very unlikely that a “willing” buyer could be found for the great and monumen- tal Government structures for private rather than public use. He said that. in checking assessed valuations of Gov- ernment properties here, listed by Rich- ards, he had conferred with members of the supervising architect’s office of the Treasury and officials of the Park and Planning Commission, and that they had agreed that the principles of valuation used by Richards in assessing the value of Government and private property were comparable, Cramton Is Quoted. During discussion of the questions considering tax - exempt Government property here as an element in the matter of what should be the Federal coryribution to the District, Mr. Mur- pi#y_quoted Representative Cramton as zaving said that for years he had been in favor of an appropriation to the District as compensation for such loss of tax revenue, and “something in addi- tion,” due to the desire of the country that Washington, being the Natiol Capital, should be developed as the most beautiful city of the country. Mr. Murphy opened his testimony by outlining the functions of the Bu- reau of Efficlency and pointed out that through its entire existence it hag been engaged in making studies for con- gressional committees. Then he told of the bureau's original investigation into the fiscal relations be- tween the Federal and District go ernments which resulted in the prepara- tion of a report in January, 1929, for t‘;nnc House subcommittee on appropria- ns. ‘The data in the 1929 report, Murphy explained, was used in the bureau's latest report, but was brought up to date by using official 1930 Census Bu- reau population figures and other later information. The 1929 report, he sald, used estimated population figures. Poison Error Causes Death. OTTAWA, December 8 (#).—Mrs. Frankford Rogers, daughter of Senator A. C. Hardy, former Speaker of the Ca- nadian Senate, died yesterday as & sult of taking poison which she mistook for a headache remedy last Sunday. She was one of a party on her gran: mother’s yacht, on which the Prince of Wales was entertained some years at the Thousand Islands. Her grand- father was the late Senator Pulfird, millionaire pill manufacturer. e Austral'a’s iron 1s increasing, P of intangible | . _C., MONDAY, D‘ECEMBER 8 10 NAVY NEEDS MEN, SAYS SECRETARY Would Increase Number of Midshipmen—Excess of Yards on East Coast. While there are more navy yards on the East Coast than can be economical- Iy maintained, Secretary Adams, in his annual report to President Hoover to-| day, that the service need more men, better pay and promotions at regular intervals. The material con- |dlucn of the fleet is generally good, the cabinet officer reported, but the main- tenance of efficlency is difficulty drg to the age of a large number of ships Secretary Adams said that the resent level of compensation was 11 .E.r cent above that received in 1908, | while living costs have more than doubled since that time. tleships New Mexico, Mississippi and Idaho. Establishment of a naval airship base on the Pacific Coast. 0l Protection Sought. Guarantees for conservition of the naval petroleum and oil shale reserves. or maps of vital military and naval de- fense installations and equipment. The increasing importance of aviation to the naval forces was evident through- out the repcrt. A six-plane patrol unit will be added to both battle and scout- ing fleets, and two scouting squadrons of 20 planes and 12 planes, respectively, will be attached to new light cruisers, “A need exists for additional air- plane carriers in order to exploit to the full the possibilities of naval aviaticn in operations with the fleet,” Adams said. A West Coast air base wes con- sidered essential and selection of a site was urged upon Congress at an early date, whether or not the Navy ordered construction of a new giant dirigible. During the year the “number of en- listed men was not adequate to man fully all types of ships, and it was necessary to operate most types of ships with allowances which were consider- ably under the actual complement of the ships.” Below 90 Per Cent. ‘The allowances averaged but 879 per cent of the actual complement of the ships, which the Secretary said “does not keep a Navy fully prepared for war.” ‘The undertaking of a submarine re- placement program was proposed. Dur- ing the past year upkeep costs have increased. The report added that “due principally to the age of & large num- ber of submarines, is felt the per- formance of submarine engineering ma- terial is not commensurste with its maintenance costs.” The Navy needs additlonal officers and Congress should provide more mid- shipmen to meet London treaty con- ditions, the Secretary sald. “With one additional appointment to Annapolis for each Senator and Congressman, the of- ficer personnel would not reach the re- quired strength before the year 1943.” he added. Mr. Adams said: “The London treaty has definitely limited the types of ships and consequently placed a definite limit upon the number of officers and men who will be required to man the ships allowed under that treaty. Additional officers and .men will be required if these ships are to remain in active com- mission. Ratio of Officers Increased. A minimum of four years is required to train young men to become officers and immediate steps should be taken to increase the allowed officer strength from tm;ruent 4 per cent of the total authorized enlisted strength to 5.3 per cent, which is the figure that the lat- est estimates indicate will provide the number of officers to man the vessels allowed as under the London treaty. “This increase cannot take place at once and must be spread over a number of years. With one additional appoint- ment to Annapolis for each Senator and Congressman the officer personnel would not reach the required strength before the year 1943. “The present law authorizes five ap- pointments to Annapolis for each Con- gressman and Senator, but appropria- tions now limit this to four. The ad- ditional appointment at Annapolis, making a total of five, should be pro- vided for in order to increase the offi- cer personnel to the strength required for the treaty Navy. This increase in the number of midshipmen at the Academy will not necessitate a large additional expenditure of funds as the overhead at Annapolis will be but slightly increased and the main item of increased cost will be for the pay and subsistance of the midshipmen themselves.” Housing Is Criticized. ‘The Navy's housing condition is any- thing but satisfactory, Secretary Adams said. The situation was outlined by Mr. lams: “The housing situation at the present AS SIMPLE - AS lowest possible prices is the & THE GREAT | was”found an_encouraging sf Bans against photographs, sketches | time is not wholly satisfactory and at Hampton Roads the enlisted men are living in quarteis of war-time construc- tion which are most unsatisfactory, while at Mare Island the submarine old destroyer have been authorized at those places but as yet no work has been done on them. “Additional officer quarters are re- quired at Great Lakes to replace the old frame houses that are i a lor- able condition. At Coco Solo additional quarters are needed for the younger officers attached to submarines operat- lxtlifmm that base, and also for petty officers in the submarine service as in the City of Colon suitable living ac- commodations cannot be obiained ex- cept at rents in excess of what the offi- cers and petty officers can pay.” Health Condition Good. The &creurybrnued the efficiency of the Guardia National of Nicaragua as being “in accordance with a definite policy to build up a nativs constabulary capable of preserving order after the eventual withdrawal of Marine forces in Nicaragua.” “A distinct improvement in almost every phase of the health of the Nlovyi . Only 394 deaths were recorded during 1929 ‘making the death rate from all causes 3.36 per 1,000. CAPITAL SHOWN CENTER OF GREAT RADIO NET Continental Naval Districts and That in Canal Zone Included, Adams Reports. ‘The National Capital is the nerve- center of a great radio net, which can be utilized in time of national emerg- ency. Secretary Adams, in his annual report today, said that the national naval re- serve radio net, involving all continental naval districts and the 15th Naval Dis- trict in the Canal Zon2, has been placed in operation, with senlor control station located here. He explained that a plan involving co-operation between the com- munication reserve and the American Red Cross has been completed and pub- lish>d to the serviee, This contem. plates utilizing the naval communica- tion reserve in case of disaster or emergency. During the fiscal year, the Secretary pointed out, the Navy's radio system handled 4,863,360 words of traffic handled for other Government depart- ments. . “It is estimated that the savings to other Government departments by the use of naval communication facilities during this period amounted to $72! 504, Secretary Adams asserted. MANY NAVAL MEN USED FOR AVIATION 12.7 Per Cent of Enlisted Personnel Declared Assign- ed to Flying Duties. A picture of the status of the Navy during the fiscal year ending last June was drawn in Secretary Adams’ annual report, made public today, showing that the operation of naval forces was based on a total of 84,500 enlisted men. About 12.7 per cent of the total enlisted men of the Navy, the Secretary sald, were assigned to aviation duties, or to ves- sels and shore stations connected solely with aviation during the fiscal year. A maximum of 425 planes, including 115 in reserve, were attached to fleet aircraft units during the period covered by the report. Uncle Sam's forces afloat comprised these ships: . Sixteen battleships, first line; 2 cruis- ers, second line; 15 light cruisers, first line: 3 light cruisers, second line; 3 air- craft carriers, first line; 2 mine layers, second line; 100 destroyers, first 1f 6 light mine layers, 75 submarines, first line: 5 fleet submarines, first line: 2 patrol vessels, eagles; 12 patrol vessels, gunboats: 3 patro] 'vessels, converted yachts; 6 destroyer tenders, 6 submarine tenders, 2 aircraft tenders, 2 repair ships, 2 store ships, 9 oilers, 1 ammuni- tion ship, 3 cargo ships, 3 transports 1 hospital ship, 6 ocean tugs, 29 mine sweepers and 4 miscellaneous. SRR sty Woman Shoots 100-Pound - Deer. OHIOPYLE, Pa., December 8 (Spe- cial) —~Mrs. 8. L. Fletcher is probably the first Fayette County woman to shoot a deer this season. While hunt- ing in the woods back of the Knob near Jumonville, she brought down an eight- point buck that weighed about 100 pounds. She was accompanied by Mr. Fletcher. Court-Martial Condemns Three, . BUENOS AIRES, December 8 (#).— - The newspaper Critica says that mar- - tial law, which has bee: Argentina since the Summer revolution, brought death sentences yesterday to three men who slugged and robbed a taxicab driver. The prisoners were tried by court- tial. A Bank —doing sM4LL things BIG Charactcr Securit‘y for Loans +* Whenanyone thinks of l;onowins money, ';\ he not onfy considers the rate which fe’ :will be charged and the manner of pay- ment of the obligation—he is concerned with the type of security which he can put up in order to obtain the loan. Under the Morris Plan no physical propésty is required. The Morris Plan has made it possible for a persen of good clnncter,-nendi]y employed, to obtain money through en- dorsement, that is, the signing ofa prom- issory note, by two of his friends. ‘We loan on the reputation and char- acter and earning nl:ilit’ of the borrower and his two comakers. Morris Plan Bank Under Supervision U. S, Treasury Loaning Hundreds to Thousands Wherever the best food is pro- duced, A&P buyers are on the spot to buy it. A&P has the pick of every crop and every pack. A&P cuts out needless expense and wasteful handling by con- trolling the movement of food from the time it is bought at its source until it is sold at the store counter. Although performing the tasks of broker, jobber, retailer, and ofttimes of manufacturer, A&P takes only one small profit— extremely small, in fact. Nothing complicafed about that, is there? Of course not. Only business experts make it hard to understand. It is the A B C of modern retailing. How A&P sells the highest quality food at the est thing in the world. n in effect in -