Evening Star Newspaper, December 2, 1934, Page 24

B4 » CENSUS UNIT HELD AID TO TAX PROBE First Inquiry Ordered by Chief Executive Eager- ly Awaiied. ‘Washington is awaiting with keen interest selection of the agency or branches of the Government to make the study of taxation which President Roosevelt announced recently he will{ call for to determine how the District's | tax burden compares with other cities. Throughout the long period of de- velopment of the National Capital, ! with the local community and the Federal Government as partners in the | undertaking, the residents of the Dis- trict have seen many inquiries into this subject, but this is believed to be | the first investigation of local taxation to be instituted by a Chief Executive with the avowed purpose of seeking to end what the President called the “hit or miss policy” of appropriating for the Capital The President has indicated he may turn the task over to tax experts in the Treasury, but, according to dis- patches from Warm Springs. he will consult Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau early this week before de- ciding. and has indicated he will con- sider the Census Bureau as a possible agency. Whatever agency is given the assign- ment, however, will find there is one branch of the Government—the Census Bureau—which has specialized for many years in gathering detailed statistics on assessments and taxation in cities throughout the country. Should the President decide to select a separate group to make his investiga- tion, the Census Bureau will doubtless be represented. The Treasury Department has ex- perts, of course, who could undertake & study of municipal taxation and assessments. In its regular field of however, the Treasury De- partment is concerned chiefly with Federal taxes from a Nation-wide standpoint, as distinguished from the widely different factors and problems which enter into the question of municipal taxation, and comparisons of the tax burdens in various cities. Regular Job of Bureau. The assembly and analysis of these figures on city tax burdens has been one of the regular functions of the Census Bureau, and the results are presented annually in a report on financial statistics of cities. In any comparison of the tax bur- dens of different cities, the first ques- tion that arises is, what basis or method of comparison should be used to arrive at the fairest resuits. This leads to the related question of what basis of assessment is used in the vari- ous cities and how near the assess- ments approach estimated true value. A varfety of different methods of comparing city tax burdens have been | tried from time to time, and Wash- ington, in the course of many inquiries into its tax levies, has had experi- ence with nearly all of them i For example, the so-called “adjusted ! tax rate” method has occasionally | been suggested as a means of compar- ing Washington’s actual tax burden with other cities. This methcd con- sists of trying to estiamte the ratio which the assessments of a city bear to the fair or market value, and ad- justing the tax rate accordingly. Un- der this method, if the property in & given city was assessed at 50 per cent of full value, and the rate was $20 per thousand, the adjusted rate, after allowing for the difference between the assessment and full value, would be $10. Accuracy Difficult. At first glance this method might appear simple enough, but it con- tains a serious weakness in the diffi- culty of finding out accurately what the ratio is between assessments and full value in most cities. Because of this uncertain basic factor. two governmental agencies in the past have frowned on this method of comparison. and other authorities have pointed to its inherent weak- nesses. The United States Bureau of Effi- ciency, in reporting on fiscal rela- tions between the Federal and Dis- trict governments in 1930. held lhl(i method of adjusting tax rates to be | unsatisfactory. because of the varia- tions in opinion as to the ratio of | assessments to market value. The Census Bureau formerly in- cluded in its annual reports on sta- tistics of cities a table showing for each city the percentage which the reported basis of assessment in prac- tice bore to the estimated true value Several years ago, however, the bureau dropped these percentage figures from its annual compilation of statistics and has not used them in its last two printed reports. These reported ra- tios of assessments in practice to estimated true value had come to be regarded as undependable. Estimate Usually. The 1930 report on financial statis- tics of cities was the last one in which the bureau included these fig- | ures showing the percentage of re- ported basis of assessment to esti- mated true value. In that report the bureau declared that “the reported basis of assessment in practice is for most cities an estimate, furnished by city officials, of the percentage which the assessed valuation of property forms of its true value. The figures for both real and personal property for most cities are only approximately correct. although those for real prop- erty are the more trustworthy.” When the former United States Bureau of Efficiency was discussing this question of the estimated ratio of assessed to true value, it pointed | out that no two authorities agreed on what this ratio was. After citing fllustrations of how different research | agencies had arrived at different esti- mates. the efficiency experts said: “These widely varying results obtained by the use of the same method indi- cate rather conclusively that the method is unsatisfactory.” The Efficiency Bureau further de- clared that in collecting data for its report “it has been found that gener- ally no records are maintained from which reliable ratios of assessed valu- ation to fair value can be determined. Ratios which have been used in ad- justing 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. The Census Bureau, in its compari- | sons, uses the per capita method, which shows the actual tax burden per inhabitant for each city. The| census statistics show the assessed valuation and the total tax levy. By dividing the population into the levy| for each city, the actual tax burden| per capita is shown. Such data, assembled every year by the Census Bureau, covers 94 cities, in which the estimated population is 100,000 or more. In presenting the latest annual report on the financial! statistics of these cities, Census Direc- tor William Lane Austin stated in his letter of transmittal to Secretary of Commerce Roper tht “the form of | That this presentation has been approved by the Census Advisory Committee of icipal Finance Officers’ Asso- ~— THE SUNDAY BSTAR, WASHINGTO C, DECEMBER 2 American Pen Women Hold Annual Celebrity Breakfast A few of the honored guests a celebrity breakfast of the American Willard Hotel yesterday. t the speakers' table of the annual League of Pen Women, held at the Left to right are: Mrs. E. Richard Gasch, vice president of the league; Mr. Mrs. Victoria Faber Stevenson, Talbot Mundy, well-known author. the league's national president, Mehmet Munir, the Turkish Ambassador; and —Star Staff Photo. Prolonged Numbers Playi Reduces Char mg we of Wmnmg@ Star Rm:d('r Figures Person Playing 1,000 Consecutive of Guessing ‘The complexities of the ‘“numbers” racket have set some Washington mathematicians—amateur and pro- fessional—covering sheets of paper with involved calculations in their| idle moments. Apparently the problem is by no Days Is Not Sure Right Once. | Springs 300th this equals 87100. “Log 1,000 equals 3.00000 to the 300th power this 900.00000. “Under the rule of logarithms, to divide, subtract the log of the de- | visor from the log of the dividend. This would result in a complicated | the 899. power Raised | equals SERVICE ORDERS ARMY ORDERS, Butner, Brig. Gen. Henry W., assigned to command of the 4th Field Artillery Brigade, Fort Sill, Okla., in addition to other duties, about December 1. Young, Lieut. Col. Robert Hall, Air Corps Reserve, ordered to active duty here, December 3 Carroll, Maj Corps, assigned to duty at the Army and Navy General Hospital, Hot National Park., Ark. completion of present tour of foreign service, 1 William J., Medical | upon | chief of the Air Corps, 15 days, ubout December 10. Hill, Lieut. Col. Roy Staff Corps, one day, Brooks, Maj. John B., General Staff | Corps. one day, December 1. Taylor, Maj. Herbert E. General Staff Corps, one day, December 1 Lindt, Maj. John H.. General Staff Corps, one day. December 1 Gill, Maj. William H.. General Staf Corps, one day, December 1. Gruber, Maj. Willlam R.. Field Ar- tillery, two days, November 30. Terry, Second Lieut. Frederick G., Field Artillery, three months, Decem- ber 23, with permission to visit for- | eign _countries. Hunter, jr. A., General Lieut. Prank P. Air Hunt, Capt. Jonathan, Field Artil- | Corps. extension seven days. to ter- lery, to be retired from active service, November 30. Ward, Capt. Charles Stuart, Engi- neer Corps, reslgmulon accepted, De- | cember 10. McCarthy, Capt. Edward B.. Med- means solved with the application of | ¢2ction which can be greatly simpli- | ical Corps, assigned to Fort Winfield the formula which shows that the chance of any particular three digits turning up in a certain combination on a specific day is one to a thousand. is correct for a single day's chance. But if on bets for 300 davs the chance of winning becomes consid- erably less than 300 out of a thou- sand and would become progressively less as the number of days increased The operators of the racket -up- posedly pay off at the rate of $600 to $1. Consequently, proceeding on the original formula, for $300 invest- | ed the value of one’s chances should be three-tenths of $600, or $180. But apparently it comes out considerab less—$154.20, minus the commission —usually 25 per cent—deducted by the runner. 999 Chances to Lose. At least, this is how one Star reader figures it out “One has 999 out of 1,000 chances of losing any one bet “Now. according to one of the laws of numbers, the chance of a com- pound event is the product of the separate chances that unite to pro- duce it.” “So ‘the chance of losing twice in succession is 999 one-thousandths times 999 one-thousandths, or 999 one-thousandths squared. “Assume the same chance I bought on each of 300 successive days the chance of losing on all 300 days is 999 one-thousandths raised to the 300th power. “Certainty is one. Therefore the chance of winning is one minus 999 one-thousandths raised to the 300th power. Solved by Logarithms. “This results in a complicated frac- tion which can be solved by logarithms Log 999 equals 2.99957. Raised to fied by dividing both numerator and denominator by a number which will leave the denominator 1.000. | “Such a number is 10. raised to the 897th power, its log being 897.00000. Subtracting this log from the logs of both numerator and de- nominator gives, respectively, 2.87100 and 3.00000. “The antilog of the numerator is approximately 743 and the antilog of the denominator is 1.000 “Therefore the chance of losing every day for 300 days is the fraction 743 over 1.000. | “The chance of winning is one minus this fraction or 257 over 1.000. “Two hundred and fifty-seven one- thousandths of $600 equals $154.20. “This does not consider the com- | mission taken out by the agent. Chance Is Reduced. “It is obvious that the chances for any individual playing the numbers every day must be somewhat less than one out of a thousand because one | could not be certain of winning one day by playing steadily for 1,000 days “The steady players of the num- bers game. by the laws of chance, are paying $300 for every $123.36 prob- able return. That is what a cagy | gambler would pay for the 300 chances.” The numbers operator might delve | yg*"[; into his mathematics and show that the value of any 300 tickets would be | slightly better than this because they | might contain two or three—perhaps | even four of five—winners. But here it would be necessary to call Prof. Albert Einstein and the whole mathematical faculty of me\ Princeton School for Advanced Studies into consultation and the chances would soon decrease so far | towards the unreacheble infinite of | Scott, Calif., upon completion of pres- ent tour of foreign service Adkins, jr., First Lieut. John E. Field Artillery, from Fort Francis E. Warren, Wyo.. to Fort Sam Houston, Tex., about February 1 Steves, Second Lieut ren, Coast Artillery promoted to first lieut vember 30 Train, Second Lieut. William Infantry. from Fort Washington to the Hawailan Department, February 19 Leave of absence granted the fol- lowing officers on or about dates spe- cified Callan. Maj eral Staff Corps, November 30 Foulois, Maj. Richard War- Corps Reserve, ant from No- ¢ Md., about Gen. Robert E., Gen- three days, about Gen. Benjamin D, AONEST RELIABLE DENTISTRY $15 STAY T MOST NATURAL LOOKING TEETH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO NERVOUS PATIENTS | TEETH EXTRACTED, $1.00; WITH GAS, $2.00 MAID IN ATTENDANCE AT ALL TIMES FILLINGS IN PORCELAIN. SILVER & GOLD. ONG WAITING — NO HIGH PRICES. PLATES REPAIRED WHILE U WAIT, $1.50 Clfl“ & PORCELAIN BRIDEEWRI ALL MY WORK GUARANTEED DR. LEHMAN | zero that they would look like meas- urements of the diameters of elec- trons. fl;\ Open Evenings and Sundaj. DENTAL SURGEON 20 YEARS. Select Your Christmas Fountain Pens from the largest stock in the city PARKER—WATERMAN—SHEAFFER and Others Engraving Free on All Pens or Pencils Purchased A Good Fountain Pen is an investment. Expert Fountain Pen Repairing. Open Evenings. HUGHES PEN &8 GIFT SHOP NATIONAL THEATE BUILDING R OPEN EVENINGS 1325 E St. N.W. minate in time to comply with pres- ent orders. Hatch, Maj. John E.. General Staff | | Corps, one day, December 1 The following officers appointed to meet at the Army and Navy General Hospital, Hot Springs National Park, | Ark., to examine member of the Army Nurse Corps: Lieut. Col. Wil Meister, Medical Corps; Maj. Richard Favc jr. Medical Corps; Capt James E. Yarbrough. Medical Corps Capt. Albert H. Robinson, Medical Corps; Capt. Robert J. Wilson, Medi- 1934—PART ONE cal Corps, and Capt. George Prazak, Medical do The following officers of the Medi- cal Corps detailed as medical ex- aminers and witness before the Army Retiring Board to meet at Hot Springs, Ark: Maj. John C. Woodland and Capt. Joseph P. Russell. Each of the following officers of the Field Artillery assigned to the 4th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Sill, Okla., about December 1: Maj. Clin- ton M. Lucas, Capt. Joseph P. Don- novin, Capt. Henry C. Harrison, jr.; Capt. Martin C. Walton, jr.; First Lieut. Carl W. Berg, First Lieut. Rex E. Cbandler and First Lieut. Harry C. Larter, jr. Each of the following officers to be retired from active service No- vember 30: Capt. Thomas T. Conway, Infantry; Capt. Murray T. Davenport, Infantry; Capt. Guy L. Hartman, In- fantry; Capt. Frederic B. Winers, In- fantry, and Capt. Edgar E. Robin- son, Infantry. NAVY ORDERS. Bureau of Navigation. Talbott, Lieut. Barnett T.; detached Naval Air Station, Pencasola, Fla., about November 18; to VP Squadron 7-F. Blessman, Lieut. (J. G.) Edward M.; detached Naval Air Station, Pen- sacola, Fla, about December 7; to Aircraft Battle Force. Duryea, Lieut. (J. G.) Harold E.; detached U. S. S. §-35 in November; to U. S. S. §-20. Farrington, Lieut. (J. G.) Elwin L.; detached Naval Air Station, Pensa- December 1.| cola, Fla., about December 7; to Air- craft Battle Force. Forbes, Lieut. (J. G.) Lorenz Q. [ detached Naval Air Station, Pensa. cola, Fla., about December 7; to Air: craft Battle Force. Hogan, Lieut . London, Conn. to U. S. S. S-16. Hudson, Lieut. (J. G.) Robert E; detached U. S. S. Astoria in Decem- | ber; to Asiatic Station Trower, Lieut. (J. G.) Robert S. | 3d; detached U. S. S. Rathburne in | December: to Asiatic Station Warman, Lieut. (J. G.) Nathaniel E.; detached U. S. S. waters in De- cember; to Asiatic Station Baker, Ensign Harold E.; detached | Submarine Base, New London, Conn., | about December 8; to U. S. S. Nar- ‘ whal.? about December 8; POLI-TBY A\ D EGG@ IM CROWING for BECK'S QualityChicks m B.| aetes Buff Minoreas: Silver_ Laced Wyand Cross Breeds. $10—100; Wh. B OrpinEions, Brabmas. §13— 100 nish Game Ducklings. Day-0ld Pulle 100. BECK'S HATCHERY. Mt. Airy (J. G.) Thomas W.| detached Submarine Base, New | 0000000000000000000000‘000 SCIENCE LECTURE SERIES ANNOUNCED President of Yale Will Be First Carnegie Institution Speaker. Establishment of a new series of lectures on the relations of science | and research to current thought was announced yesterday by Dr. John C. Merriam, president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The first will be at the National Museum Tuesday evening by Dr. James R. Angell, presidept of Yale University, on popular and unpopular | science. The lecture series represents an original effort on the part of the Carnegie Institution to lead American thought to a more fundamental basis on the place of science in national life. The second speaker, scheduled for | December 11, will be Dr. H. A. Spoehr, chairman of the division of plant biology of the Carnegie Institution, | who will speak on the nature of | progress in science. There has been a tendency, Dr Merriam said yesterday, to regard the accomplishments and the goals of science as purely material, such as the tapping of new sources of wealth and | the increase of prosperity and com- fort. This, he said, is only one, and ' % * * . § * : ® $ o ot AMERICAN Low 000000000000 000 906 10th St. » o 7**&:( f“;-‘t *’I\m 1,440 pairs of “Health Form-Fit” rch Support Shoes x STEEL SHANK SHOCK ABSORB!NG 7, DEEL LEATHER SOLES\_, FLEXIBLE SOLES ~__ HOT-WATER HEATING SYSTEM ANNOUNCING ... The New Federal Modernization Credit Plan This is the most liberal financial plan ever offered to home owners for the purchase of Heating Equipment ASK US FOR DETAILS Completely Installed in 6 Rooms 5-Year Guarantee Payments Start Feb. 1st THREE YEARS TO PAY At Slight Additional Cost Free Esti ECONOMY HEATING CO. 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 probably the less important, aspect of research. The other side, which may have no immediate utilitarian value, is repre- sented by the contributions of science to the philosophic thought and out- look on life of the people, which is of more significance. MASS WILL PAY HONOR TO DEPARTING MINISTER Greek Church Service Today Will Mark Farewell to Chara- lambos Simopoulos. The Rev. Dr. Thomas Daniels, pas- tor of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saints Constantine and Helena, Sixth ‘and C streets southwest, will be the | celebrant of a solemn mass of thanks- giving in honor of the retiring Min- | ister of Greece, Mr. Charalambos Simopoulos, at 11 a.m. today. Dr. ‘iDamels will deliver the farewell ser- mon. Immediately after the liturgy an informal reception in homor of the guesl wilk be held in the basement of | the church, where Mr. Simopoulos will deliver his farewell address to Washingtonians and members of the | Greek community will pay him and | Mme. Simopoulos their last respects. | This event will mark the last public appearance of the envoy, who, to- gether with Mme. Simopoulos, leaves early next week for London, there to | assume his duties as Ambassador of Greece to the Court of St. James 9000000000000 00000000000, RADIATOR $285.00 NO MONEY DOWN imates at Your Convenience N.W. MEtropolitan 2132 T 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000¢ Numeérous styles in straps and AMPLE TOE ROOM P SLIPPERS Moccasins Felt Everettes Ribbon Trim Felts Sheepskin Bunnies D'orsay Styles Suedette Everettes Many Others All sizes 49° CGoldenberg's—Main Floor. Silk HOSE A box of these are just right for the loveliest ladies on your list. weights in every smart shade. Sizes 815 to 10%5. Sheer or service ties. Black or brown kid Sizes 3to9 Widths A to EEE Goldenberg's— Main Floor. 85¢ Sheer “Humming Bird” HOSE Famous number 202. exquisite jacquard lace top. course. A three-third silk with Ringless, of 51 Goldenberg’s—Main Floor, Christmas Saving Club Checks ‘Cashed—Main Floor, Service Desk