Evening Star Newspaper, December 8, 1934, Page 3

THE EVENING STA D.C. LEADERS UNITE FOR FISCAL EQUITY Pledge Vigorous Effort at Annual Banquet of Oldest Inhabitants. Vigorous co-operation with the Dis- trict Commissioners in their new move for fiscal equity for this city pledged last night by a distinguished group of civic leaders. Speaking at the sixty-ninth annual banquet of the Association of Oldest Inhabitants at the Raleigh Hotel, resentatives of banking, labor and civic their determination to pt to the wheel, and expressed tk something tangible soon may be forthcoming table fiscal relations between the Fed- eral and District governments. Melvin C. Hazen, Board of Comn who laid down the this city 8lso present of the claims of the mora of local cxpenses.” Outlines Request. cipality's pend- Federal con- city should he mu al equity icted by resident of the bitants. who Robert V. Board was rep- organized business, life voiced shoulders hope to establish more uuu-fl president of the ed by the ! were | keynote | when he | R, WASHINGTON, D. C., Oldest Inhabitants’ Banquet { Left to right Dan I. Sultan, Commissioner Melvin C. Hazen, Inhabitants, and Commissioner George E. Allen. Robert V. Fleming, president of the Washington Board of Trade: president of the Association of Oldest Theodore W. Noyes, Engineer Commissioner —Star Staff Photo. missioners that the Federal Govern- the 1936 budget. Tax Fears Discounted. attention was devoted to t Roosevelt's proposal to con- a survey into the comparative Much duct cities approximating it in population land surrounding conditions. Speak- ers discounted fears they said had been |u rressed recently that the President's | might result in increased taxes "I for Washington. Commissioner Hazen went into the | subject thoroughly. In & comprehen- sive analysis of the history of the fiscal relations between the Federal District of . Columbia govern- ents, he traced the gradua C - John | of the proportion paid by the national al Labor 1ghs atives f the . and | esident of | ough iew of <l’l‘(liL NOTICES. NG OF Tt "—THE REGULAR ANNU Ar wrr, ® | carry ANNUAL _MEETING ; Treasury. { Both Commissioner Hazen and Mr. | Carruthers, an expert on municipal | taxation, raised definite doubts as 0 he worth of an evaluated tax rate. “Of course, a mere comparison of | tax rates in themselves,” said Hazen | “means nothing. The establishment | of a ratio of assessed valuation to legal | diffi- | basis of valuation is extremely if not impracticable of accurate 1ation. At the best, the most | that could be accomplished in this respect would be the results of com- | posite opinions. Various Factors Cited. comparing the tax rate of | Washington with other cities,” Hazen, “a number of elements must ecessity be taken First of these he mentioned the debts of other cities. and their ex- penditures to amortize these debts, as compared with the virtually pa vou-go policy here in the Dis which is a city virtually debtedness, except for a recent P.| W. A. loan. Washington, Hazen pointed out, has la much larger amount of property \m\ exempt, as compared with other “In of cities of similar size. Here, he point- | ed out, the taXx exempt property | amounts to $720.000.000 or nearly | 40 per cent of the total of $1,850,- 000.000, while other comparable cities less than 20 per cent of their total wealth as exemption. ind of real estate within | were subject to a tax,” Commissioner, *excluding we would | amount which, added to [ other sources of revenue, would give sufficient revenue to cover a fairly balanced municipal budget. The United States under such an arrange- ment would pay about $8.300,000, or an amount corresponding to that rec- ommended by the Commissioners in their budget for 1936.” Budget Raises Issue. ‘The fiscal relations issue came to a head this year, Hazen explained, when the Commissioners, in preparing the 1936 budget, ““were confronted with the necessity of raising additional revenue, either by an increase in the tax rate crease in the Federal contribution be- yond the amount now paid, in order to provide for a budget total that would supply only absolutely minimum needs for the ensuing fiscal year.” With the $44.000.000 budget, he ex- plained, the Commissioners recom= mended an increase in the Federal | contribution from $5,700,000 now paid t0 a sum a little more than $8.300,000. This latter figure, he said, was the average of the Federal contributions | for the past 10 years. | “We must admit,” said Hazen, “that the people of the District of Cululr‘bn should be expected to pay a fair and reasonable tax. We be- S| lieve that such a tax is now being paid on real estate in this city which supplies in the neighborhood of two- thirds of our local revenue. It may | be that a comparison with other cities | might show that we do not pay as the contention of the District Cnm-‘ tax burdens of Washington and other | said | into considera- | free of in- | or by recommending a substantial in- | Life Seen Possible on Planets Now Hidden by Vast Distances, ment should increase its payment in | By the Assoctated Press. PASADENA, Calif.. December 8.— A possibil t “life as we know it may well ex: on numerous other planets outside our solar s seen yesterday by Dr. Gustaf berg. Mount Wilson astronome: Mars has been regarded as the only | other planet in the solar system \m!-\ able for human life and Dr. Walt S. Adams, director of the Carnegie Institution's Mount Wilson Observa- tory, recently found there was not enough oxygen on Mars to sustain life. But even in the milky way malaxy there are coustless stars simila the sun. Astronomers have been able to determine with telescopes now | in use whether these other suns have planetary systems. | their | 1f the oth Stromberg advanced a theory | the whole university was once a mass of “primordial gas” so great as to tax the imagiration According to his theory balls were set in slow rotation by mutual attractior and the planets were formed at much greater | distances from the sun than they dl’e‘ Dr that huge gas “Pianetary svstems with satellites moving about the planets then would | be a normal occurrence among the | stars, ' said Dr. Stromberg “So, after we do not have to feel so lonely n the universe. Even | planets in the solar sys- tem are not suitable for human habi- | tation, there m other suns wi |as we know the “adequacy of the national con- tribution for Capital upbuilding.” “We are in effect promised a re- newed reweighing of -the respective obligations of Capital and Nation, to maintain and develop the Nation's City like that conducted by the Con- gressional Joint Committee in 1915, he said Outlining the national obligation to- ward maintenance and upbuilding of the city, Mr. Noyes referred first to the large percentage of District area with improvements held by the Na-| | tional Government exempt from taxa- tion, to the cost of the expensive | maintenance of which District tax- | payers contribute both in mnational | (and in local taxes. The Federal Government. Mr. Noyes declared, held an obligation based on the absolute national control it exer- | cises. “Political power and financial | obligation,” he declared, “are insepa- | | rably coupled.” The Federal Government owes an | obligation to the city, further. the speaker pointed out, by reason of na- tional “patriotic pride.” to keep the | Capital an “object of national affec- tion in whose attractiveness the whole | American people take pride " From the point of view of internal revenue taxes, Mr. Noyes said that | this city’s contribution to these na- | tional funds exceeds that of half of the States, and “is coupled with denial | to Washington of participation in fix- ing, mllectmg and spending this tax | money. | ‘This city has been barred from ! | many grants, bounties and subsidies paid to other States, the spn.ker pointed out, emphasizing the national ‘ obligation to increase its annual pay- ments for Natignal Capital mainte- nance. ‘Welcomes Survey. | Claiming that the obligation of District taxpayers to contribute to the expenses of the city is “adequately | met,” Mr. Noves declared that “in view of its peculiar disabilities it is heavily taxed.” Referring to the President’s pro- posed survey, he said, “Washington welcomes a thorough and impartial investigation of its comparative tax burden. Its adequacy has been vin- dicated by every competent and un- biased tribunal which has studied it, including the Joint Congressional Committees of 1915, and of 1922.” Mr. Fleming, president of Riggs National Bank, who represented the | Board of Trade as its president, also carried further weight to his remarks by virtue of the fact that he now is first vice president of the American Bankers’ Association, slated to be pres- ident next year. Referring to the national policy of | “co-operation” which the A. B. A.| pledged to the Federal administra- tion, Mr. Fleming pledged “co-opera- tion” of the Board of Trade with the | President’s | ford, Thomas F. Burch, | N. Scott, Anton Stephan, Thomas D. | kerson, Herbert S. Wright, Richard | inal poem, “Just to Be a Boy Again.” some A B C education"—on Capitol laday reported on the recent bmitted by the Citizens’ District of Colum- bia Fiscal Relations. bearing signatures of many civic leade Washington taxpayers, he charged. were paying more taxes per capita than the tax- payers of many other cities of similar size. He praised the Board of Com- missioners and all the newspapers of Washington for carrying on the fiscal equity fight. | Assured of Fairness. ’ Mr. Carruthers predicted that from the President’s tax survey “I do not feel we have anything to fear. Some think it will lead to other forms of taxation, such as other communities impose. But I am sure the President will be fair and impartial, and feel much good will result from this sur- v Mr. Carruthers declared that establishment of a true ratio of as- sessed value to true value was a practical impossibility, and th i view of this diffic . he hoped the rvey would use, in he per capita tax base as y indicative of the tax e additiof more uation Speaking for organized labor, Mr. | Locher declared that all should “put their shoulders to the wheel” of this new movement for fiscal equity. guests included Allen C. Clark, presi- dent of the Columbia Historical So- | ciety; Beale R. Howard, Philander C Johnson, Frederic William Wile. | Following the association’s custom, | a flower ceremonial was held in re- membrance of members who died during 1934. For each member, J. Eliot Wright, secretary-treasurer of the organization, withdrew a white carnation from a basket, and read | aloud the name. while the association stood. Those honored were as fol- lows: Samuel Bensinger, Isaac Birch, | Rudolph W. Bishop. Ernest W. Brad- Henry L.| Bryan, Alexander S. Clarke, J. W. Cotter, Francis J. Creamer, J. B. Dodson, D. C. Fahey, Charles H.| Franzoni, E. G. Gummel, A. J. Hanf- man, W. S. Hatton. Charles H. Hur- dle, Charles P. Hunt, Lisle S. Lips- comb, Leonard Nachman, Maurice Otterback, Edward C. Rittue, Albert | Walsh, William F. Ward, George S. Watson. Jacob R. Weigle, Lloyd B.| ‘Wight, Ernest Wilkenson, W. L. Wil- H. Yates. Frank K. Sanderson. baritone, ac- companied by Mrs. Sanderson, was | enthusiastically received in two groups of songs. He also led group singing. John Clagett Proctor read ah orig- | | Creek Park, on Columbia Island and in | Fourteenth street, just north of the | tional program. | cubic foot space of 499,786 | A photographic laboratory and men’s SALVAGE PROGRAM EFFECTS SAVING Thousands oi Dollars Saved Taxpayers by National Capital Parks. ‘Thousands of dollars have been saved the taxpayers through salvaging operations of the National Capital Parks, the superintendent, C. Marshall Finnan, announced yesterday. All the surplus planting in Union Square has been removed, most of it to the Takoma and Banneker Recrea- tion Centers. Red brick, being taken from an old house in the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, south of P street, is being salvaged to construct a field house at the Palisades play- ground. Brick from a demolished building at the Banneker Recreation Center has been utilized to remodel and enlarge the shops and garage of the National Capital Parks. Salvaged Material Used. Mr. Finnan pointed out that mate- rial from the abandoned Mall road has come in useful for a new parking area road around Roaches Run on the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway. Flagging and blocks have been used to pave the sidewalks in some of the smaller parks and to construct a long path in Montrose Park down toward Lover's Lane. Some of the salvaged road material is being used as a sub- grade on the fort drive at Fort Reno near the Alice Deal Junior High School, where objectional floods have occurred. When the old Norton reduction plant, which was of re-enforced concrete, was torn down recently by the Civi- lian Conservation Corps, the material was used as a rip-rap wall along the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway on the Virginia side, to keep the Potomac River from undermining the roadway. Cinders from the old heating plant at Nineteenth street and Virginia ave- nue are being placed at various parts of the park system for roads and trails. Make Picnic Benches. As the Civilian Conservation Corps ! salvages all usable timber, this is con- structed into picnic benches and guard rails. These are being placed in Rock Fort Dupont. Thousands of cubic vards of earth were donated to the Federal Govern- ment by contractors working here and this material was hauled, dumped and spread without cost to Uncle Sam This was placed mostly near lower railroad tracks so as to raise the grade 1d give proper drainage to that sec- tion of Potomac Park. Through the co-operation of the Botanic Gardens, surplus nursery stock has been given the \amml! Capital Parks and this has saved money under the Fall planting pro- gram. Some of this material is going into Dupont Circle. Out of Union Square and from the Washington Monument Ground is coming salvaged material being used at the Sylvan Theater for planting. Near the Monu- ment forsythia and mock-orange are bemng moved, this representing the re- mains of a planting program that was discontinued after the widening of Fifteenth street through the Mall. TRUSTEES APPROVE NEW G. W. BUILDING Four-Story Structure to Cost $125,000 Will Be Completed Quickly. The George Washington University board of trustees has voted approval of the proposed new four-story univer- sity building to be erected at a cost of $125.000, including equipment. The building will house several ad- ministrative offices and the biological sciences section of the institution. It will occupy space now taken by build- ings from 2027 to 2031 G street. The work of demolishing these will begin December 21, Dr. Cloyd Heck Marvin, president of the university, said, and completion of the structure in several months is expected. Dr. Marvin said the building is not a part of the final building program | for the university, but is to be erected | to meet pressing needs arising from the constantly growing numbers of students and the expanding educa- The structure will be of poured con- crete, painted white. It will be 101 feet long and 78!; feet deep, with & It will contain class rooms on the first and second floors, with total seating capacity for more than 800 students. Offices and laboratories will occupy the third and fourth ffoors, with a library also on the third floor. lounge will be in the basement and on the roof will be & greenhouse for botany specimens. SATURDAY,. DECEMBER 8, 1934, La Follettes at White House Gov .-elect Phillip La Follette of Wisconsin and his brother, Senator as they entered the Robert M. La Fol day. where they conferred on relief problems te (right), they were luncheon guests of ‘White resident Roosevelt, ¥% A-3 BEEBE DESCRIBES LIFE BENEATH SEA Only Morons Among Fish Are Caught by Trawling, He Tells Audience. Only the “morons” among deep- | sea fish ever are caught by present | trawling methoas, Dr. William Beebe | said last night in describing some of the startling discoveries made during his ocean descent in the Bathysphere. ‘The noted naturalist and explorer 1| 74 | tution Hall, House yester- with whom —Wide World Photo. was speaking before guests of the Na- | tional Geographic Society at Consti= giving detailed descripe tion of some of the deep-sea creatures unseen before he made his 3,028-foot dive into ocean waters near Bermuda. Some of these were captured in nets, | but .nost of them were studied only by watching them through the thick | | quartz cyes of the Bathysphere. Motion pictures and colored slides depicted the various aspects of the | work at New Nonsuch, the headquar- ters of Dr. Beebe's staff in Bermuda. In addition to the various dives sealed 'n the Bcthysphere, there is much work with nets, the diving helmet and along shore. Some of the deep-sea fish brough up in the nets could be kept alive for a day or two by placing them in ice water. One of Dr. Beebe's most amusing stories concerned efforts of his staff to paint under water. The | wooden brushes constantly floated to the top unless they were tied to the |easel, and small fishes clustered |around the pigments like gnats and | had to be constantly shooed away. Several good under-water paintings were obtained, he said. MRS. ELSIE SMALL RITES TO BE TODAY Wife of Member of Star Editorial Staff Died Thursday in Garfield Hospital. Funeral services for Mrs. Elsi ster Small, wife of A Small of the E who died Thursday a x pital. were to be held at the Hines Fourteent Mrs. Small had been ill for about two weeks. Tuesday her condition be- came desperate and she passed away s were about to operate the immediate cause of death Born near Osgood. Ind., August 27 r married Mr Small here She is survived by T hu(hflnd and one son, Albert W. Owing to Death of Mr. Harry W. Hahn J President All Hahn Stores Will Be Closed aturday and Monday A Reputation to Maintain Sarico Bakers have received national recog- nition in the art of cake baking. Representa- tives of several large bakeries throughout the country have come to Washington to study the methods that have produced cake triumph after triumph. Sanico Bakers are proud of this recognition, but to them the indorsement of Washington housewives is a more precious achievement. The realization that SANICO CAKES are served at the most formal dinners or luncheons withcut the least apprehension on the part of the hostess offers untold satisfaction for thejr efforts. SANICO FRUIT CAKES have earned their share of this glory. Season after season they have been accepted in thousands of homes to the delight of lovers of finer Fruit Cakes. FRUIT CAKE No finer ingredients can be bought than those used in this marvelous cake—no greater care in mixing and baking could be ex- ercised—and we_ believe that no finer Fruit Cake can be made. MILK REFUI.UD ORDERED Milk producers in the Detroit area will receive refunds totaling $106,000 i much here in other forms of taxes ‘{as in those cities. Whether such is the case or not, I am not at the mo- ment prepared to say. It is hoped, however, that in the study proposed District Commissioners’ plan for fiscal equity here. He praised the Commissioners for having “taken the bit in their teeth and asked for an increase in the Federal payment.” ¢ 1% o'ciock noon STEWART. Cashier, Turn your old 2 CO. e’ of be 503 CDecember 17, 1934 ek ‘The p lis, ®ill be open between the hours ot 3 o'clock p.m. Transter books n° be "closed St December 17, 114 both dates’ inclu CHARLES B MARSH. Secretary. mLE FOR DEBT self. OADS AND Phila_and to other East- | Service Since | _TRANSFER & (() AND }ROI BALTI- . nmlhell DAILY TRIPS 1 \10\1\ t loads to and fr STORAGE ( () WEEKLY one of the largest ertakers in s low as $7. lors, seventeen . twenty-five CHAMBERS U world o e undertakers an SLAG ROOFS Proper application and best materfals are essential for a really worth-while job. We specialty of this work ‘and assure Ebsolute Teliabiiiy *935 v st N.W. Call u: Roofls KOONS &35 Noroy 43 NO _Company New Roofs, General Roof chalrs‘ WILLIAM P CAVANAUGH. West 044, ELECTRICAL &rms oo wiring Electric 8hop on Wheels. Inc. have shops all over town to serve you. See vour Telephone Dis yectory for branch nes vou or call Wiy eonsin 4821. No Job t0o small or (oo large. to be made by direction of the Presi- on | dent, all of these matters will be gone | into most carefully and such a con- . | clusion reached as will establish for at least some years to come a definite determination of what constitutes not only fair and reasonable taxes, which should be paid by the residents of this city, but as well a fair and equi- table amount which should be paid by | the Federal Government toward the | cost of operation and maintenance and | improvement of the National Capi- tal.” Allen Urges Representation. Commissioner Allen not only gave ( his whole-hearted approval to his as- ! sociate, Hazen, who had preceded him, *| but also came out for national repre- sentation for the District of Columbia. | Allen declared this city should have |an elected official not only in the | house, but also in the Senate, to “get |up on the floor of Congress and de- {fend this city.” The speaker said he believed thoroughly in “no taxation without representation” as applied to Washington. He praised public- spirited citizens of Washington. Commissioner Sultan, after approv- ing the Hazen address on fiscal rela- tions, briefly explained the engineer Commissioner’s task was to see that his office produced in new construction and in maintenance “a dollar in value for every dollar spent.” Mr. Noyes, in opening the sym- | posium on fiscal equity, explained how the question had become a “live is- sue” through the Commissioner’s ac- tion and through President Roosevelt ordering the survey on taxation. The District Commissioners were praised by Mr. Noyes for their “fine public spirit” in taking the injtia- tive in opening up the questioff of The former surpluses which had been built up in prior years for the District of Columbia government, he said, no longer were available and could not be counted on. He characterized the 1936 budget as a “starvation” budget, and called on civic agencies to co- operate with a united front to demand increased Federal funds, for the ap- propriations the city needs. He re- ferred to the larger bridges and more expensive municipal facilities required because it was right that Washington should be the “most beautiful capital in the world.” Problem Serious. “No one wants to see an unfair Federal contribution,” said Mr. Flem- ing, declaring the exemption from | taxation of so much property here to be a “serious problem.” He expressed | gratification that the President had ordered the taxation survey. Mr. Yaden, who for many years has been head of the Federation of Citizens' Associations, objected strenuously to the term “contribution” as applied to the money paid by the Federal to the municipal government for upkeep. “Instead of a contribution,” he de- clared, “it is only a partial payment.” Pursuing this thought further Yaden declared, half jocularly, that the Dis- trict should have the right to go before the Court of Claims and file claim for back payments due the Dis- trict from the Federal Government. He praised the Commissioners, de- claring it took “bravery” to go before Congress with such demands. Charg- ing that many members of Congress did not understand the simplest things about the District budget ang finaneial matters, he declared it was'migh time from the Farm Administration. The sum was collected from distri- butors in compliance with the old milk marketing license for Detroit and will be given only to those pro- ducers supplying milk to distributors who complied with provisions of the license. Approximately 10,000 producers will receive the money before Christmas trinkets, jewelry and watches into MONEY at A.Kahn Jnc. Arthur J. Sundlun, Pres. 42 YEARS at 935 F STREET CORRE and Should In Friday’s Peoples Drug Stores Candy Advertisement Pecan Nut Rolls Were Listed at 9¢-3 for 25¢ This Was a Typographical Error 39c Ib. CTION Have Read In Beautiful Lithographed Tins HOLIDAY FRUIT CAKE Here is a more economically priced, yet wonderfully good Fruit Cake, made in the two-pound size only. It, too, contains only quality 98¢ ingredients. Two Pound Size ceceveininan Three Pound Size.........u Five . 210 Pound Size. 53'45 JUMBO FRUIT CAKE For those who prefer a darker Fruit Cake—here it is. quality cake, made of the best in- gredients and offered in the two- A good pound size. Two Pound On Sale at All Size cocvnsape 49° F0OD