DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 79 



000,000. There have been no additions to the debt of the Dis- 

 trict under the present form of municipal administration, while 

 on the other hand the debt has been gradually reduced, until at 

 the present time it is $16,043,920.18. 



It was expected that under the rule of the Board of Public 

 Works, carr3nng out as it did, extensive improvements, values 

 would appreciate rapidly. This was not the case, however. 

 The reason may be found in the attitude of Congress, although 

 the high taxes and special assessments had much to do with the 

 non-appreciation. The property owners in the city of Wash- 

 ington until 1878 felt that there was no stability in values of 

 property in the District. Congress had done but little, as stated, 

 in the way of expenditures from the general treasury for the 

 beneiit of Washington. This was a discouraging feature to 

 property holders, while the constant efforts to secure the re- 

 moval of the capital to some other part of the country prevented 

 confidence in property values, discouraged buyers, and really 

 retarded the development of the city. With the act of 1878 

 creating the present form of government, Congress declared its 

 policy relative to its duty in sharing the expenses of the gov- 

 ernment of the District. It had in a way, by the act of May 

 15, 1820, in the new charter to the city of Washington, pro- 

 vided for the reimbursement to the city of a proportion of the ex- 

 penses incurred in improving any of the streets or avenues border- 

 ing upon or adjoining any of the public squares or buildings, and 

 in some other ways sharing the expense of the city of Wash- 

 ington, but it was really not until 1878 that Congress fully rec- 

 ognized the great fact that Washington was the capital of the 

 United States and not a local city in which the capital was situ- 

 ated. It realized that while it owned a large proportion of the 

 property which was exempt from taxation, it was in duty bound 

 to provide for the government's share in the maintenence and 

 development of the country's capital city. So in a general way 

 it provided for one-half of the local expenses of the District of 

 Columbia and a proportionate share in conducting improve- 

 ments. Then property values began to appreciate. Then a 

 new industry came into the life of the city — the dealing in real 

 estate. 



