National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1880-07-05
sUFrRAGuIS TuE DISTRICT.

SUFFRAGE IN THE DISTRICT
disposition is shown in some quarters to
object to tho recollection Of Representative
HUTTON in the eighth Virginia district be.
eln-e, ~ is alleged, no Is opposed to suffrage
in this District There isn't any such thing.
What is suffrage elsewhere becomes suffering
here There is nothing to vote for; and we
can only have the noise, expense aud heart.
hurnings of an election without any Of its good
fruts-ErGiRg star.
1t has long been a matter of regret with
us that our highly respected cotemporury,
which wrinkles with 50 much enterprise
in tho evening" should have become so lib
eral and really unjust in its treatment Of
the question of suffrage in the District of
Columbia. 1t docs no credit to its own cam
dor and fairness when it treats with so
much ilippancy aud riblldry the dearest
right Of the American citizen, Of which
10000 people in this District have been
bcreavcd. To say that suffrage does not
exist here, and to add, "what is suffrage
elsewhere is suffering here is to pay
poor compliment to the INTEL gencc, the
patriotism and sense of right ofthis numGr-
Gus population. True there is nothing to
"vote for now, for the 81 mple reason that
the vote has been destroyed, aud this intel
ligent and patriotic people are left rs de
pendent upon the autocratic will of an UNI
sympathizing power Of appointment as
were our forelat hers upon the crown of
England before they struck for independ-
ence, suffrage and representation. We
have been reduced to a political condition
more onerous than that which stirred the
blood Of our revolutionary sires and led
to American independence The only dis
tnct rights that are vouchsafcd to q citizen
of the District of Columbia are life the
holding of property, the payment of such
taxes rs are arbitrarily imposed upon him
without appeal or recourse no matter
how unjust or oppressive and TO bear his
burdens in silence. The people of the Dis
trict have no representation in congress.
The administrators of the laws are up
pointed by those in whose selection the
people have no choice. In truth, the
people who compose population of more
than 10000 souls are held in the
humiliation of bondage, except that they
have the power to get away from it at will
by exodus. They have no voice in select
ing their rulers, and hence from the highest
to the lowest of that class they have no
respect for those who pay taxes and con-
tribute to their support, neither do they
recognize any responsibility to the gov
erned. If n citizen has q grief and seeks
redress at the hands of those who Cypress
| Ia, l.. to fpy t,J, 4
chance, laughed at and asked, snceringly.
"What are you going to do about it?p lie
can do three things: lie can pay taxes, he
can suffer and he can grumble; but beyond
these he has no privileges 10 rights, no
voice. We are told there is nothing to
vote for" True, but the people of the
District ought to have a representative in
congress to look after their interests to vote
for They should have n governor or mayor
to vote for They should have commits
sioners, a collector Of taxes, a water reg
istrar a city treasurer n police magistrate,
chief ofpolice and justices of the peace,
| If such officers are to exist, TO vote for.
Then we should have government of the
people, for the people and by the people,
which we have not now, nor nothing akin
to it, The flippancy with which our CO.
temporary treats this people and their pres
ent condition of humiliation, if it was prac-
tced toward the people of any other city on
this continent, would be regarded as in
solent and uncomfortable. But the people of
| Washington are schoOled to submission and
patience, and hence these insults.