Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-21
BOARD GIVES REASONS
WHY COMMISSIONERS OPPOSE
REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS.

The District Commissioners yesterday ait
ernoon. as was stated in The Star, made
an adverse report on the House bill known
as No. 2O329, providing for the election OF
two delegates to the House of Representa-
tiyes from the District of Columbia. The Dill
had been referred to the Commissioners by
Chairman Babcock of the committee on
District of Columbia The text of their re-
port was as follows:
1.-The Commissioners cannot favor the en-
actment of the bill in question because the!
do not believe it would be in the interest OF
the District of Columbia to have two dele
gates elected by universal manhood Suffrage
to the House of Representatives. Apart
from other reasons which might be dWelt
upon, the introduction of partisan politics
into the municipal affairs of the District of
Columbia would divide the pubic OPINION
on artificial lines not properly related to the
business of the municipality, to the con-
fusion of that public opinion and the serious
embarrassment of its operation; moreover,
it would bring the relations between the
people of the District and the executive
government of the District and between the
people and the Commissioners and Congress,
now happily free from the baneful influence
of partisan politics, into embarrassment,
and the result would be a decrease in the
efficiency of the executive government and
probably a decrease in the consideration
now SHOWN the affairs VI Tue b!SlIiCt III
Congress. The affairs of the District are
now treated by the people, the Commission
ers and Congress a matter of business
and not as in any way political.
Effect of Political Hostility.
But if the people of the District were
divided into hostile political camps this state
of affairs could not continue, and questions
would inevitably be affected by political
considerations, instead of being decided
upon the merits of each case The Commits
sioners now have every opportunity to
present their views and those of the citizens
to Congress, and the members of the con-
gressional committees dealing with District
affairs are faithful in their duty, both in
committee and upon the floor; some of them
have given. an amount of time and thought
to District affairs much greater than could
have been expected of them, and with re-
markable effectiveness; the District CRATE
fully recognizes it's debt to the men who
serve it's interests so faithfully upon the
committees dealing with it's affairs.
But even if that service was not so faith
full and efficient it would be better for the
District in the long run to depend upon 1t
rather than to bring in the divisive and
menacing influence of partisan politics to
hinder and damage the progress of the ma
| tional capital, which has been so marked
since, by the compact of 1873 between the
District taxpayers and Congress, suffrage
was reinqu:shed, the national government
assumed it's obligations to the national cap
ital and the permanent form of govern
ment' was established, following upon the
abolition of the territorial form of govern
ment, with a delegate in Congress elected
by the people"