Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-08

/ to whose tender mercies his interests are
solely confided, in effect forbids to his
! sons the local means of self-support pro-
vided by the commercial and manufac-
/ turing industries of the ordinary Amerl-
can city. and then by the apportionment
| OF offices law (of late extended and even
| more .igidly applied and enforcedp prac-
| tical;y shuts out the Washington youth
| from the classified service and in effect
| bars them from the only great industries
which it permits to exist in the nations
city.
AS candidate either for certain ma
| tional OFFICES exercised in the nations city
which are in effect local offices, or for its
purely local offices. which elsewhere are
hiled as matter of course from the 10
| cai community, hee is coming more and
more each year to be- greeted with the
derisive and humilating announcement
No Washingtonians need apply"
he is the citizen of a state when bur
Gems are imposed and no. the citizen of
stat" or even OF territory wien priv
leges are conferred
FOR example, the District has been pro-
nouhced state Thy the courtsD under a
treaty with France construction
lestlhS privileges on aliens. but not
state under the Constitution whose peo
pie can sue in the federal courts The
District Is a state Tin the Constitution)
"nen direct taxes are to be collected,
| out not state lin the Constitution when
| representatives are apportioned. though
|
/ Puollc attention has recently been called
| 10 the fact that the Washngt onian Is
not the citizen of a state or even of
territory in the distribution OF educational
appropriations under the Morrill, acts.
Capital Maker.
On the other hand the isolated WASH
lngtonian has the honor of being an eff
fectively working. though silent. CO.
rf 1Eyit1
National Capital of which every Ameri-
can is proud.
| HIS municipal government, in the opin-
ION of some of us, meets the spirit of the
principle of no taxation without repre-
sentatfon, and the converse principle OF
| no representation without taxation. and in
| raising and disbursing taxes reflects the
VIII OF the taxpayers more completely
| than In any other large American city.
Here congress, representing the half
| taxpayer, decides all tax and apprO-
| prlatlon questions, after consulting with
| the representatives of the other tax
PAYERS, to whom it gives the initiative
or suggestion in respect to appropriative
| legislation. Here the great majority
| of the taxpayers are back of every
| legislative decision concerning appropria-
| tons; in other large American cities.
| der misapplcation OF the principle of
| government by unlimited popular suf-
| fraSe, the organized non-taxpayers con-
| troll. as a rule. the city's purse and spend
as they please the money contributed by
| taxpayers.
While denied representa- ton as Amer
| leans in the national legislature and
electoral college, the WaShingtonian is
the most national American of all Amer
| leans. the only exclusive American ow-
ing no divided allegiance to state and
/ nation.
How many are there of the isolated
Washingtonians thus briefly character
| lied? What should be their status and
rights? Are they to grow in American
privileges and national consideration
| until they become Except for national
legislative control through Congress) a
they TO be destroyed as a community
and scattered in citizenship among the
states of the Union?
| The next census should through ap-
propriate questions determine definitely
| the number of isolated Washingtonians
| The present tendency is for Washing
| tonians to lose state residence and be-
come isolated in spite of the disabilities
which attach to this status. When this
| local community is shown by the census
to exceed the number Of Americans rep
| resented by each member Of the House
there should follow either "a recognition
| of a distinct American community en-
titled to all American rights consistent
with the exclusive legislative control of
the District by the nation through Con-
gress. and including representation in
4
else % the class of isolated Washing
| tonians should be emptied by law and
| the community dissolved. Under this
alternative the municipal functions would
be distributed among the federal de-
partmentS.
Legal Residence.
No District citizenship or legal residence
therein will then be recognized. A citi-
zen of a state who comes here in the
public service or otherwise will retain au-
! Dramatically by force of law his legal
/ residence in his state, and his children
after him, though born in the District.
| Those who have no state residence else
where might appropriately. without leav-
/ ing the District. become Marylanders,
| since citizens of Maryland were the origi-
nal inhabitants of this portion of the ten
miles square who voted for a Congress In
which they were not represented, and, in
J theory, for all future Congresses to the
| end OF time as the exclusive legislature
for all future Washingtonians. And when
| every inhabitant of Washington is the
legal resident Of some state, with rights
| and a legal domicie which he cannot
| lose either for himself his sons by liv-
| ing in Washington. provision might well
| be made for the exercise Of his voting
right in Washington itself. without
| quiring the expensive transportation of
voters to polls half way across or clear
across. the continent Ballots might we'll
| be cast and collected here for counting in
| the states. just votes of soldiers at
| the front in the civil war We're collected
and counted as If cast in elections In their
| respect We states
| The o. /. A. naturally favor the preser-
walton and development of the indepen-
| dent status of the isolated Washington
| MAN and not his elimination. 1t undoubt-
| eddy feels that it would be better for both
/ nation and capital that Washington, in
stead of becoming merely the national
camping ground, the temporary abiding
| place of transient Americans, should be.
| though under exclusive national control
| through Congress. distinct American
| community, with local citizens, local ira
ditions, local self-respect and local pride.
| But whatever the actual solution may
| be, the problem must be solved of the
| status--political. judicial, industrial. ma
| terial = of populous and intelligent
! American community, living at the Ma
/ tional Capital. but politically outside of
the nation: and this problem promises to
/ become in the not remote future, with
the notable growth of the class of iso-
! lated Westinghouse, one Of the most
| important and urgent which will confront
| the President, Congress and the Amer
! can people.
/ Associations Influence
| The O. L. A.. increasing steadily III
! numbers and influence, can help to pre-
pare for this day, and for the wisest and
fairest solution of the problem. For sew
| eral reasons the O. I. A. may appro-
prately and without presumption con-
slider the status and rights of the Wash