Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-22
Charge That Washington Is
Deprived of Liberty.
SELFISH MEN IN CONTROL
Substance of Address Made Last
Night at Suffrage Meeting.
BALLOT REGARDED AS PANACEA
People Of District Urged to Demand
of Congress Right to Govern
Themselves,

"Our self-constituted leaders here have
| bought and are still buying our political
| servitude, and charging the bill up to u.s.
| The price, they admit. is the half lax
paid by tn government They brazenly
put this above the political liberties Of
our people"
| Such was the declaration made last
night by Thomas E. Will, executive secre-
! tary of the District of Columbia Suffrage
League, in the course of an address advo-
eating suffrage in the District. at an
open-air meeting at the peoples forr IL"
Sth street and Market place northwest
| 1T is clear that the bondage of our city
is due primarily to certain tory interests
resident here" said Mr.. Will THE peo-
pie were not consulted on the question
of their disfranchisement.
| In Senate report No. SO. January II.
1877, we read: The people of the District
| have never consented that the right to
manage their local affairs should be taken
| from them The memorial of the citizens
presented in 1880 said Here in this Dis
| trict the consent, of the governed has
never been asked.
| But those behind the movemet knew
what they We're about. The Spencer re-
port further said: The attempts upon the
| principle of popular suffrage are fOstered
| or inspired by those who desire to over
| throw suffrage in order to accomplish sell
| fish and mercenary. purposes 1t is al
ways expedient, when possible for the
/ few to govern and despoil the many.
| That powerful forces are strenuously
| striving to mold public sentiment in favor
| of those primary departures which in
evitably lead to the overthrow of the
republican system is one of the evident
| and alarming signs of the encrOachments
upon the public liberties by private
wealth and corporate power in Amer
| lea.
LAS proved by the George report. tax
lodging by a few powerful interests is
not the exception, but the rule. These
tax dodgers today dread suffrage as they
did in 1876 because they fear that with
suffrage. they cannot control the Dis
trict's affairs.
! whenever an earnest effort is made to
secure the ballot for the DISTINGUISHED
| political serfs of this District these in
| terests raise the cry of 'Wolfr They
raised it this time before we mentioned
| the half-and-half tax. On September II
we were told by the press: 1t is no secret
| that many members of the federation
| (of citizens associations) are opposed to
| the esta blishment of suffrage here Why
| are they opposed? The reason given was
| that The principal opposition is based
on the belief that suffrage would mean
the abolition of the half-and-half plan
|
| maitland half plan?' Is there any valid
| reason why government, because it nomi-
nally pays half the tax. should do all the
| governing in the District? The excuse
/ is false on its face Those who raise 1t
do so because they fear the people
Not Fighting the Compact.
| 'The District of Columbia Suffrage
League is not fighting the half-and-half
tax and has given absolutely no excuse
for the false charge that it is doing SO.
But it is fighting the plan whereby
| few are permitted to grab the bulk of
| the governments contributions, boost
rents and land values shift to the shout
| ders of the middle class and poor ana the
| army of underpaid government clerks the
| taxes they themselves shamelessly evade,.
and then, as of yore. because it menaces
| their scheme, cry, Death to suffrage.
I'VE talk of evolution In the middle
ages European cities sought what we
| seek here today: the right to elect their
own officers, enact ana administer their
own laws and stop the EMBROIDERY by
the lords. This liberty many of them
bought with a great price. They paid for
| it twice over. They first paid the lords
for their freedom, and then they PAID the
king to. make it stick. We here in the
National Capital are far behind these
! cities of the middle ages. But instead of
| trying to buy our libertieS-if it We're nee
| pSSarN,
| leaders here have bought and are still
! buying our political Servitude and charg-
| ing the bill up to us. The price, they ad-
| nit, is the half tax paid by the govern
! ment They braZenly put this above the
political liberties of our people
League Formed Month Ago.
! The District of Columbia Suffrage
League was organized about month
ago according to a statement made to a
Star reporter by Mr.. Will. The organiza-
ton has not yet been completed, Mr.. VIII
said. In the meantime he is at its head,
his position being executive secretary.
when once we get our association COM
pletely organized We hope to secure some
prominent citizen to serve as president,
said Mr.. Will. ''but in the meantime am
acting as the presiding officer of the
| league. The treasurer is Roscoe Jenkins
| "The management is handled by an eX-
| ecutive committee consisting of Mr.. Jen-
kins, Mrs. Jennie l.. Munroe. II. o. Skin
ner. Louis Copelin and myself. This COM
mittee meets in my office at 500 G street
northwest every Thursday afternoon, at
| 4 30 O'Clock, to transact the business of
the organizat ton. At these meetings the
work for the coming week is planned and
discussed. Besides the executive COM
mittee We also have a board of directors
Declines to Publish Names.
Asked to give the names of the direc-
tors, Mr.. VIII said:
Il feel that ] will have to refuse this
request. You see, most of the members
| of the board of directors are employed
In government offices, and if 1t was known
| they We're so prominently identified with
| this organization, which is working to
better the conditions which now exist in
the District, their positions would he
placed in jeopardy. They would throw
| themselves open to all manner of perSe-
cution., For this reason l do not think it
would he advisable to tell their names"
| Mr.. Will explained that before long
| many local organizations are expected to
| become affiliated with the league. Al
| ready. he said, nine organizations are af-
| filiated.
When asked to give the names of these
organizations Mr.. Will refused.
| duplication of the names Of the af-
| filated organizations would be almost as
harmful the publication of the di-
rectorS. The membership of the board
of directors consists of the officers of the
league and a representative or represent
atives of the affiliated bodies. The num-
Der of members which an affiliated or
| ganiZation may have on the board de-
ponds upon the amount of dues 1t pays.
An association paying $40 dues is entt-
tied to one director. An association pay
ing $50 is entitled to two directors, etc
To give the names of the affiliated or
| CARNATIONS would almost be the same
as giving the names of the directors, for
all of them are prominently identified