Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-13

even more helpless in Georgia and KEN
tucky than he is on Capitol Hill Honest
| ~. is there not something amusing in
congressional spasm of frightened re-
sentiment at the suggestion that this I'M
potent community DULLES and threatens
omnipotcnt Congress: The great herce
vidually or in gang who In the de-
lusions Of some representatives are pur-
! suing them. and whom they in tur
/ valiant pursue. are as imaginary as Don
! QuiNotes giants of the windmils against
whom that hero so courageously hurled
| himself.
Fair Play for Congress.
| Too many of Washingtons legislators
come to view their constituents as unap-
| preciative. unGrateful. greedy. selfish and
censoriouS: and too many OF these con-
! sttuents come to view the legislators. SC
! lected for them by the Constitution. as
deliberately ignorant Of their needs. as
contemptuously Indifferent to and neglect
! full of their welfare or as actively and
| Indignantly hostile.
The crying need of the hour is a change
Of thought. q change OF heart a new
| policy under which each IF the capital
| h4i1din@ partners shall heed the injunc-
! ton '''ut Yourself in his place with
| the result of substituting mutual appre-
citation 70 denomination.
Fair play and mutual regard are watch
words of the new policy. The Wash
ingtoni.n in accordance with il Will
i render deserved aGd betated tribute of
! grateful app eciat!on to the long line Of
senators ana representatives. who haNe
faithful y performed the unseiish. diff
cult and almost thankless task OF dealing
rs CONSIDERABLY and justly with their
"a piial constituency as with their home
constituents. Washington knows aud
honors these men-i's loNal helpful
: friends puhiic-spi~ited workers in tn"
task of capital building. though it MAJ
not lave put this appreciation and honor
! into words as promptly and adequately
as it ought.
! When Washington puts itself in the
place of Congress and recognizes the DIFF
ticuities and embarrassments under
which congressman labor as District leg
islators it will be easier for the city TO
substitute a, times appreciation for fault
finding. The capita may then even fee.
pride in having rs its local legislature
, the creates. legislative body in the
world: a Legislature which though neg
lectfu and exasperatnSly slow to move
III District legislation. has ever i'll the
great crises o. the capitals history acted
Justly and wisely and sympathetically
Though the nation from the begin
ming neglected its Obligations toward the
nations city. il frankly confessed its
fault and came 10 tns Guys relief in
! 49,. when Washington had bankrupted
Itself in trying to perform unaided the
nations task of capital making So
in the seventies of the last century
with q recurrence of the conditions OF
1873. the nation not only shouldered one
ha;f and guaranteed the whole of the
Dankrupting debt. but undertook. as
a matter of equity. to share all the
expenses Of capital making for the fu-
ture. And if in the time to come an
other crisis shall ar;se-as in connection
with a proposal that the nation repudiate
! the funded debt of 1873 and throw it
upon the local taxpayers of today or
overthrow wholly the half-and-ha prin-
ciple Of the organic act WASHINGTON
may. il the light OF the presidents. rel
with perfect confidence for protection o.!
its legislatures wisdom. Justice and sym
pathetic consideration. Congress as the
Districts legislature has confessedly its
faults, but smallness and meanness are
not among them: and il is inconceiv d BILE
that the Reputation and confiscation pro-
posed should not be found. when the teSt
comes. shocking y reDugnant to the dom
mating spirit of fairness of the Amer
lean people.
Fair Play for Washington.
/ As Washington should subject itself to
rigid determination 10 ascertain
whether it has not been lacking in CRATE
ful appreciation, should individual
!
| whether they do not fall short in just ap
probation OF their capital constituency
and deny it American fair play. not mere:
Il in specific legislation. but in genera.
attitude and theory of action legis-
| iators, not merely or primarily for in
| stance in respect to the money e1acted
| from year to year in taxation. but in re-
| spect to acts and words which traduce
| the good name and bruise the self-re-
spect of the most misunderstood and
most misrepresented OF American COM
! munities.
| What is :here in the past record or the
present condition of the people of Wash
! tngton to prevent their constitutional leg
1 lslators from viewing them with appre-
citation and esteem: In numbers they eN-
coed the population of several of the
states. They are drawn from and reflect
| the spirit of every section Of the Union.
Owing no divided allegiance to a STATE.
they are American in a peculiar sense.
Americans.
They are nov generally recognized as
| by far the largest contributors to the up
building of the capital They gave OF
| their own property that the nation might
pra ctically own and exclusively control
| a national city. They donated to the ma
ton five-sevenths of the area of Wash
ington. They gave the land from the
proceeds of the sale of which the orisina
public buildings were erected. Nearly
/
capital making which was done for three
| fourths Of a century was done by them
+, Through disregard by the nation of it,
| financial obligations to the capital the
| observation-disclosures We're in 1880 forced into
| bankruptcy in the public spirited attemp,
to bear alone the nations burden. III
the same spirit they endured in the sew
entities the travail of the birth of the new
| Washington. They have paid their pro-
| portion of every national tax, direct and
| indirect. They pay as much per capita
in city taxation. the census reports show,
| as the average taxpayer in the American
cities approXimating Washington in size
| They have risked life and shed their
blood in every national war. AS border
| community Washington sent many OF her
sons to the south in the civil struggle
| while TO preserve the Union the first vol
unteerS came from the capital. and Wash
| ingronans supplied more troops in eX-
| cess of their quota than any state eS-
| cept one. In the war with Spain they
sent to the front fine regiment far eN-
| ceeding their quota in numbers. They
have thus placed both sacrifice of treas
ure and blood critice upon the nation s
altar In modern times of peace the pub
lie spirit of the Washingtonian is equally
i'll evidence whenever sacrifices of time
or of energy or Of money i'll the city 5
interest are required. Our business and
professional men. the educational. scien-
tif;c. literary and artistic elements of ON
population. our Workingmen in public and
! private employ. our department clerks
and other government employees. our win
| ter residents in process of conversion
| into ashingtonians. combine to conSti-
+, tute one Of tho strongest, most intelli-
gent. most public-spirited and most Amer
l,s,1. u