Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-04
Views of the Presidents.

The first President to discuss formally
the political status OF the District was
Monroe. who i'll his message of 1918
said: BY the Constitution the power
of legislation is exclusively vested in
the Congress of the United States. In
the exercise of this power In which the
people have no participation Congress
leSislatsS in all cases directly on the
local concerns of the District. As this
Is q departure for a special purpose
from the general principles Of our sys-
tenn u may merit consideration whether
an arrangement better adapted to the
principles "f our government and to
the particular interests Of the people
may not be- devised which will neithe /.
infringe the Constitution nor affect the
object which the provision in question
was intended to secure" In 1913
Washington. Georgetown and Alex
anuifd We're enjoying by grace of Con
Gress municipal ''self-government .
Washington. for instance. elected civ
councils. &ho elected a mayor Non
participation by the people in the con
;.rcSsional power of exclusive leg:sla-
ton was the departure from the gem
cral principles" Of the American s-s-
ten. of which Monroe suggested a COR
rection
Andrew Jackson was the frs; presi
dent 10 urge specifically the election by
the District of territorial delegate in
Congress. He made this recommendation
IN $50 and repeated ard enlarged it in
1851 and 1850. In ISL he said:
IT was doubtless wise in the trainers
Of our Constitution to place the people
of this District under the Jurisdiction of
the general government. But to accom-
plish the objects they had In view it is
not necessary that this people should be
deprived of all the privileges of self-goy-
eminent. Independently of the difficulty
OF inducing the representatives of distant
states 10 turn their attention to projects
of laws which are not of the highest in
tercsj TO their constituents. they are not
individually Eor in Congress collectively
well qualified to legislate over the local
concerns of this District. Consequently
its interests are much neglected and the
people are almost afraid to present their
grievances lest a body in which they are
not represented. and which feels little
sympathy in their local relations. should
| in its attempt to make laws for them dc
| more harm than good. . Is 1t not
| Just to allow them at least a delegate &c
Congress II not a local legislature to
| make laws for the District subject to
| the approval or rejection Of Congress:
| | earnestly recommend the extension &c
! them Of every political right which theiI
! interests require and which may be COM
! patible with the Constitution
President William Henry Harrison in
1911 discussed the political status of the
| District sympathetically and earnestly
| saying:
Are there indeed citizens of any
| of our states who have dreamed OF
| their subjects in the District of Colum-
| bia? Such dreams can never be real
| lied by any agency Of mine. The peo-
pie of the District of Columbia are not
| the subjects of the people of the United
States. but free American citizens. Be.
| ing in the latter condition when the
Constitution was formed. no words used
| in that instrument could have been in
| tended to deprive them of that charac.
ter If there is anything in the great
principle of unaienabe rights so EN-
phatically insisted upon in our Declara
| ton of lndcDendercc they could neither
make. nor the United States accept. {;
surrender OF their liberty and becorn,
| the subjects-in other words the slaves
of their former fellow-citiZens. If thi:
| be true-and 1t will scarcely be denied
by any one who has q correct idea o.