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


be permitted unless il meets the aid test
of national necessitv. and that by care
fully ascertaln!nS and giving eject Ia
local public sentiment the spirit -: Amer
lean representative government shall. ~
far as possible in suhstanc. prevail.
though the forms b" LACKING
No Unnecessary Sacrifices.
To impose uron the Westinghouse
hurtfui determinations in respect 50
his status before the national counts
clearly involves an unnecessary sacit-
tice on his part and offends the rule ~
equity laid down by President Harrl-
son.
chief Justice John Marshails treat
ment OF the District Of Columbia whoa
the alleged rights Of ITS citizens came
IN cont'ici with some ,laii of national
power det rlops viNidl. these iudiciHi
disrriminat lions
In Hepburn and pundas " Eiz.y 3
Cranch. iial Marshall held that ihe
District was state ia the Specification
of that term IN international law. hut
not in the sense az the constitution.
ana mat its citizens could not hritiG
suit as citizens OF state in t-nit"'l
States courts In l.ouE borough az
Blake - Wheaton. $40 he decided ihaf
Congress has tn. constitutional power
to impose direct taxes upon the uu.sn-
resented District. Notwithstanding Ih-'
words Of the Constitution coupling req
resentation and direct taxation. ana
Notwithstanding the principle asserted
in our revolution that representation
is inseparabe from taxation
John Marshall's supreme Court
treated the District as a state when
! taxes were imposed bat not a state
when representatives were apportioned.
though the Constitution apparently
couples the two things II was de
clared not To be a state whose citizens
! can bring suit in the United States
courts. though the Supreme Court AZ
later date pronounced il In the Ncry
spirit OF Marskalis reasoning "a state
France comforting privileges on aliens
tGeofroy vs.. riggs. 1913 l. :. 1850. la
short. the District is state when bur
dens are imposed and not a state when
privileges are distributed.
Marshall recognizes deprecatingiy The
! injustice and Inconsistency which ON
grounds OF national necessity the Sn-
preme Court. through him. dealt out 10
the District OF Columbia. '.Tt Is" H.
says in Hepburn and Dundas vs. Ellzey
extraordinary that the courts OF the
L nited States. which are open To aliens
and to the citizens Of every state in the
Union. should be closed upon them obs
trict citizens And in Loughborough vs.
Blake he says: Although in theory II
might be more congenial to the spirit Of
our institutions to admit a representa- yo
I from the District. Ii may be doubted
whether in fact its interests would ID.
tainly the Constitution does not consider
| their want of representative in Con-
gress as exempting ii from equal taxa
ton.
equal terms with other Americans to tn.
federal courts: the same right to sue in
a federal court as that enjoyed by th''
citizen of state Either his status be
fore the federal courts should be that or
the citizen of the non-sovereign state of
Columbia. for judicial purposes he
should be declared citizen of Maryland.
Congress and Electoral College.
The Waahingtonians are clearly en-
titled to represe Imitation In Congress and
electoral college national faxPa.erss
potential national soldiers: in every re-
| spect SO far M burdens arc concerned
ON the same basis with other Ameri-
cans.
| They should he granted this repre-
\ sentatIOn a. b.. net Of Congress ad-
hitting District Of Columbia q de-
! fective. non-sovereign state. 60 Or ny
! constitutional amendment 81 that IL
necessary 10 admission quasl-stase.
| (3b II impracticnble to- ses ure admission
| as quasi-state, separate eOmmunits.
citizenshtp I'm MARYLAND should be s'--
slowed by net Of Congress.
| Under the power to admit new states
! Congress has given a certain repre-
! sentation in the national legislature
| 20 territories. embryo states not rec
ognized at all by the Constitution in
prescribing the makeup of Congress.
| 1t would seem that under this provision
concerning the admission of new states.
| coupled with the power to regulate
territory belonging to the United
| States and with the power in each
house to judge the qualifications of its
own members. Congress could admit 10
| representation in itself quasi-state. in
! termediate between the territory and
! the full nedged state The constitu-
tional provision that no state may with
out its consent be deprived of equal rep
! resentation in the Senate suggests that
with its consent "A state could be de-
| prived of equal representation in the
Senate. and that state could with
/ its own consent exist which was not
| on an equal footing in representation
with the other states. IL this infer
| ence is justifia BILE constitutional
| amendment might not be necessary to
admit the District as defective state
of the Union with representation
cording to its population in the House
and with one instead of two senators,
accentuatinS the fact that ii is not OIL
the same plane in all respects with
the other states. Under this arrange
ment the nation. through Congress
would retain exclusive power OF lesis-
lation over the District and the District
would merely secure representation in
the body which governed it.
Is Amendment Necessary.
There is thus raised a question for the
constitutional lawyers to study and an
swer: Is a constitutional amendment
necessary TO enable Congress to give
representation in the House and Senate
to the District Of Columbia as state"
II has always been assumed that such
amendment is essential. But is it?
Congress has power to admit new
states. one of the rights of such states
is representation in House and Senate.
Under this power Congress has admitted
to representation without vote in the
House territories. auasi-siates. not con-
templated by the Constitution. If Com
.ress can thus grant to a rudimentarv
state Limited representation j.. one Of its
branches. can il not grant TO quasi
state of a higher grade full representa-
| ton in both of its benches. without
granting to it al! the Powers OH other
| lines of a sovereign state" Having the
power to bestow al! the rights and priv
| leges of sovereign state. may ii not
! bestow less than ali? Does not the
| greater power inciude the less?
| The power Of exclusive legislation n
the ten miles square given 20 Congress
BY the Constitution prohibits 'he eNoi''-
ition of the District into sovereign sac.
:, lille this constitutional provision * m
| force the District as a state could not
have all the Self-govefn,ng and liide-
j pendent powers Of maryland or Virginia.
But can Il not be treated state. with
out amendment of the Constitution. so
far as representation in the national J (;
islature. its own exclusive Legislature IS
concerned?
Cannot Congress under its POKE: 10
admit new states so legislate that the
word state" as Il occurs in certain see
tons of the Constitution snail include
the District? The courts have ALREADY
viewed the District as a state for some