Evening star., 1914-08-22
Says Report on Bill Relating to
District Offices Was "Per-
sonaIIy Conducted"
DIRECTORS ON RECORD
WITH TART CRITICISM
Provisions Of Legislation for Ma
tional Capital olassed as Contempt
Of Democratic Platform,

In minority reports flied In the House
today Representatives Mapes of Mcht-
gan and walters of PENNSYLVANIA Of
the District committee, severely crit1cise
the personally conducted" report of
Representative Caraway on his bill to
tear down all qualifications as to resi-
dence for appointees as Commissioners
of the District, and practically the same
criticism is made Of the Caraway re-
port on the Caraway bill providing that
half the offices Of the District govern
ment shall be filed by persons not resi- I.
dents Of the District. In addition to
stating that the reports. on these two
bills were voted on while considerably
less than a quorum was present in the
committee room. Representatives Mapes
and Walters emphasize the fact that
Representative Caraway. who is q demo-
crat. has marred plank in the domo-
cratic platform on which he was elected.
That plank is plain.
It reads:
I'VE believe that the officials appoint
ed to administer the government Of all
our territories and the District Of Co.
lumbia~ should be qualified by previous
bona fide residence"
Rated as Repugnant to Justice.
Aside from pointing out the clear fact
that only a handful. perhaps two mem
bers, were present when the bills were
ordered reported. the report says OF the
bill regarding Commissioners Qualifica-
tons:
"The provisions of the bill are repug-
nant to every sense of justice and con-
trary to the spirit of our American in
stitutions. The bill furnishes another IN
stance of the contempt and disregard
which some democrats have for the plat
form on which they were elected.
Regarding the bill to appoint anyoooy
Capitals city government. the report
SAYS:
1T is difficult to believe that any
one could be serious in his advocacy
of this bill. If enacted into law ana
it's provisions put into operation 1t
into utter chaos and confusion
The minority reports throw much
light on how the personally conduct
ed" Caraway bills received favorable
reports Each minority report is coucn-
ed in the same language on this point,
as follows:
This bill was never considered by a
quorum of the committee on the Dis
trict of Columbia or by any number
approaching a quorum. There probably
was not q quorum of that committee
in Washington at any time from the
day the bill was introduced to the day
the report was filed in the House. Ger
tainly a quorum never attended COM
mittee meeting during that time.
Absentees Accounted For.
There were two roll calls in the
House on the day the bill is supposed
to have been voted out of the COM
mittee. on both of which roll calls
thirteen of the twenty-one members OF
the committee did not answer to their
names It is safe to say that all OF
the thirteen members who failed to
answer to their names on both roll
calls in the House were not in Wash
ington on that day and could not have
attended any meeting of the committee,
and it is known that some of the re-
maining eight members of the commit
tee who did respond to their names on
the roll calls in the House did not at
tend any meeting of the committee on
that day.
1--WE have been informed that the
bill was called up and acted upon by a
small minority of the committee after
other members who desired in the per-
formance of their official duties to at
tend the session of the House were
obliged to leave the committee room.
THE only other attempt that was
tee was at a meeting two weeks pre-
vious, when point of no quorum was
made and the committee thereupon ad-
journed"