Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-03-29

the approval of the vast majority of all
the taxpayers. In the disbursement of
the citys funds the taxpayers rights are
| preserved. their interests protected. and
, their desires met to an extent unequaled in
other large American cities. where. under
u system OF manhood suffrage, the ORGAN
| lied non-taXpayers spend as they please
the money contributed by the taxpayers.
| The American principle of manhood
! representation does not apply to choice OF
business agents by a corporation. munich
! pal or otherwise. On the other hand, an
| American right is denied when Americans
| gathered fq sufficient numbers in a limited
| area of American soil are denied repre-
sentatiou in the American Congress which
| taxes them, and may send them to war.
which makes their laws aud has their
lives as well as their property at its DIS
posal
II the nation is to continue to control
the District. the District should he and
| can safely be recognized as part OF the
nation and be permitted representation
| in Congress- which is the nation, in eNer-
ciSing this control.
| The only way to preserve the original
status of Washington was to Keep the DIS
t-ict as nearly uninhabited AS at the De
ginning. Our forefatherS uld not eApect
this paralysis of growth. George W aSnlnS-
ton predicted that the city of the nation
| century thence if the countr: kept
=, united. would be. though not as large
as London. yet of nagnltude M error
! to few others in Europe. IT is unoenev-
able that he thought that this great city
which his Imagination pictured would ne
peopled by aliens politically and less than
aliens tudicially. He could not nave
imagined that the great National Capital;
rivaltng London in population "0ui'
The transaction at the birth OF the
city was not the permanent sale OF an
American birthrigbt for special capital
privileges. including nations! mainte-
had carried out it's century-Old pledges
to the capital the surrender OF the
American birthright of national repre-
sentation would not e!uiaab'y nave
ton violated its obligation and In 1879
only In part recognized and reassumed
1t. Today the United States should full
al its OBLIGATION Of capital main.
that equity demands, and should also
restore national representation to the
people of the District, II statehood
conditions are now fairly met here.
Isolated Westinghouse.
Friends of the people Of Warrington
(like senator John sharp Williams)
sometimes gOOd-naturedly lecture them
for arguing concerning their affairs ns
II they were a community set apart, q
group Of Americans on one side of the
fine with all the rest of the United
States ON the other.
This isolation In not, however,
visionary theory. but . practical, pain-
full condition. And the responsibility
for It II not upon the people of the
capital, but upon the people of the
United States.
The class of isolated Washingtonians-
that is, Neutrality-suspicious. claiming resi-
dence nowhere else than IN the capital
grows larger and larger every year. in
creasing not only In numbers, but in re-
sources and influence, and is destined
finally, perhaps. to include all the people
of the District. What Is this isolated
Washingtonian claiming residence no
where else? What are some Of his char
acteristics as suggested by friend or foe7
largest contributor to the upbuildtng Of
the National Capital-as donor Of the
city's site. and Of lots sold to get funds
to erect the original public buildings. and
as taxpayer, local and national-yet In
his financial relation to the nation he
IL pronounced by the ignorant or mali
cious greedy mendicant!
He Is an American who il told that his
Of petition and emigration. to supplicate
or evacuate, to beg or get out; and II
he does not or can not get out, and pro-
ceeds to petition. he Is denounced by
the ignorant and malicious as an impu-
dent beggar!
He IL one whose exclusive Legislature.
to whose tender mercies his interests are
solely confded. in effect forbide to his
sons the local means OF self-eupport pro
vided by the commercial and manofae-
turing Industries Of the ordinary Amer1-
can city. and then by the appordonment
Of ofilces law (of late extended and even
more rigidly applied and enforceO prac-
tically shuts out the Washington youth
bars them from the only great industries
which 1t permits to exist in the nations
city.
As candidate either for certain ma
AN~uAt rS&t
which are IN effect local Offices. or for its
purely local offices, which elsewhere are
filled as matter Of course from the 10.
cal community, he 10 coming more ana
more each year to be greeted with the
derisive and humiliafing announcement:
mo Neutrality-suspicious. need apply!'
He is the citizen Of state when bur.
dens are imposed and not the catl0en OF
q state or even Of territory when pr1v1-
leges are conferred
nounced a state by the courtsl, under
a treaty with France. a construction con-
ferring privileges on aliens. but not
state under the Constitution. whose peo-
pie can sue in the federal courts. The
District is a state Tin the Const:t ution)
when direct taxes are to be collected.
but not a state I'm the Constituuon)
when representatives are apporuoned.
though the Constitution couples the two
things. Public attention was not long
ago called to the fact that the Washing
torian Is not the citizen OF state or
even Of a territory in the distribution OF
educational appropriations under the Nor
ril acts.
Oapital-Maker.
On the other hand the isolated Wash
ingtonian has the honor of being an ef-
fectively working, though silent. Co
partner with the nation in developing q
National Capital Of which every Ameri-
can Is proud.
His municipal government, in the opin.
ion of some Of us, meets the spirit OF
the principle of no taxation without rep
resentation, and the converse principle of
no representation without taxation. and
In raising and disbursing taxes rejects
the viii Of the taxpayers more completely
than in any other large American city
Here Congress-, representing the half
taxpayer decides all tax and approprta-
ton questions, after consulting with the
representatives of the other taxpayers, to
whom in the grant of the power to sub
init estimates 1t gives the Initiative OF
suggestion in respect to appropriattVe
legislation Here the great majority OF
the taxpayers are back of every leg1sla-
tive decision concerning appropriations:
in other large American cities, under
misapplication of the principle of govern
ment by unlimited popular suffrage. the
organized nontaXpayerS control. as
rule, the cityis purse and spend as they
please the money contributed by tax
payers.
While denied representation as Ameri-
cans in the national legislature and cleo