The Washington herald., 1917-01-08
The Washington Herald
Echoes a Protest

In the Senate of the United States
tomorrow the citizens of the Capital
City of the United States will either
be granted the heritage of their faith
ers to pass upon their own rules of
moral conduct or they will be denied
that right by majority of Senators
who will be voting bids for political
preferment in their home States.
The occasion will be the final vote
on the Sheppard prohibition bill and
the amendment offered to it by SEN
: ator Oscar Underwood, of Alabama,
| providing for referendum of this
distinctly local question to the resi-
dents of the District of Columbia.
The point has been raised that it
will be unconstitutional for the Dis
trict of Columbia to hold an election.
This is too silly to discuss. Not so
many years ago the District had a
territorial governor and legislature.
1t made practically all of the organic
laws we now have on the local statute
books. Congress merely ratified
them.
Mr.. Underwoods referendum is
the fairest ever devised for any COM
munity. 1t places the responsibility
for drafting the rules of election
with the District Commissioners. An
amendment to it by the Democratic
leader, Mr.. Kern, of Indiana, pro-
vides heavy penalties for repeating
bribery and conspiracy.
We know the District Commits
sioners; they are fellow townsmen
and they are neighbors. The hint
that they would permit a corrupt
election i, base calumny.
They would no more countenance
bribery and kindred election crimes
than they would saction murder.
The Underwood amendment gives
every resident of the District the
right to vote if he or she has
lived here year. 1t does not even
bar from voting the man or woman
who makes home in another State
and is employed here.
Here in the seat of government Of
the United States the woman is to
have her voice on a moral question.
Here also the much desired literacy
test is to be applied. No person who
cannot read and write is to be per-
mitted to cast a ballot.
What more does Congress want?
Does it not believe in the rule of the
people? Does it believe that we are
moral degenerates; that we are cor
rupt citizens; that we do not have
down in our hearts the same love for
our children and the same anxiety
to keep their morals clean as the citi-
zens of Texas, of Topeka, Kansas or
Atlanta, Georgia.
We maintain that we have.
I We maintain that we have the most
highly developed body of intellec-
tuals in any city in America. We
maintain that our citizens have made
a beautiful city here; we maintain
that we are giving the government of
the United States a rare setting for
its Capitol
Aside from the moral question in
volved the city of Washington and
many of its residents have material
interest. One large manufacturing
concern here spends $4,000 in
wages to Washington workingmen
each year. One of its by-products is
alcohol This pure grain alcohol is
sent out of the District of Columbia
for pharmaceutical uses.
! Not a drop of it is used as a bev-
erage. Yet this firm will be driven
out of business by one amendment to
the Sheppard bill which prohibits the
shipment of alcohol from the Dis
trict. YET THE SAME BILL CAR
RIES A PROVISION ADMIT
! TING ALCOHOL FROM OUT
SIDE THE DISTRICT FOR THE
SAME USES.
US the vote. We demand as right
that basic stone on which the Ameri-
can government is builded-the right
to be represented if we are taxed.
| Abraham Lincoln considered that
the citizens had the right to vote on
their morality AS member of Con-
gress he introduced bill submitting
the slavery question to the citizens
of the District.
i If Lincoln was right then why is
not Underwood right now?
| The Senate will decide tomorrow.
| Yesterday great throng of citi-
zens joined in a town meeting in
Polls Theater and demanded the