The Topeka state journal., 1919-10-23

| the CITY, They are of the sort who
own houses here and merely come
| for the season." A good many make
| this place their legal residence for the
sordid reason that Washington has a
very low rate on intangible property.
1 One wealthy man told a senator that
he could pay for the upkeep of his
/ Washington house with the money he
saved in taxes on stocks and bonds
4 by making this his official residence.
/ He spends only a few months a year
/ here.
And these wealthy social lights,
who own the long rows of palatial hut
generally empty houses in northwest
/ Washington. usually visit their atten-
! tions upon vice presidents, cabinet Of
heers and diplomats rather than upon
congress men. Vice Presi dent Marshall
! was once asked what was the. uAture
i of his job. and he replied that he was
/ the 'otrieia1 eater" for the administra-
ton. The president. of course, cannot
spend much time attending dinners,
/ and the vice president is regarded as
the next biggest game 1t is estimat-
| ed that Mr.. Marshall has consumed
three times his weight in hfgh-grade
comestibles to satisfy the social am
bitions of hostessss who aspire to en-
teftain someone in the ~'ofncial
! family"
Thus of all the entertaining which
a
! small part is directed to the useful
end of creating q better understand
ing between the congressman and the
people of the city.
The congressman have long been in
the habit of expressing themselves on
the floors of both houses yery freely
about Washington and its people.
They seldom eulogized either. They
! have described Washington as a nest
of pirates and profiteers and have
called it a disgrace to the nation. The
local people do not deny that some
profiteering has gone on here. but
they would like to deny that profiteer-
Ing Is an inherent vice of the Wash
ingtonian. They would like to ex-
plain that the profiteering is an in
r.evitablc result of circumstances which
congress alone has power to change.
But since they have no way of making
this reply. 1t has occurred te them
that perhaps if they display a more
genial view of their city life to the
congressional eye. it will somewhat
allay the congressional ire.
1t should by no means be gathered
! from oil this that the Federation of
Citizens associations of the District of
Columbia is a social organization. 1t
is not that at all. It's campaign for
the soft-soaping of congress is only
one. and very minor one of its
dCllSlllek-
There are about forty citizens asso-
Citations in the District and all but
four or five of them belong to the
federation The federation has a to-
tai membership of about ten thou
sand, and this is expected to be
doubled this fall. AS each member
represents family, the association
will soon express the will of a very
large part of the white population of
Washington.
The federation has a council COM
posed of two delegates from each as
soeiation. TheEe delegates bring up
matters which have been discussed in
the meetings of the separate associa-
tions. and which are considered to be
of interest to the whole city. The fed
! eral council acts upon those which it
considers worth while. For example,
right now it Is working for merger
of the two street car lines in the Dis
trict 1t is also working for better
pay for the Washington police force,
for more school houses, and for the
passage of the Ball rent bill to pres
vent profiteering in rents. 1t does not
represent any section OF the city or
any one class of 1eopie. Union labor
is we'll represented in its ranks. It
exerts its influence by appearing be-
fore the District commission and be-
fore the District committee of con-
gress and telling what 1t thinks the
city needs and why. It is the only
organization of its kind in the United
States. because Washington Is the only
city IN the United States whose citi-
zens have to depend exclusively upon
argument and influence to get what
they need from the mea who govern
them.