Evening star., 1920-02-19
FINANCIAL AND
/. POLITICAL EQUITY
URGED FOR D. c.
Board of Trade Hears House
Members on HaIf-and-Half
and National Repre-
Sentati0n.

haIf-and- half system of maintaining
the capital municipality were made by
members of the House of Representa-
tives last night at the monthly meet
ing of the Board of Trade at the New
willard Representative Sherman Z.
Burroughs of New Hampshire spoke
vigorously for the extension of the
vote to the people of the District 10
enable them to participate in national
elections and to be represented in
Congress Representative w. e. An
drews of Nebraska stated his convic-
ton that the equal-share principle or
contribution for the Districts govern
ment is the only just and equitable
mode of provision.
THE government that exercises au-
thority over the hundreds of thou
sands of people who dwell here. SAID
Mr. Burroughs. derives none of its
powers to exercise such authority
from the consent of the governed;
for no man living in this city or In
this District has any voice whatever
in the government to whose authority
he is compelled to submit
Some Restrictions Proper.
Mr. Burroughs said that it was right
and proper that a person should be-
come of age before being allowed to
vote. that an alien should have to
live in this country prescribed time
that he may acQuaint himself with the
form of government, and that all
people who vote must meet certain
educational requirements.
But how is it with the Washing
tonian%' continued Mr.. Burroughs
Instead of knowing that his right to
vote will be recognized as soon as lie
reaches the age of twenty-one years.
he knows that he has no recognized
rights in this regard whatever, either
present or prospective. For him the
door of opportunity as far as his
participation in the government is
concerned. is not only closed. but
locked and bolted.
such a prohibition and absolute
bar upon the exercise of this right is
TO my mind entirely out of keeping
with the spirit of our government.
1T is hostile to every aspiration and
every hope of a free people"
Mr.. Burroughs Explains Plan.
Mr.. Burroughs spoke Of the resolu- |
ton for national representation for
the District which he has introduced
in Congress, and said there was no
desire to change the existing form of
government, except for two purposes
for the purpose of representation in
the Congress and for electors Of the |
President and Vice President, and for
the purpose of suing and being sued
in the courts of the United States.
But somebody says" he continued.
why do you seek the status of citi-
zens of a state with voting represen-
tation in the Senate and House of |
Representatives? Why not be satis- |
Ned with territorial delegate? My
answer is that territorial delegate
without a vote might have satisfied
dred years ago. when there were only
few thousand dwellers in the Dis
trict
That is not the situation now To-
day it is true beyond all question that
in population. education and resources
"aEhlnRt0n tn hA
representation of a state in the Con-
gress of the United States.
Ten years ago ii had a larger pop
ulation than at least six of the states;
today 1t probably has larger popu-
Iatpn than at least eight or nine of
thesstates
And when it comes to the matter
OF resources. in 1912, which is the last
year for which We have any estimates,
there were nine states. my own among
them. in each of which the total
wealth was less than that cf the Dis
trict of Columbia"
Argues for HaIf-and-Half.
Continuance of the half-and-hal,
plan of financing the District was
asked by Representative W. r.. An
drews of Nebraska. who has lived here
Ior the last twenty-five years. He was
mem ber of the Fifty-fourth Congress
and then for eighteen years served as
auditor for the Treasury Department,
being returned to the Sixty-sixth Con-
gress.
Mr.. Andrews said that when he first
came to Washington and was not ac-
quainted with the form of government
practiced here. he was not convinced that
the federal government should SUD-
port the city of Washington. But
after close study he found that the
resources OF the capital were not suf-
hcient to maintain it and that the
government should do it's share in
shouldering the financial burdens.
Mr.. Andrews made ii clear that from
the beginning the financial responsibility
for the capital maintenance was on the
nation, and that the taxpayers here were
the incidental contributors: that the re-
lation suggested by pending LEGISLATION.
9 placing the primary responsibility on the
taxpayers and making the nation only a
possible and incidental contributor, is
unsound and unjust.
He attacked the problem of the So
called surplus of unexpended District
taxes, showing that il was created
through neglect by Congress to meet
obvious urgent needs of Washington in
war time, and that this surplus doubled
in accordance with the organic ACT.
should be applied at once to meet the
Districts urgent needs in respect to in
creased water supply or enlarged school
facilities.
Recommending immediate steps for
the replacement of the present Chain
bridge, the bridge committee. of
man, urged an appropriation of 81 500
for preliminary work on a new struc-
ture. A bill has been introduced in
Congress providing for the above
amount by Representative X. Walton
Moore, it was stated. and, besides be-
ing, approved by the Commissioners
of the District, is now being con-
sdered by the House District commit
tee
Chain Bridge Committee Reports.
In regard to a new Chain bridge.
the report of the bridge committee
reads:
an appropriation of $40, 900 for use in
preliminary work looking toward the
replacement of the Chain bridge
This bridge was built in 1874 and de-
signed for the character of traffic
then in existence. Since that time
the weight of the traffic has increased
enormously. and. due to the popular
ty of the maCadam road which con-
meets with the bridge and runs to
Fairfax, Va. and to the increase in
the number of residents along the
road well as the increase in COM
mercial intercourse with the District
of Columbia, the use of the bridge
has increased to a point away beyond
the expectations and anticipations of
the builders.
According to opinion of the En-
gineer Commissioner, expressed in a
letter to Representative r. Walton
Moore, it would be a mistake to at
tempt to meet present Requirements
by strengthening the present bridge,
and this would be at best a make
shift. He suggests that it will be
long run il preliminary steps were
now taken looking to the erection of