Evening star., 1920-03-09
THE WASHINGTON
AMER|CAN|zAT|0N
CATECH|SM.
THEODORE w. MOVES.
THEODORE w. MOVES.
I'D What do you seek.

I'D What do you seek.
| National representation. fe., voting
representation in the national govern
ment. The status Of American citizens
and citizens of "a state in House. Sem
ate. electoral college and the courts Of
| the United States.
t2) How do you seek national rep
rrsentnticn: BY the pending consti-
| tutional amendment we ask the peo-
! pie of the United States to empower
Congress in it's discretion to grant us
TINS represe When this power
| Is given to Congress by a two-thirds
vote of Congress and three fourths
vote of the state legislatures we shall
seek to persuade a majority of Con-
SrcSS of the justice and wisdom of the
speedy exercise of this power. BY
the constitutional amendment national
representation is taken from tnacces-
sibility and made possible. BY the
| subsequent action Of Congress Dis
trict representation will be made n
reality.
t3D what do you omit to seek.
We do not seek to disturb in any
way national control Of the capital
through Congress. We Seek merely
TO participate like Americans of the
states in the Congress which exercises
this control. and in the national gov
ernment which makes and executes
laws for the whole United States. the
District of Columbia included.
We do not seek in this movement for
national representation either to
break down or to protect the form
of municipal government which Con-
srcss representing the nation has
given us. Congress has now the
power by majority vote to set up
here any municipal government it
pleases. with any degree of self-gov-
ernment which does not involve a
delegation by Congress of its power
of general legislation. 1t Will have
precisely the saE,e power, mo- more
and no less, when the constitutional
amendment empowering Congress to
grant District national representation
has been adopted.
Some of us favor retention OF the
present form of municipal government;
some of us favor it's change by Con-
gress in the direction of a larger meas
ure of locnl f-government. We all
come together and cooperate heartily
in seeking representation in the nation
al government and the honor, the privi-
lege and the power of national repre-
sentative citizenship We are not so
foolish as to drop out of a campaign for
something that We all earnestly want
and absolutely need in order to quarrel
without result over the entirely distinct
question of local self-government.
Those who want District national
representation by constitutional amend
ment and no more, and those who want
what they call full citizenship or ma
tional representation through constitu-
tional amendment plus approximate local
self-government through majority vote
of Congress, travel together harmonious
ly up to the point of the adoption Of the
constitutional amendment Here the two
groups separate and may begin to fight.
In seeking the Americanization of
Washingtonians we ask through con-
stitutional amendment only that
which is vital to that AmericanfxatiOn
and which can be obtained in NO other
way than by constitutional amend
ment. We do not seek to secure a
two-thirds vote of Congress and a
three-fourths vote of the state leg
islatures for any legislative PROPOSE
tfOn whatsoever which Congress now
has the power by a mere majority
vote to enact.