Evening star., 1920-03-17
SUFFRAGE LEAGUE
|S0RGAN|zED HERE
AT BIC MEETING

Champ Clark and Samuel
Gompers Plead for National
Representation.
The District of Columbia Suffrage
League was organized at mass
meeting in Central High School last
night to work for a constitutional
amendment which would empower
Congress to give Washington repre-
!sentation in the House, Senate and
electoral college.
Organization of the league followed
+; stlrring addresses by Representative
Champ Clark of Missouri, Samuel
Gompers, president of the American
| Federation of Labor; Col. +. Lester
Jones. U. J. Biller and Miss Mary
iOToole.
! When w. B. Westlake, executive
director or the national press COM
mittee for. District suffrage. distrib-
uted pledge cards through the audi
! torium nearly every one present sign
ed them. thereby agreeing to con-
tribute small sum quarterly to de-
| fray the expenses of carrying on a
! ieheiSh "ioC SdIllpdlSu Iot iCpiSSShIa-
ton.
Drive Begins Today.
Today the national press committee
| will begin a steady drive to enroll in
! the league every man and woman in
the city who wants to be represented
in Congress and have vote for the
President. Members of the press COM
mittce will go before gatherings Of
every description from today on to
solicit members for the league.
/ BY enrolling all Washingtonians in
| this league the national press COM
mittee hopes to convince Congress
and the state legislatures. which
must ratify the amendment that the
people of the District are united in
this plea for citizenship.
! Champ Clark Speaks.
Former Speaker Clark won repeat
| ed applause from the gathering last
night by his plain, forceful arguments
! in favor of giving the District what
| it is asking.
| While the whole world is clamor-
! ing for self-determination, il is only
| fair that the District of Columbia
should have something to say in it's
government" MIR. Clark asserted. 1t
| is a sad commentary on our demo-
; cratic form of government that here
| in the National Capital more than
| 400. 900 people are without a voice in
! their affairs.
IF you can't govern yourselves as
well as other people do then you
ought to be given back to Maryland
and let that state govern you.
| The present arrangement is an
! unhealthy condition. ! am not crlti-
cising the Commissioner seem
to be governing the city about as
we'll as anybody could. But to have
! 450.O 900 people without voice in
their affairs is an outrage on JUS
| tice.'
The former Speaker of the House
said there is no reason why man
or woman in Washington should not
have the opportunity to be either
republican or a democrat the same
as the people in the states. 1t is
| the duty of every citizen. he said, to
have a political opinion.
IF I had my way" he said. any
man who did not vote at two con-
secutive elections without showing
good cause would be committing a
crime"
Fuss Here Over Others.
Mr.. Clark expressed the opinion
| that Washington makes more fuss
| about electing a superintendent OF
! schools or chief of police than
state does about electing complete
4 ticket of representatives and sena-
.ftors. He said he believed this was
| due to the fact. however. that the
residents Of the District have moth
! ing else political to talk about
/. The democratic leader from Mis-
souri, urged upon his audience the
| necessity for organizing if they want
| to win.
1T is almost as hard" he went on.
"to get constitutional amendment
as it is to invent perpetual motion.
If you are going to get this amend
ment you must organize. used TO be-
lieve speeches got votes until l was
whipped once making speeches with
, out organization"
Mr. Clark said that. although he be-
Iieved it would be as easy to make
state out of the District as it will be
to nut through the representation pro-
gram he is ready to stand back of the
city in it's efforts.
I; Wants "LightninK Rod" Here.
"I want to see the District of Co
lumbia have man in Congress to
serve as lightning rod--to keep the
needs of the city away from the rest
of us. l believe you Will get 1T II
YOU go about it in the right way. not
in speech-making, but by organlza-
ton.
The former Speaker referred humor-
ously to the fact that the Ohi.ea ae e.a
4 States Congress has to sit two DAYS
every month as a common council 1oI
the city of Washington. He added
that he did not think all the men in
II Congress were f1t to perform tn!s
duty. because Of their lack of knowl-
edge of the needs of Washington q
Samuel Gompers Presented.
In introducing Samuel Gompers
president of the American Federation
of Labor, Mr.. Clark paid high trioute
to the service the veteran labor ieaoef
has rendered the country on numer-
Gus occasions MIR. Gompers was
given a rousing welcome when he
arose to speak.
Federation of Labor stands ready to
do all in its power to help the DIS
trict of Columbia secure representa-.
ton in Congress and the right &c
vote for President.
There are men in the District OF
Columbia sixty years OF age ne de-
clared. who do not know the sigh'
of ballot box-people to whom
voting is as strange as the dance OF
Timbuctoo. -,
my state. But if the people OF the
District were given the vote l Woulc
join my fate with theirs
Tells n Story to Impress.
Mr.. Gompers told the story of whal
he called the unjust Punishment OF
Gov Shepherd because OF the large
| scale on which he planned the I'M
provement of the National Capital
and how, in later years. the VISION
! of his course was recognized ana
statue erected in his honor IN 1ron'
Of the District building.
Ii At that time, he said, congress- as a
temporary measure, passed the la"
| calling for the appointment or Com
| missioners by the President Mr.
Gompers said that he did not beleVe
this was meant to be a permanent ar