Evening star., 1921-12-09

should in the end be compensated by
the grant of at least as large a meas
ure Of territorial representation and
power as was bestowed when the
District was Of scanty population and
bankrupt in resources. In deciding
what we shall seek in national rep
resentation we will. of course. make
sure that 1.-THE game is worth the
candle"
2. The pending bill gives the Dis
trict none of the powers OF local self
government which the territory pos
sesses in its legislature. With unsat-
isfactory results the shadow OF a ter
ritorial legislature was. as we have
seen, given to the District in 1Sl1-4;
but no legislature at all is proposed
for the District of 1921. No 1egisla-
tion comes within a thousand miles OF
putting the District on the territorial
basis which fails entirely to give the
District through, q. legislature some
Of. the territory's local self-govern-
ing power. There Is no local self
government whatever In the District
, as long as q Congress which it does
not choose and in. which 1t Is not
even represented is its sole 1egisla-
ture, and as long as a President
which 1t does not help to elect Is its
Constitutional Amendment First.
3. The pending bill fails to give the
District the most vitality important OF
powers of the territory. and that is
the power of securing voting repre-
sentation in Congress and the cleo
toral college by vote OF majority OF
both houses of Congress and the other
powers and rights of statehood To
enable the District to share even In
part In this territorial power, our
! constitutional amendment ts neces-
sary and should frst be adopted. II
! the voteless delegate IL to be even a
heIpful fOreruuner of voting repre-.
sentatiOn.
1. The pending bill, by giving to
the District only a voteless territorial
delegate in one branch of the national
privilege Of minor Importance. almost
negligible in value. to community
which but for its peculiar relation to
the nation as National Capital would
| be entitled not merely to all terri
| torial powers and privileges but to
! II q few territorial privileges were
| adequate for the District in, view of
it's small population and lack of re-
sources in 1914. they are not ade-
quate for the District of 1921, with a
| larger population than seven states,
| teen states, q. larger contributor of
| soldiers and sailors to the world war
| tEan seven states, and the contributor
Of larger percentage of volunteers
to the total military force supplied
by Presidents ana other statesmen Of
the past in favor of territorial rep
resentation and privileges for the
| District is today. in the light Of the
changed condition. a strong and con
higher territorial privileges and for the
! real voting national representation
for which our constitutional amend
| ment paves the way. Until 1870 and
perhaps until 1880 the District had
not the population and resources of
as an applicant for admission to
statehood. 1t had not the population
which each representative in the
House is under the census apportion-
ment assumed to represent
No state admitted to the Union since
Of admission SO large a population
and SO great material resources az
the District now has. But the Dis
trict does not seek the statehood to
which population and resources en-
title It; it only asks that 1T be put
territorial footing OF enjoying the
possibility OF securing voting repre-
sentatiOn In Senate and House and
electoral college By majority vote Of
Congress.
;voteless Delegate Promises No Po-
Htfcal Future.
Thus the pending bill for a terri
torial delegate gives to the District
Of Columbia only a small and in some
respects undesirable fraction Of ter
ritorial privilege. Tho voteless dele
gate is a feature of the transition
stage in passing from territory to
state. Its main value is to put itself
out Of existence by helping to convert
territory into q state. congressman
feel little respect for q territorial
delegate, ,voteless, negligible, almost
&mpotent, unless the territory is about
to be converted into the state, and the
yoteless delegate Is to become soon a
voting representative, clothed with
power to resent and repay the snubs
and near -insults Of the e-past. In or.
der to put our votelesS delegate on
the same footing in this respect as
the ordinary territorial delegate. our
pending constitutional amendment
must be adopted : -
II, Passage Of the constitutional
amendment. now pending, should thus
l precede any other move whatsoever
With national representation in View.
The passage Of that amendment fs
necessary to make genuine representa-
ton possible through q majority vote
Of Congress. without that amendment
O. voteless delegate in the House 10
inadequate and hurtful, worse than
nothing. not national representation
lat ali. Unless the constitutional amends
saent is passed there is no political
fut.se foliowing the trapsitioa period