Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-04-22

Americans should be ashamed to re-
buff these potential voters. these ma
tlonal soldiers and national taxpayers
on the feeble and futile pretext for
sentation which has been suggested
and which says in substance: "A frac-
ton of your number by maintain
ing dual residence can vote ex-
pensively and enthusiastically in
some state. A fraction of this frac-
ton does thus vote. Those of you
who have not this privilege of vot-
ing elsewhere must establish such
outside residence or go without ma
tional representation. Your only
alternatives as capital residents are to
supplicate or evacuate. to beg or get
out"
Supplicnte or Evacuate.
! 1t is no answer to those who wish
national representation as residents
| of the District to tell them (what they
know already that they can vote by
getting political residence somewhere re
else. AS Washingtonians must go
abroad in order to work in the gov
eminent classified service at home,
| because of the perniciouS apportion-
ment of offices law. so now they are
! told that they must acquire political
residence abroad in order to vote at
! home or in order. while living in the
District of Columbia. to vote at all.
! The people of the District are not
obsessed with a blind desire to vote.
| so that they wish to vote for every
thing and are satisfied to vote for
anything. They do not overvalue the
mere privilege of ballot casting.
Some ballots are impotent scraps of
paper" They seek American rights
and powers, of the possession
and exercise of which the casting OF
certain ballots IN the symbol. They
| wish to have a voice like other Amer
tom l. Srsr tu,n
which nlI must obey; they wish to
participate with other Americans in
passing upon great national issues;
! they wish like other Americans the
power of sharing in the national de-
cision for peace or wnr. which may
send their sons along with those of
| other Americans to fight. to bleed and
perhaps to die. They wish to par
ticipate. on the American principle
! that couples taxation with represent
tatiOn. in the deliberations of the ma
tiOnal legislature, which taxes them
and decides how the tax money shall
be spent.
No Longer Impotent and Negligible.
What population must the District
get-how many potential voters more
than 100000 must be aggregated before
this army of voters will be treated with
respect?
II is estimated that today of the 100.-
VDu tldl voters 4DUUO cOulU,
if they were able to bear the expense
and burden. compel the counting of
their votes in the states. and that per-
haps $4,000 of these woes were cast in
the recent presidential election. an ex-
traordinary number, far exceeding any
previously cast.
Does any one dream that this ever
| increasing army of 100000 potential
voters will forever submit to disfran-
chisement, to refusal of direct repre-
f~iy l.,yntc SnrT,
they will be acting together. utilizing in
order to get direct representation for
all District residents the power of
roundabout representation potentially
number. If $4,000 possible state voters
and $1,000 non-voters combined to de-
mand direct representation in the ma
tonal government. what party would
long resist them?
The District now has a larger popula-
ton and larger material resources. as
measured by the United States census
in it's wealth. debt and taxation bulle-
tins than any new state had at the
date of admission to the Union, ex-
cept Oklahoma: but the District. even
under these circumstances, is not ask
ing full statehood.
Avoid Resentment Against Injustice.
Enreasonab BILE partisan resistance to
the admission to the Union Of ter
ritories entitled in resources and in
number and character Of population
to statehood has developed enduring
gratitudes and resentments which
rave kept new states bound tightly
for years to the party wn.ch sue
them statehood and American rep
resentation and have alienated them
from the party which has denied them
this representation. even after ii be-
came clear that on current issues the
new state might naturally vote with
the party which had offended by
blocking the way to statehood.
In self-interest the political parties
should give consideration to the Dis
tricts pleas for American rights and
not contemptuousiy ignore them.
No Colonization of Voters.
The national welfare is best served
if the 100000 potential voters of the
District are permitted or required to
cast their votes here at home. where
their families and their main property
interests are, thus recognizing the
District as d separate political unit
for national representation purposes.
The national interest is injured if at
the heart of the body polite Is col
lected half million of Americans
one-quarter of whose potential voters
are excessively transported to the
polls in various states of the Union:
another quarter Of whose voters eli
gible for such voting in the states, are
unable to exercise this expensive and
burdenSOmc privilege, and the remain
ing half of whose potential voters
for varied reasons are denied even
this roundabout representation. The
unwholesome tendency of these con-
ditions is toward the creation of
floating irresponsible army of pos
sibIe voters. uninfiuenced by home ties
and community pride. the degree of