Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-11

Ts
two basic propositions as follows:
G) Congress should have the
power to admit residents of the Dis
trict Of Columbia to the status OF citi.
Gems Of q state ta) for the purpose OF
representation in House. Senate and
electoral college, and CD for the pur-
pose of the right to sue and be sued In
the national courts.
t2) Residents Of the District are
now fit in numbers. in resources. in in-
enjoy this national representation, and
Congress as soon as it has the power
to admit District residents to particle
patton in the national government
should exercise it,
Mr.. Noyes emphasized that our
constitutional amendment now pend
ing urges only the right of these two
propositions 1t proposes an addition
to the powers of Congress enumer-
ated in the Constitution without de-
stroying or reducing any power OF
Congress which now exists.
Congress now has the power to adj
init new states to the Union and SO
to dispose of territory belonging to
the United States and to prepare 1t
for admission to statehood.
Powers of Congress.
Under these two powers Congress
is empowered to admit to participa.
ton in the national government Amer
leans. residents in every square mile
Of the territory. of or belonging to
ten miles squares. District Of Column
bia. Our pending constitutional
amendment extends this power Of
Congress to the small fraction of the
United States, the District OF Column
bia, omitted by oversight and not by
design. in the original framing OF the
Constitution.
In the matter Of the possibility in
the discretion Of Congress Of partici-
pating under limitations in the ma
tional government. the District is put
by this amendment on the same foot
ing as Alaska. Hawaii and Porto Rico.
except that the latter may. If Con-
gress Wills be admitted to full state
hood. while the District may be adj
mitted only to certain specified rights
and privileges Of statehood, short of
full state sovereignty and consistent
with exclusive national control of the
National CAPITAL.
admit Americans to participate in the
national government, of, by. and for
the people-Should extend to all
Americans everywhere in the United
States unless some community OF
Americans is recognized as perma-
nently and hopelessly criminal, de-
fective or delinquent.
'1f a few square miles of American
Territory had been in the beginning
set apart as permanent convict SET
Element, or for leper colonization. or
while slavery existed as a great ma
tional slave market. it is conceivable
that the original omission to give such
a community the possibility of ma
tional representation might never be
remedied.
Half Million ID. {. Residents.
1.-THE Americans of the District Of
Columbia, now numbering nearly half
a million, have never been segregated
as convicts. lepers or slaves; or as in
any respect permanently defective or
delinquent
Mr.. Moves especially called the at
tention of Representative Gard to the
fact that when the Constitution was
framed and the possibility that the
people of the federal district might
some day be sufficiently numerous to
be entitled to national representation
was overlooked, it was not certain
whether the District would contain one
square mile or 100 square miles. or
whether it would ever secure more
than negligible of permanent resi-
DENTS
Mr.. Noyes laid stress that the pur.
pose for which the federal district
mot exceeding ten miles square" was
States was to give the nation a home
Of it's own. under it's exclusive con-
troll, with the Jurisdiction not shared
by any state.
ITO accomplish fully this purpose"
he said. "it liz not necessary TO bar the
American resident in the District from
participation like other Americans in
the national government. II they are
otherwise fitted for national repre-
sentation. Control by the nation
through Congress and the President
Of the federal district. containing the
National Capital. is not diminished il
the, American residents in the District
are represented in that Congress and
in the electoral college. which chooses
the national executive"