Evening star., 1922-01-30
WHAT WAS THE INTENT
OF THE FOREFATHERS?
District Political Impotency No an
Incurable Condition.

pose Of and regulate territory belong
ing to the United States they had
cared for any future population OF the
nations city, just as by these pro
visions they had arranged for the
political future of every other Amer
lean in the entire territorial area of
the United States. present and pros,
| pective. =
If they did not think at all about the
future status Of bit Of territory
which might under the Constitution
be SO small in size that it's population
would never be otherwise than neg
ligible. it was because they were en-
gagged in n desperate struggle to over
come deadly political dangers of the
strenuous present and to get thirteen
jealous, wrangling communities, that
were equal in the federation that had
broken down. to make the sacrifices
that were necessary to create the
American Union. At times the task
seemed almost hopeless. Consider. for
example, the conflict over the issue OF
state equality Of representation in the
Senate. This equality was denied by
the convention. and denied again; but
finally was granted as an indispensable
condition of securing adherence to the
Union Of certain small states. 1t was
granted grudgingly by the vote Of five
states against four, with one state
| divided. The convention emphasized
the fact that this concession was
wrung under a sort of duress by GER
tain small states by refusing to de-
clare in the Constitution itself that
new states should enter the Union on
terms of equality with the old states.
The debates in the convention show
sentation was granted under compul-
sion only to existing states, small and
large. and that so far as the Constitu-
tion Is concerned full liberty of action
was reserved to Congress to negotiate
the terms of entrance of new states
| into the Union. The Constitutions
makers did not know from day to day
whether there would be Union. Dis
turbed and distracted over this vital
problem, they may be forgiven.if they
| forgot to project themselves into the
future in order to provide properly
for the American rights in the remote
| future of territory which had no
| minimum limit of area, and which
| might be SO small as not to be able
ever to secure more than the most
| meager and negligible of local popu-
| lations.
The other alternative is that the
COnSlltullOn-mdkeT ulQ lniHh ol
the future rights of the possible cap
ital community. and believed that
| they had safeguarded these rights. if
| any ever developed, by the power
given to Congress to dispose of and to
regulate territory belonging to the
United States and the power to admit
new states, coupled with the free hand
given to Congress by the Constitution
concerning the terms upon which new
states might be admitted. enabling
Congress, If it wished. to admit new
state with its consent. which was not
on equal terms with the other states.
and which had not even equal repre-
sentation in the Senate. The Consti-
tution-makers may have thought that
these provisions of the Constitution
were broad enough to enable Con-
gress to do political equity to any fu-
ture population of the seat Of govern
ment. by giving that population, when
it's numbers justified the step, national
representation by constitutional amend
ment or in some other way not in
consistent with the exclusive legfsla-
ton power of Congress in respect to
the federal district.