Evening star., 1922-01-21
EASIEST WAY TO
POLITICAL EQUITY
The Vote for Our constitu-
tional Amendment Ought
to Be Unanimous.

to Be Unanimous.
(From argument of Theodore w.
NOyes before Senate District COM
mittees January Ia 1927
We propose amendment Of the Con-
stitution of the United States by in
serting at the end of section 3, article
~. the following words:
"The Congress shall have power to
admit to the status of citizens Of a
! state the residents Of the District con-
stituting the seat Of the government
Of the United States created by article
]. section 8, for the purpose OF repre-
sentation in the Congress- and among
| the electors of President and Vice
President and for the purpose of
; suing and being sued in the courts OF
! the United States under the provisions
Of article III, section 2.
when the Congress shall exercise
| trict shall be entitled to elect one or
two senators. as determined by the
Congress. representatives in the House
| according to their numbers as deter
mined by the decenntel enumeration,
| and presidential electors equal in num-
| Der to their aggregate representation In
| the House and Senate.
1.-THE Congress shall provide by law
the qualification Of voters and the time
and manner Of choosing the senator or
! senators, the representative or repre-
sentatives and the electors herein au-
thorized.
THE Congress shall have power to
! make all laws which shall be necessa ry
and proper for carrying into execution
the foregoing power"
| ~ y +
| nha>~xs~ d. .->~In.o~% -hnu
analysed, almost Invariably are dis
covered to attack some nOn-existing
imaginary evil which the amendment
has carefully avoided.
| An antagonist who opposes the
! amendment because the capital has
| the best municipal government OF all
| American cities, which should not be
overthrown. either in the national or
| the thought that control Of the city
| should be taken from the nation and
! turned over to District residents
white and colored. transient, semi.
| transient, or permanent. puts up and
tears to pieces man Of straw. His
assault does not touch the amendment
a: all. His argument. like the flowers
that bloom in the spring, has nothing
10 do with the case.
! For the amendment empowering
]
\ voting representation in Congress and
electoral college to District residents
! does not affect the municipal govern
| ment in the least. and does not take
an atom of Legislative power over the
! District from Congress and surrender
it to the District residents or to any
body else. AS we have seen. the
amendment adds a power to Congress
! instead Of subtracting from its pow
ers. The District does not seek to
! wrest anything from Congress. but to
secure representation in:that Congress
and to become politically part of the
nation. it's status now being that OF
! political alien.
| X X X *
ment on the ground that 1t proposes
statehood for the District. This kind
Of attack II especially discOurngine
because 1T ignores completely the In.
finite pains taken by the amendmen,
! trainers to avoid even the slightest
disturbance Of that national control
of the nations city which District
statehood would completely destroy.
! The evil of totally non-representa.
tive national government at the seat
of government of the great repre-
| sentative republic could be corrected
! O by repeal of the exclusive legis-
lation clause Of the Constitution with
grant of statehood to the District OF
{, with retrocession of the District to
| Maryland; or (2) by empowering Con.
| gresS to grant voting representation
| in Congress and electoral college tc
| District residents, as proposed in oui
constitutional amendment. without
comforting on the District any other at.
! tributes, privileges or powers of state
hood. and without disturbing in the least
the control by the nation of the capita.
gresS to grant to District residents GER
| tain specified powers Of citizens Of 8
state other powers of statehood are i'm
j pliedly denied. The fact that state
hood is not proposed is emphasized by
| the provision empowering Congress to
T! grant to District residents in it's dis.
! cretion only one representative in the
! Senate.
| Not new state. but a new politica,
status, is to be created or evolved
| This amendment does not repeal, bu,
! operates as supplement Of the ten.
mile square provision. empowering
Congress to define explicitly. in view
of the changes of more than a cen.
tury. the political status Of the resi-.
dents of the federal District. 1t will
alter the existing law of congressiona
and sElectoral college representation
| andSWi1l create a new American con.
ifstituency with representation in Con.
! gress and the electoral college.
| though under the exclusive Legislative
| control of Congress: not q new state
but a politically uplifted District OF
Columbia. an enfranchised seat OF
| government already created and made