Evening star., 1922-12-14

L
they provided that the supremacy -oi
| Congress in the federal district should
be absolute and exclusive of all state
action whatsoever,
There. sdvereignty was to be single
ana plenary-not divided as elsewhere
between two powers. one federal and
the other state. In other words: The
object of this clause was to give Con-
gress "the combined powers of a gen.
eral and of state government In all
cases where legislation Is possible u
! eStoutenburgh VS.. Hennick. 12s y. s..
! 14. 147; Capital Tr. Co. vs. Hof. ia
y. S.. l. 8: Kendall Va United States
II Pet, 524, 619)
] The amendment proposed by this
resolution does not alter or diminish
this absolute sovereignty In the
| slightest degree. for the supremacy OF
Congress at the seat of government
! will be none the less absolute. exclu-
stve and complete when the two
houses include among their members
| representatives chosen by the fnhabi-
then, as now. Q single legislative WILL
obedtent to single system OF law,
| and the total exclusion of any possi-
BILE claim to authority on the part OF
| any other sovereign.
What Did Forefathers Intends
But 1t is said that IL the supremacy
of the federal government in the Dis
.trict of Columbia does not Of necessity
exclude the idea of representation in
the Legislative body by which it is
| governed. nevertheless the founders
of the Capital city contemplated 1t
as place confined to governmental
uses in a manner Incompatible with
the exercise OF political rights on the
part of its inhabitants. Some go so
far as to suggest that Washington
was never intended to be a CONNER
cial or even populous city: that 1t is
in the nature OF a government reser-
vation and taken out of the applica-
tion OF the principle of self-govern-
ment. Nothing is further from the
truth. 1t Is refuted by the acts and
words of the founders, the reiterated
| language of the courts when called
| upon to consider the juridical status
of the District. and the action of Con-
gress from the time 1t began to deal
with the government OF the federal
! District. =
! ta) Conduct of the Founders-The
! original cession by Maryland was
a cession in general terms of an area
| of ten miles square. but never located
nor defined e Kitty Laws. Nd. 177s.
j
| gress was of "a district or territory
not exceeding ten miles square. to be
located as hereafter directed at some
! place on the Potomac between the
mouths Of the Eastern branch and the
: Conococheague" (Act OF January 4,
| 1880. l Stat, 1909
| What was it that had suggested in
the first place the establishment of
the National Capital on the Potomac.
and had finally determined its precise
| location and extent? On this point
the contemporary evidence is clear.
Washington, by his personal explora-
! tions of the region. had demonstrated
| that the Potomac. when improved.
was the shortest and best route from
/, the coast to the Ohio valley. and
therefore the main channel. as he said.
for extensive and valuable trade of
! a rising empire"
| The city of Washington was re-
garded as the natural meeting point
| between sea navigation and inland
! navigation and transport. AT a meet
! ing of the President and the COM
| missioners of the federal city held on
October Is. 1871. Andrew Ellicott.
geographer general. proposed that in
! disposing of lots in the federal city
/, those lots should be reserved which
would be considerably increased in
value when the public improvements
were made and that the first sales
should be confined to those which had
an immediate value from other con-
| siderations. AS a reason for this he
pointed out:
| "It is not probable that the public
| improvements will considerably af-
! feet either the value of the lots from
Georgetown to Funkstown. or gen
! orally on the Eastern branch The
proximity of the first to trading
town and good navigation. and the
second lying on one of the best har-
bors in the country. must have an i'm
mediate value. Commissioners Pro-
ceedings. vol. ~
| II was only the enemies of the
/! project who attempted to throw i'm
pediments in its way by predicting
| that the new capital would never de-
| on the other hand, intended and con-
fidently predicted that 1t would be-
! come 1.-THE greatest commercial en-
! porium of the country"
| 1t was with that view that LEN
fant's plans. made under the Presi-
dents auspices. provided for a city
on larger scale than any then ex-
| listing in the country. And since the
| cost of erecting the public buildings
| was to, be betrayed out Of the pro-
ceeds Of the sale OF the public lots.
the plan of this city Of magnificent
eral commissioners not only through
| out the United States. but in the
principal ports of Europe.
(b) View OF the Judtciary.-How
the community thus built up on the
I banks Of the Potomac was regarded
sufficiently indicated by what Chief
Justice Marshall said in Hepburn VS..
Ellzey e Cr. 445. 452). Holding. with
/ apparent reluctance. that the word
state in the special sense in which
the Constitution employed IT with
! fn
citizens OF different states. did not
| include the District of Columbia, the
great Chief Justice freely conceded
! that columbia Is distinct political
society and is therefore a state ac-
cording to the definitions of writers
on general law" Similar recogni-
tion of the District as a. Separate
political community" possessing an
organic social and political life of
| its own. is to be found in other cases
placed the District for certain pur-
poses in the same category as the
states of the Union. (Geofroy vs.
Riggs. 13S U. S.. 25S, 26s; Metropoli-
tan R. r. Co. VS.. District of Column
bia. 1872 U: s.. 1. 81
people Of this distinct political So
ciety'' were not regarded as a mere
collection Of voteless individuals for
ever condemned to political incapacity
| and impotence. Is shown by the con-
sistent action Of Congress from the
time when it first began to leRislate
for the District. While the popula-
| tfon OF the infant city as shown by
the census of 1900 was but insignifi-
cant in numbers. Congress incorpo-
rated the inhabitants Of the new. city
! into a regular municipality with all
of May 3. 1902. 2 stat, 1859 The
established corporations OF George
town and Alexandria were continued
with the same suffrage which they