Evening star., 1923-08-14
CAPITAL KEYNOTES
BY PAUL y. COLLINS

"oh. learned Judge, Oh, upright
judge"
Some prominent" lawyer has spent
hours poring over dusty volumes to
discover whether the oath taken by
President Coolidge. before his father.
a notary public, is sufficient to qualify
him to serve as President of the
United States. The sum and sub
stance of the legal investigation is
in his son and that the son had no
right to assume his duties. to which
he was elected. without taking the
oath before a member of the United
States Supreme Court. although there
is no statute to that effect. The
learned lawyer states that if his ad
vice had been asked he would have
counseled that the oath be taken be-
fore the Chief Justice Of the Supreme
Court since that is according to prece-
dent.
Nevertheless. even this wise Daniel
come TO Judgment" assures the world
that all acts which Hon. Calvin Cool
idge has performed as President are
unquestionably legal, regardless of the
form OF oath, since he Is de facto Presi-
dent. II not de jure.
and try to wiggle along for a couple
OF years with just a President lin
fact" while the quibblers turn the
pages of de jure" law books? II any
body doubts that he is ''in fact"
President of the United States let him
start something"
Where is the Capital of the United
States? All Presidents, except Wood
row Wilson, have assumed that the
city of Washington is the official seat
of government The city for some
years has covered the entire area of
the District of Columbia When
President Wilson became Chief Mag
istrate he was persuaded that the
District was the Capital" and not the
city" Hence. all official documents
We're dated District OF Columbia"
President Harding moved the Capital
Coolidge has confirmed its municipal
cation.
Notwithstanding the Overwhelming
majority of the Presidents who recog-
nized the city, rather than the Dis
trict, as the Capital, history points to
the fact that i'm 1890 there was
compromise between states over the
right to secure the location of the
Capital within their areas To end the
dispute, Virginia and Maryland Jointly
gave to the national government the
District of Columbia the seat of
government. At that time there was
no city of Washington. hence it could
not have been the city which became
the seat of government, but the Dis
trict.
1t would re-enfranchise a half a
million people If the District of Co
lumbia could be abolished and the
city of Washington Estate of Virginia
or state of Maryland) recognized as
the Capital. Since the District is the
city and the city is the whole Dis
trict the maintenance of the District
government appears a supererogatioR
The governmental problems are mu-
nicipal in character, rather than
state. and they are managed by Con-
gress, without even a semblance of q
state legislature.
OF what use is the District myth?
"The worst punishment that can be
meted out to any man is banishment.
IL Is lar f1OTe tudIl d sentence
at any kind of hard labor" says the
noted Frenchman. Marcel Habert, who
has been in Punishment from France
since 1905.
Missionaries, voyagers and tourists
may leave France for many years, but
they always have the satisfaction of
knowing that they can return If they
wish. But the suffering of banishment
lies in the knowledge that one is not
being used in the service of his coun-
try. either as a citizen, or defending
it with arms"
'It is a frightful agony" declares
NJ. Habert
Is Grover Cleveland Bergdoll suffering
that "frightful agony? There are no
indications that he is. He has killed
one man who would have relieved him
of 1t, and MANNED another He Is des-
perate, lest his banishment be turned
into penitentiary sentence In his ma
tive America. Is 1t the desperation of
a man. without a country, who fights
lest he some day have to face his fellow
countrymen whom he sought to betray
to the enemy? How is hia punishment
to be rated?
Bergdoll has none Of the love of his.