Evening star., 1925-02-22
FEDERATION BACKS
CITY COUNCIL PLAN
,Three-FourthS of Members to
Be White, One Quarter
CoIored, Proposed.

night in the District Building. The
federation also outlined q definite
plan for the formation of the coun-
Gil
Action was taken on a report of a
special committee headed by William
=. Torbert and was marked by com
paratively little discussion. The re-
port was signed by three other mem-
oers-Fred S Walker, James G. Yaden
ard George A Finch.
Under the federation's plan of or
ganization, the proposed council
would be composed of nine members,
including the president of the fedora
tion as ex-officio president of the
council The eight other members,
three -fourthts of whom are to be
white and the other fourth colored,
are to be elected,
Must BE 5-Year Residents.
The organization plan stipulated
that persons eligible to membership
i'll the proposed council shall have
been bona fide residents of the Dis
trict for at least five consecutive
years prior to their selection; that
the members should be elected for
fixed and definite term; should be re-
sponsible to the bodies electing them;
should report to their respective
bodies at proper intervals to be de-
termined, and should be subject to
recall at the pleasure of the electing
body.
Delegates to the federation, with
but few exceptions, holding office by
virtue of election by groups of tax
payers within the District and thus
constituting - representative body
with purely civic objects" the COM
mittee's report explained, should, in
the opinion os your committee, be
constituted 4 body in the nature OF
an electoral college, charged with
the selection, by a majority vote from
the whole body of the citizenry of
the District, of the white members
of the proposed city council, and
that the Civic Federation, similarly
constituted and with like objects and
purposes, should be charged with the
selection, by majority vote, from the
whole body of the citizenry of the
District of the colored members of
the proposed council
Seems Most Feasible Plan.
This seems to your committee the
most feasible plan for securing a
council truly representative of the
taxpayers of the District, and one
free from class ard sectional influ-
ence. II all the various bodies de-
string representation in the proposed
council are to be considered, there
each member Influenced by the body
represented, and consequent lack of
harmony and distracted service This
We are sure, is not what the Com
missioners contemplated. and it GER
tainly is not what is wanted by the
taxpayers"
The committee pointed out that il
would continue work on the organi-
zatton plans and work out details
concerning the election and func-
tioning of the proposed council and
later present "a complete scheme ac-
ceptable both to this body and the
Commissioners of the District" 1t
also surmised that the council will
serve, until the elective franchise is
granted the District, as a"recognition
of the inherent right OF the people
to voice in legislation affecting
them"
Payment by the District of any
part of the cost of the erection of the
proposed Arlington memorial bridge
was opposed by the federation, on
motion of Evan H. Tucker A report
on the status of District legislation
in Congress, submitted by Delegate
Finch, chairman of the law and legis-
lation committee, in which he pointed
out that the taxpayers of the Capital
would be called upon TO aid in de-
1raying the expenses of erecting the
bridge, which is designed as a ma
tional memorial, prompted the action.
William Mex. Clayton, however, ex-
planned that the bill providing for the
erection of the bride, in it's present
form, Will not saddle any of it's ex-
pense on the District
Public Utilities Report.
A report of the public utilities COM
mlttee recommending that the fed
Grafton reaftirm it's former action in
1aVor OF the traction companies in the
establishment of bus lines, submitted
Dy j. G. Hefty, was recommitted after
lengthy debate. The committee was
instructed TO take into consideration
the recent change in attitude regard
ing the bus situation shown by the
Public Utilities Commission.
MIR. Hefty's report emphasized that
the street car companies must be pro-
tected from outside bus competition
II service Is to be continued and that
the busses now are taking 4he
cream of the traffic from the street
cars Buses, the report contended.
congest and wear the streets and in
crease the need for traffic officers.
W. l.. Rhodes and Delegate Finch
were among those who opposed the
report. The former declared that
healthy competition between the bus
and street car lines is desirable and
that the advent of the bus service
IN the Petworth section resulted in
improved car service Delegate Finch
said that the attitude of the Public
Utilities Commission toward the bus
question shows that it is too prone
to lean over backward and act as a
guardian angel to utilities rather
than the public"
HIf Won kaan 10
Transit Co. here" he added. I'VE will
have better car service" In this
statement Clayton Emig concurred
zihIman Bill Favored.
A report of the public utilities
committee indorsing the Zihlman bill
providing peoples counsel on public
utilities, and urging Congress to
pass it before adjournment, was
adopted. The federation also adopted
another report from this committee
urging Congress to enact at this ses-
sion the Ball bill providing for a
merger of the street car lines
The federation sidestepped action
on the proposal to introduce the pla-
toon system of education in the Dis
trtct public schools by accepting the
report of it's committee on education.
which recommended that a resolution
originating in the Dupont Circle Citi-
zens' Association indorsing the plan
be filed. A move was made by Wal
ter Trey TO have the report recommit-
ted, but it failed by a vote of II to 12.
another report submitted by the
education committee favoring the
Board of Education's original estf-
mate Of s550,0Q0 for repairs and al
terations on the schools during the
next fiscal year was adopted
A resolution passed by the Six
teenth Street Heights Citizens Asso-
citation "regretting'' d S e n Il on
among members of the SrhnnI hoard