Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-19

THE legislative department Of our
local government Is thus committed to
Congress itself. The executive head 81
our local government Is the President
OF the United States; that Is, he has
the appointing power. the pardoning
power, and so forth, usually exercised
by the Chief Executive. We are the
only people in the United States who
DO not participate in their and his
election.
when we say this to people outside
the District, they say: But you folks
can vote back in your home States,
fellow citizens Of the District, It Is
can ask ourselves what proportion
among all the people we know have
any vote back In the States. We ma
tive born have none. The largest esti-
mate have ever heard, and 1t was
from q man who was actively engaged
In getting out the vote of persons who
lived in the District, but could claim a
residence elsewhere, was that there are
$4,000 people here who could claim a
vote In the States. No one suppoSes
that more than 10000 actually attempt
to vote. Taking $4,000 as the probable
Inquire Of those who might claim vote
elsewhere, this Is less than 10 per cent
OF our population. It Is certainly no
substantial excuse for depriving the
rest of us of vote.
Bulk Can't Vote Anywhere.
Even If we all had votes scattered
around through the States, that would
not be substitute for representatives In
Congress responsible to us, but that is an
other story, too long to discuss here,
and is in1material because the great
bulk Of us have no vote anywhere.
s. Many persons are rather indifferent
about this because they feel that among
the 435 representatives in the House,
our two Representatives, for we would
be not quite entitled to three accord
ing to population, will have no voice
or control worth the effort, and that
our one Senator or two Senators among
the 96 others will exercise a negligible
influence, and so with the three or
four presidential electors to whom we
would be entitled.
-'It is a part of the Job Of those
Of Us who believe In self government
by all OF the people for all of the people
to convince such persons of their err
ror. ] know of no better way than to
ask q man who entertains such view
If he thinks that Virginia would be
willing to give UP her representation in
the National Government on the ground
that she has only 10 members of the
House OF Representatives and that her
interests may as well be looked out for
by North Carolina, West Virginia and
Maryland. Any State or political sub
division could be singled out, and it
can be said that 1t alone has no control
Of the National Government. And this
Is as II should be. The National Gov
eminent should be the composite voice
OF all the people. but this is no reason
for emitting substantial part of the
people on the ground that the re-
mainder constitute almost the whole.
III the question Is asked. why the
principle of self-government in national
affairs, applied to the balance of con-
tinental United States, should be ap-
piled to the District OF Columbia, the
answer Is that the question is wrong.
The appropriate question is--why not?
What reasons are there against it?
Then it usually occurs to some one
to ask why, IL the District Of Columbia
should be represented In the councils
Of the Nation, was it not so provided
from the beginning and In the Consti-
tuition?
Answer Is Simple.
"A simple enough answer is found in
a consideration of the facts.
I'm the beginning, 50 to speak. that
Is, at the time the District of Column
biz. was carved out of Maryland and
Virginia, there were comparatively no
residents of this district. It was not
until atNtsf faFA hok la;
of the District was as large as that of
congressional district Until then,
we we're not numerically entitled to a
Representative in the House. Then
there was the theory that United States
Senators were the ambassadors of the
States, and they were elected by the
State legislatures We had no legis-
lature, and, therefore, no machinery to
elect Senator. Now, by amendment
of the Constitution, Senators are elect
ed by the people. It is, therefore, now,
but was not until recently, practicable
to elect Senator's here
Furthermore, when the Constitution
was adopted, 1t was uncertain that the
District would be as large as 1t is. The
provision was not more than 10 miles
square Under this provision an area
mile square in which to place the Cap
itol and Executive Mansion and house
the Supreme Court might have been
set up.
1T is not surprising, therefore, that
the trainers of the Constitution failed
to provide for that future time when
the District of Columbia should be a
political subdivision, containing more
people than any one of seven of the
sovereign States of the United States,
and when, by changes in the other ma
chinery of our Government it should
become as convenient and logical to
elect Representatives and Senators for
the people In the District of Columbia
as for the people in the several States.
There was not syllable uttered by any
of the founders of our Government in
consistent with anything for which we
are seeking, and much was said to In
dictate that there was no thought of
depriving citizens who should reside
within this Federal District of any of
the ordinary incidents of American citi-
zenship.
Population Exceeds Seven States.
1T referred moment ago to the fact
that the population of the District of Co
limbia now exceeds that of seven States.
They are: Nevada, with only $1,000
people in 1920; Wyoming, with 1000;
Arizona, with $4,000; New Mexico,
with 100000, and Idaho, with 431 900;
and settled Eastern States such as
Delaware, with $4,000, and Vermont,
with $4,000. In the 10 years from
1910 10 1920, Vermont fell back from
355, 900 to $4,000; Delaware gained
only from 100000 to $4,000; whereas
the District of Columbia gained from
331, 600 to $1,000. And in addition to