Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-06
LABOR ADVOCATES
VOTE FOR DISTRICT
Secretary of Central Union
States Stand in Radio
Speech Last Night.

Frank J. Coleman, secretary of the
Central Labor Union, last night de-
clared emphatically to q vast radio
audience that organized labor stands
squarely behind the militant request
that national representation be granted
the District Of Columbia.
Mr.. Coleman, who also is secretary
OF the Federation Of Labor in Maryland
and the District and editor Of the
Plate Printer, q labor organ, delivered
an address from Station WMAL, under
auspices Of the Citizens Joint Commit
tee on National Representation for the
District Of Columbia.
Organized labor" he asserted, "is
firmly of the opinion that 1t is not
possible to safeguard the rights of the
citizen except through selection by the
ballot of representatives of his own
choice and through such representa-
ton have an active part in the coun-
ellis of the Nation"
Proposal IL Reasonable.
The proposal TO grant the people Of
the District the right to participate in
the national Government seems so
reasonable and fundamentally Ameri-
can" Mr.. Coleman said, that 1t is
almost unbelievable that any one would
attempt to deny or even to delay the
granting Of such power and right"
The labor official recalled that Will
liam Green, president of the American
Federation of Labor, had formerly in
dorSed the proposal for national repre-
Sentation. The suggestion that the DIS
trict has ABS Representatives and go
Senators, implying that Congress as a
whole leRiSlates for the District, conStl-
tuteS what Mr.. Coleman said is "a very
beautiful and impractical theory"
81 would like to ask such theorists,
he said, IF they honestly believe that
such form of representation would be
satisfactory to the people of any state
or congressional district"
Mr.. Coleman said that organized labor
earnestly appeals" to Congress to pass
the pending joint resolution without
delay, and thus give the Legislatures
Of the several States an opportunity
to pass upon the matter" He also
urged organized labor here and else
where to cooperate in the campaign
for national representation.
Holds Question One Sided.
Mr.. Coleman's address follows, In
full:
one -sided question than the proposal
to empower Congress to grant TO the
people of the District Of Columbia the
Government From every viewpoint
this seems so reasonable and fundamen-
tally American that 1t Is almost I'M
belieyable that any one would attempt
to DENY or even TO delay the granting
of such power and right. AS one member
of Congress recently remarked, This Is
merely q matter of simple justice, 10
which no true American objection can
The nearly 600, 600 intelligent, patrio-
tic and public-Spirited residents OF the
District Of Columbia are not peTmitCeo
any participation in either the local
or the National Government; that Is TO
say. SO far as such participation means
the exercise of the fundamental privl-
leKes of American citizenship. II Is
trIle we residents of the District OF
Columbia fully participate in bearing all
of the burdens and obligations OF Sucn
citizenship, such rs the payment OF
taxes. both local and national, the OBEY
ing Of laws and the rendering OF mill
tary service. When 1t comes 10 repre-
sensation in the Congress, wnich leVles
the taxes and expends the tax money;
when it comes to obeying the laws
which are enacted by Congress and
fiRhtinR in the wars which are declared
by the Congress: when 1t comes to the
selection Of the Chief Executive OF the
Nation by the duly qualified electors,
and when 1t comes to suing or being
sued In the courts of the United states,
the District resident finds that he Is
entirely outside the pale OF the Con-
stitution and so far IS the Uniteo
States courts are concerned ms rlgnTs
as declared by the Supreme Court OF the
United States, are less than those OF
an alien. to whom these courts are open.
ITO the uninf0rmed, learning OF Such
a state Of affairs for the f1rSt time II
would be perfectly natural to draw the
impression that conditions. being as de-
scribed, are to be found in Russia or
some benighted country not yet pos
seSsing popular government. Such per-
son would hardly expect to find such
anomaly TO exist at the very seat OF
government of the boosted greatest re-
public the world has ever known, but
such is the humiliating fact. It Is
amazing to what extent the people OF
our country are lacking in the knowl-
edge Of such a condition.
Obnoxious to Labor.
such q state of affairs under this
government of the people, by the people
and for the people is especially obnox-
ious to organized labor, which has al
ways held tenaciousiy to the doctrines
laid down in the Declaration of 1nde-
pendence and supposedly guaranteed by
the Constitution, that all men were
created free and equal and endowed by
the Creator with certain inalienable
rights that governments derive their
just powers from the consent of the
governed and consequently there
should be no taxation without repre-
Sentation' The Central Labor Union,
the MARYLAND State and District of CO.
lumbia Federation Of Labor and the
American Federation Of Labor have re-
peatedly gone on record in support of
this principle and firmly believe it is
only fair and proper that the people of
the District of Columbia should enjoy
the fullest participation in the Gov
eminent The Central Labor Union
and the Maryland, D. c., Federation
have for years been represented in and
co-operated actively with the citizens
joint committee on national representa-