Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-03
Move for Recession.

a participation in the general councils,
on principles Of equity and reciprocity
Move for Recession.
So great was this dissatisfaction that
proposals continued to be advanced for
the return to Maryland and Virginia
Of the areas formerly under these States
In 1916 petition of residents of Alex
andria resulted in the cession back to
Virginia of the area west of the Po-
tomac. The petition read in part: I'VE
are deprived of the elective franchise,
privilege so dear and sacred that we
would present its deprivation in the
strongest light. q. . Side by side
with the trial by jury and the writ of
habeas corpus may be placed the rights
Of the ballot box. - a Further,
Presidents from the days of Monroe
and Jackson have urged the right of
the people in the Nations Capital to a
voice in the Government.
In 1920, when the nineteenth amend
ment gave women the vote women, like
men in the District Of Columbia, re-
manned disfranchised.
Measures introduced in every Congress
for many years testify to the active
interest of District residents in securing
national representation. In 1922, the
Senate Committee on the District Of
Columbia, after exhaustive hearings,
recommended to the Senate that the
measure be passed. This position was
reaff1rmed in 1927. In the House COM
mittee less progress has been made. "a
The popular demand for Federal
suffrage has grown steadily more unified
since the formation in 1916 of the Citi-
zen's Joint Committee for National
Representation In 1881, 1t represented
81 leading organizations in the District
of Columbia. including three which are
associations; the Federation of Citizens
Associations. for example, represents 81
ncighborhood groups. In addition, many
State and national organizations
throughout the United States have in
dorsed the principle for which the Citi-
zens' Joint Committee is working.
A non-voting delegate such as Is
means give adequate representation to
the District of Columbia. Such dele
gate from the District sat in Congress
between 1871 and 1874. The people of
the District are not on a frontier or
remote from the United States; there
! fore the constitutional purpose for which
the territorial form Of government was
outlined Is unsuitable. The District of
Columbia Is the Capital of the Republic
It's residents are taxpaying American
citizens fully qualified to share the priv
ileges as we'll as the duties Of citizen
ship.
Completing the Argument.
Most people in the District of Co
lumbia cannot maintain voting resi-
dence in the States. In the first place,
it is dif1icult and frequently impossible
to maintain a residence in State with
strict registration laws when not living
there. Only third of the States per-
NIT absentee registration and 1t Is not
always possible to return at the specified
time to register in person. Further
more, there are some States which do
net allow absentee voting, and many
which limit the privilege In different
ways, and 1t might well be impossible
for a qualified voter to return to cast a
ballot Even were these obstacles not
insurmountable, and ignoring the ques-
ton as to whether a person out OF
touch with his community and State
for years should be permitted a voice in
determining its policies there is no
solution to the problem for the second
generation. Born in the District and
without claims upon any State, they
are residents of the District of Columbia
and therefore DISTINGUISHED.
The District Of Columbia is not too
small TO have its share of representa-
ton in the Senate and House of Rep
resentatives and to have voice In the
Electoral College Since 1870 its pop
ulation has equaled that required for
a congressional district. If it is still
considered to small, then eight States
which have less population, according
TO the 1880 census. should relirouish
their Senator's and members of the
House of Representatives. which total
81. These States are: New Hampshire,
Idaho. Arizona, New Mexico Vermont.
Delaware, Wyoming and Nevada. The
population o. several of the more set
| tied States is increasing so slowly that