Evening star., 1933-03-26
Editorial Correspondence of The Star.
THEODORE w. MOVES.

| IepHt gfoW 1Hc oCU W APfH ~,
1927
Editorial Correspondence of The Star.
THEODORE w. MOVES.
TINE National Executive and the
National legislature elected last
! November by the people Of the
Il United States, are now fully
functioning.
The people of the District of Colum-
bia greet the new Government, which
the November elections set up, with
triple interest and enthusiasm. By the
people Of the United States (ncluding
the people of the DISTRICT, new Ma
tional Government is welcomed. But
the people of the District greet also a
new State government $50 far as they
have any and a new Municipal gov
ernment.
For Congress is not only the Dis
trict's National Legislature, but its
State Legislature, and its voting Mu-
nicipal legislature; that is, its aldermen
and common council.
The President is not only the Wash
ingtonian's National Executive, but his
State Executive-in effect, the Governor
of the District of Columbia-and his
municipal executive, the mayor Of the
| Slty VI washington Will NCIO pONcl.
The President is to us Three gentle
men at once" like Cerberus, as charac-
terized by Mrs. Malaprop.
Triple Interest and Zero Participation.
Thus the Americans in the District
have a threefold concern in the ma
tional elections and in the new Govern
ment, as compared with the single con-
Germ of other Americans. While they
are thus three times as greatly inter-
eSted in these elections and in the re-
sulting new Government as other Amer
leans they are the only Americans in
the continental and contiguous United
States who do not participate as voters
in these elections, and who are not
represented in the new Government.
Their triple interest and maximum con-
Germ in these elections and the new
Government are accompanied by a
minimum, an absolute zero, of partici-
patton in them.
The political change of last November
was, so far as other Americans are
concerned, conducted democratically
by themselves and for themselves.
November's triple change was, as far
as the unrepresented District is con-
cerned, conducted arbitrarily, despoti-
caIly and in n-American fashion, with
out participation in the overturning Of
their governments by the people of the
District. There has been no consent of
the governed on the part of the District,
either to a change of government or to
the original government, which has been
superseded.
But generalities make no impression.
Put in abstract terms, determinations
against Washingtonians arouse little
sympathy. Let us apply some of the
determinations against the Americans
OF the District to the citizens Of other
and smaller American communities in
order that the grievances of the Capt.
tails resident may be appreciated spe-
ciflcally by the citizens of these other
communities thus invited to put your
self in his place.
Put Yourself in His Place.
Suppose the Nation should say to
Vermont, or Delaware, or New Mexico,
or Arizona, or Nevada. or Wyoming, or
Idaho, or New Hampshire (which all
have smaller populations than the Dis
trict of Columbia, according to the
census of 1930): ITO meet an alleged
/ national necessity or to avoid an imag-
ined national peril you must lose the
right to vote for your State government,
your National Government, your mu-
! nicipal governments. Your Governor
| must be chosen by all other Americans
except yourselves in voting for Presi-
dent. Your State Legislature must be
chosen for you by others in voting for
Congress. You shall no longer be rep
resented in Senate and House, though
they not only remain your National
Legislature but have become also your
State and municipal Legislature.
You must no longer participate in
making your own laws, either national,
permitted to tax yourselves for State
or municipal purposes, or participate
on representative principles in national
taxation. You must no longer raise
and spend your tax money as you
please, but it is to be collected and
spent for you by an alien body in
which you are not represented"
| National Loss and Injury.
What a weakening in the forces Of
American craftsmanship would result
If these States, smaller than the Dis
trict, were subjected to the same vital
Determinations today that slur and
| injure the District!
In this contingency we should be re-
quired to eliminate Senators Borah and
Pope and Representatives White and
Coffin Of Idaho, Senators Kendrick and
Carey and Representative Carter of
Wyoming, Senators KeyeS and Brown
and Representatives Rogers and Tobey
of New Hampshire, Senators Dale and
Austin and Representative Gibson of
Vermont, Senators Hastings and Town
send and Representative Adams of
Delaware, Senators Bratton and Cut
ting and Representative Chavez of New
Mexico, Senators Ashurst and Hayden
and the successor, when named, Of
Representative Douglas of Arizona (now
director of the Federal Bureau of the
Budget) and Senators Pittman and Nc
Carren and Representative Scrugham
Of Nevada.
This list of statesmen of today sup
piled by States Of smaller population
than the District emphasizes strikingly
the fact that possession of the power,
which national representation gives,
bestows prestige and influence in the
National councils upon the small States,
while lack of it paralyzes the District
in its fight for financial equity, for ex-
ample, and exposes its humiliating i'm
potency in other battles for justice.
How much greater strength for every
good end would washington possess If
it had, for example, Kendrick to rep
resent it and fight for it, or a Borah or
an Ashurst or q Dale or a Cutting. or
Pittman, or Keyes; or Of the past
a Salisbury, Gallinger or an Ed
munds, a Warren, Bayard or Moses.
| And yet some men suggest that the
power that comes from national repre-
sentation is negligible, worthless, not to
be desired.
No Way to Differentiate.
What is there that these communi-
ties could say to differentiate them
selves from the District in respect to
these Determinations? Suppose they
said: 1.-The District is the seat of
National Government, by traditional
policy under the exclusive legislative
control of Congress representing the
Nation. and this wise and necessary
relation of Capital and Nation should
not be destroyed or disturbed" The