Evening star., 1934-09-23
Any Legislative PO,uer Banned
For d. {. Heads, Koel,ne Claims
Saws COrernnl Here
Is That of Limited
Monarchy.
Warning Ciren in Case
of Future Changes in
District Rule.

This is the eleuenth in series
OF articles giving the rieUs Of
Washington civic leaders on the
proposed reorganization OF the Dis
trict Government Facts for this
article were supplied in a brief,
copy OF Which was sent to The
Star by Mr.. Koehne.
~ IRECT challenge of the au-
thority of Congress to dele
gate any legislative powers
- to the District Commissioners
is contained In memoran-
dunn submitted to Messrs. Donovan,
Roberts and Bailey, now making the
District reorganization study, for
transmission to the Senate District
Committee. by Ira C. Koehne. chair
man of the Committee on Housing
Legislation of the Federal Bar Asso-
ciation.
There is frequent public complaint
that voting rights are denied in the
District, but no complaint is made Of
the cause of such denial" says Mr..
Koehne. The cause, he believes, Is
that the local government is set up
more or less in the form of mon
archy where voting rights are usually
out of the picture entirely.
Mr.. Koehnes memorandum is con-
sidered interesting in view OF the sug-
gestions to increase the powers Of the
Commissioners by giving them addi-
tional powers-which might be inter-
preted by the courts as Legislative
powers"
Mr.. Koehne bases his challenge Of
the authority of Congress to delegate
legislative powers to the Commis-
sioners on the fact that executive and
legislative powers must remain sep
arate branches of government. When
the Commissioners act in legislative
capacity, such acts, he holds. con-
stitute an unlawful invasion of life.
liberty or property within the District
Of Columbia.
Serious Situation Threatened.
Mr.. Koehne believes this question
is so fundamental and Of such po-
tential importance that it may, If
permitted to continue, bring about a
full results, he thinks, are apt to arise
from the present comingling of these
powers and should be avoided through
establishment of unencroachable exc
cutive, legislative and judicial
branches of the local government. He
holds there is substantial patriotic
necessity for such change.
The form of our national and State
Governments is that of a republic"
he says, "the form of the local gov
ernment is that of limited monarchy.
If the District Commissioners ap-
pointed, controlled or acted as the
judges of the courts Of the District,
then an absolute monarchy would
locally exist. A monarchial form of
local government prevailing in the
Capital City Of the United States is
not only unpatriotic but history dis
closes that most of the heretofore ex-
isting republics have fallen because of
their being honeycombed with local
government, monarchical in form,
which primarily contributed to their
downfall"
In brief outline the memorandum
submits typical authorities upon the
legal questions involved. Quoting
article l, section 8 Of the Constitu-
ton it is held that the power "to ex-
ercise exclusive legislation in all cases
whatsoever" Is vested solely in Con-
greSs. Pursuant to article 3, Con-
gress has established local courts in
the District, upon whose power neither
the executive nor the legislative
branches may encroach. It Is there
fore apparent that the executive
branch Of the local government may
not lawfully encroach upon nor COM
mingle with any of the powers of
judicial branches.
Following discussion of the consti-
tutional guarantee to the States OF q
Republican form of government there
is quoted the following extract from
the decision of the Supreme Court of
the United States in Kilbourn VS..
Thompson Q03 U. S. l9D:
1T is believed to be one of the chief
merits of the American system of
written constitutional law that all of
the powers intrusted to the Govern
ment, whether State or national, are
divided into three grand departments,
the functions appropriate to each of
these branches Of government shall
be vested in a separate body of public
servants. and that the perfection Of
the system requires that the lines
which separate and divide these dc.
partments Shall be broadly and clear.
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