Evening star., 1934-05-15
A Reorganization Program.

The session of Congress now closing
has witnessed revived interest by some
of its distinguished members in pro-
posals for reorganizing the local Gov
ernment to accomplish the desirable
aims not only of increasing the eff
cheney with which 1t functions and Of
relieving Congress of sometimes tedious
details of municipal regulation, but
also to give the local taxpayer a
greater voice in the control of his
affairs. The prospects are that the
subject will come in for further con-
sideration at the next session of
Congress.
A study of the proposals advanced
and of the peculiar situation which
exists in the District of Columbia sug-
gests a three-point program of reor-
ganization which would 60 far toward
remedying many of the defects in
herent in the existing system of
1. The basic, fundamental change
necessary if the local community is
to have voice in its own affairs. in
cluding the levying and expenditure
of all taxes, would be passage by
Congress of the pending resolution
submitting to the people a constitu-
tional amendment granting to Con-
gress the power to give the District
the right of representation in Con-
gress and the electoral college and
access to the Federal courts. Such
grant of the American principle of
representation in Congress would take
nothing from the constitutional pre-
rogative of Congress exclusively to ex-
ercise the power of legislation in the
District 1t would merely give to the
District the right Of representation
in its exclusive legislature that Is
enjoyed by every other group Of
Americans. In giving access to the
Federal courts it would remove that
anomaly so forcefully pointed out by
Chief Justice Marshall in delivering
the opinion of the Supreme Court in
the case of Hepburn vs. Ellzey, when
he said:
1t is extraordinary that the courts
of the United States, which are open
to aliens and to the citizens of other
States in the Union, should be closed
upon them District residents). But
this is the subject for legislative, not
judicial, consideration.
2. Pending a constitutional amend
ment, granting of power to the local
community to participate in legisla-
ton and in the choice of its rulers to
an extent possible under the Consti-
tuition would be practical through
utilization of the devices of initiative
and referendum and of recall These
are of greatest value in the smallest
political subdivisions, and would be Of
particular value in the District of Co.
lumbia, where Congress, in acting for
the people under the Constitution,
should heed and give effect to local
sentiment, yet is deprived of power to
learn this sentiment. The Commits
sioners are not now responsible in
any way to the local community. If,
as proposed in Senator Kings bill,
the three Commissioners were chosen
from the District of Columbia, the
power of recall in respect to them or
to any of them might be given to the
local community. Permission to cast
the petition OF a specified percentage,
for example, of the bona fide resi-
dents Of voting age. and if the vote
favored recall would require the
President to appoint a successor to
the recalled official. Such power
lodged with the local community
could hardly fail to be beneficial in
its effect. If there was added to the
recall the method of determining pub
lie sentiment through an advisory
referendum on local legislation, in
respect to which the Capital commu-
nifty might even be permitted to take
the initiative another distinct bene-
fit would result.
3. Measures are pending in Con-
gress now to delegate powers of
municipal regulation to the Com
missioners, thus making for a more
efficiently functioning government
and relieving Congress of sometimes
trivial legislative duties. There is
some doubt, cast by court decisions
as to where municipal powers of
regulation" end and Legislative
powers" begin, and Congress cannot
delegate the latter under the Consti-
tuition. One exceedingly useful pur-
pose would be served by pending leg
islation if its passage resulted in a
test case in the United States Supreme
Court which would produce definite
rule, guiding Congress in future as
to limitations of its delegated powers
and clarifying previous decisions OF
the courts in the matter. The opin-
ion is strong among the able lawyers
who have studied the law and facts
in the case that if the issue were
brought today before the United
States Supreme Court, that tribunal
would construe the power of Congress
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