Evening star., 1935-09-15
d. c. Rule, Not Ciiuing Vote,
Held Antiquated by Fincl,
Burroughs Officer Says
Need That Caused
Ii Is Gone.
Franchise Described as
No. 1 Civic Project
in District.

|HE voteless and nrepresented
citizens Of the District today
are living under ga system
i brought about by emergen-
cies long past and never intended by
the trainers Of the Constitution, Will
bur S. Finch. secretary Burroughs
Citizens Association, contends.
Finch, in last weeks civic broad
cast, declared the Federal Govern
ment took over control of the District
after early forms Of suffrage were not
entirely successful and conditions ex-
isting here after the Civil War made
Government control necessary.
Each week. a speaker from one Of
address over Station WMAL on topics
of interest to local residents. The
series is sponsored by the Federation
Of Citizens Associations and is under
direction Of L. A. Carruthers, the
federation's vice president.
Saul to Talk Thursday.
This weeks speaker will be John A.
Saul, who has been a delegate to the
federation from the Brightwood Citi-
zens' Association for the past 16
years. Saul, a member of the Bright
wood group since its inception over
40 years ago, is a native Of the Dis
trict and alumnuS Of Georgetown and
George Washington Universities. He
is member Of the District and Amer
ican Bar Associations.
Saul's early life vas spent with his
father in the tree nursery business
and the title of his address over
WMAL Thursday at 7:45 pm. will be
"The Trees of Washington.
Last weeks address by Finch was
Some Aspects Of the District Suf-
frage Question" He declared:
1T has always been my conviction
tha~ the question Of suffrage for the
disfranchised citizens of the District
should be uppermost In the minds of
all those who, like myself, are VIC
Tins Of the anomalous political situa-
ton in which we find ourselves and
that it should be urged on all ap-
propriate occasions" Finch declared
Not wishing to minimize other prob
lens, he stated, "the problem of
remedying the present unfavorable
political status Of District citizens, in
my opinion. transcends in fundamen-
tai importance all other civic matters
with which We concern ourselves"
The campaign for national repre-
sentation for the District is already
well organized" he stated. TT Is my
sincere hope that a successful cor.clu-
sion Of that campaign will not be long
delayed"
Lack Of Vote Not Intended.
In considering the intent Of the
trainers Of the Constitution as to
what extent the District should be
governed by the Government, he said
the words contained in the provision
for the District Of Columbia do not,
in themselves, connote any intention
on the part Of its authors that Dis
trict residents should have the right
to suffrage.
However, according to subsequent
interpretations by the Supreme Court
the power which those words
conferred upon Congress was not, In
the minds of those who framed the
Constitution, intended to be absolute.
Such power, in the words of our
highest judicial authority, was meant
to be subject to the prohibitions con-
tanned in other sections of the Con-
stitution. For instance, in Q case
which came before the Supreme Court
in 1888, it was held that there is
nothing In the history of the Consti-
tuition or Of the original amendments
to justify the assertion that the people
Of this District may be lawfully de-
prived of the benefit Of any Of the
constitutional guarantees Of life, lib
erty and property"
Because the right Of suffrage Is
granted specifically to the States and
the District is not one Of these States
is no reason. Finch believes. why the
District should be denied this priv
ilege. Alexander Hamilton and James
Madison, two principals in the Con-
Stitutional Convention, found 1t neces-
sary for Congress to exclusively legis-
late for the District, because Of the
opposition in New York to the adop-
ton Of the Constitution by that State
70 explain in detail what the members
Of that convention meant by each of
the provisions of the instrument they
drafted"
In a volume known as THE Fed
eralist," these two statesmen had
several essays which. in the words Of
the late Senator Dodge in his intro
duction to the 1886 edition Of 1t, was
the first authoritative Interpretation
of the Constitution - it has &C
quired all the weight and sanction Of
q judicial decision and has been con-
stantly used as an authority in the
settlement Of constitutional ques-
tions."
Words Of Madison.
In one of the essays contained in
the volume. Madison first sets forth
the necessity for excluding all State
authority from the seat of Govern
ment and, secondly, the District was
to be appropriated to this use with
the consent of the State ceding it
and, in Madison's words, "the State
will no doubt provide in the compact
for the rights and the consent Of the
citizens inhabiting it that they
will have had their voice in the elec-
tion Of the government which is to
exercise authority over them" and
that "a municipal legislature for local
purposes, derived from their own suf-
frages, will, Of course, be allowed
them"
Finch declared: "Thus do we have
a definite mandate, emanating, as it
were, from the Constitutional Con-
vention itself, protecting the rights Of
those who inhabited the territory