Evening star., 1936-04-12
1878 Euils Not Due to Citizens,
Finch Writes, Urging DC. Vote
Ciuic Leader Says History Sho,cs
Agents Named by Congress Caused
Corruption in Days of Franchise.

The oft-repeated charge that Dis.
trict residents once had vote bu
that Congress had to take away that
right to prevent corruption in city
government is answered in a histori-
cal study made by Wilbur S. Finch oi
the Burroughs Citizens Association
in the Burroughs Bulletin. off1cia
publication Of the organization.
Finch points out that he is sure
that every District taxpayer un.
selfiShly interested in the city's well
fare will support current efforts tc
secure vote for District residents
making them full -f1edged Americans
legally capable of looking after theil
own affairs"
History Is Cited.
| Finch, who is chairman Of the asSo-
ciation's special committee on suffrage
writes:
We are forced to admit. Of course
that our local government was corrupt
at the time Congress saw fit to estab-
lish the government we now have here
but If any one means to suggest that
| the corruption was due to the acts OF
/ District citizens we are afraid he has
somewhat misconstrued local history
The root of the evil Of corruption
which permeated our government al
| that time was very clearly set forth
by a distinguished member Of the
House of Representatives during con.
sideration of the organic act Of 1875
still in force here. He said:
1.-THE people of this District, nc
matter at whose hands. have already
suffered enough. They have been pill.
laged and plundered and robbed by
the agents selected by Congress. 1t Is
not their fault that sl2,000,00 OF
S14,000000 of the debt under which
they now labor was fastened upon
their shoulders. You must go back tc
your old Board of Public Works. tc
your Board of Audit. in whose selec-
ton the people of this District had
no voice and no part. 1t is traceable
to those agencies that the people OF
this District are today the victims Of
a debt that unaided they never will
UC dDlC W oloIlldL NSOAl5 ACCo4OAldi
, Record. March 20. 1879
And later in the same year during
further consideration OF the same
organic act, that distinguished House
member again said:
Congress Is Blamed.
"If the people of this District are
poverty-stricken, If they are debt
ridden and taxation -buroened, 1t is to
the American Congress they are in
debted for this curse. Less than Il
per cent of the debt that now bows
them down to the earth was fastened
upon them by rulers Of their own
choosing. More than IS per cent OF
the debt they are now carrying, and
which must be left to their children
as heritage of bondage, had been
fixed upon them by agents selected
by you (meaning Congress) and placed
over them with plenary powers to
dispose of their property by legalized
confscation or plunder. The Gov
ernment Of the United States, acting
through its Congress, is alone respon-
sible.' Congressional Record, May T.
1879
UNLESS the member Of Congress
Just quoted was deliberately falsifyine
the truth, the organic act Of 1878
which established our present commits
sion form Of local government and
which did away with local self-gov.
ernment, was protection for District
citizens, not against themselves. but
against Federal Government ap.
pointees who seemed to- have nc
scruples about the use of District tax
money. And it is no wonder that re-
spectacle citizens of the District were
then willing to do away with such a
government.
Contribution Of Civil War.
Contributing to this situation were
the unfortunate circumstances grow
ing out of the Civil War, which were
very clearly described by another dis
tinguished member Of the House Of
Representatives, who, in referring tt
the temporary commission form OF
government adopted in 1874, said:
Washington was for long time
the headquarters of a great army. II
was fortified camp. 1t was the place
of refuge for those colored people OF
the South who collected here from
the whole district Of Virginia over
which the Army of the Potomac was
campaigning. It was also the place
of refuge for many white people who
claimed no permanent establishment
here. The result of this was, as we
all know, that there was here large
floating population, much Of it Q
pauper population. It was dependent
for its subsistence upon rations issued
by the Commissary Department of the
Army. 1t was dependent. a little
later, either upon the charity OF the
local government or upon the employ
ment which was made by the District
authorities in order to give these
people the daily means Of life.
Under these circumstances the
problem of a safe government was
one of no ordinary difficulty. 1t was
met as an exceptional one. It was
solved as q war measure, so far a.
1t was solved at ALL Congressional
Record, March 28, 1879
"Thus do we have In comparatively
few words the reasons for the estab.
lishment In 1874 Of temporary com.
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